To help give our precious animals a more serene and peaceful end, a Tampa, Fla.-based vet service is providing a comfortable in-home environment for aging and ailing pets. Veterinarian Dani McVety started Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice in 2009 to help pet owners provide humane euthanasia procedures in the place the animal loves most – home.
Each year, 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized in U.S. animal shelters with procedures that are far from the serene, peaceful end animal-lovers would prefer. Even the best-loved pets typically end their days at emergency veterinary clinics or in sterile exam rooms.
-There are individual vets who do this, but there’s never been a franchise before. Veterinary hospice is a new and emerging segment inspired by human hospice, which is only a few decades old,- said McVety.
The service is designed to help pets who are starting to slow down and to help the pets in their last 3-6 months by coming in to the home to help manipulate the environment to provide to provide a better quality of life, such as placing yoga mats to help big dogs get up on tile or setting up slings.
When the time comes euthanasia can be performed at a location of the owner’s choice. Locations range from the home and backyards to parks or the beach.
The business took off in its first year and decided to franchise in 2010, only its second year in operation. So far 44 vets in 15 states have signed on, and Lap of Love expects to have 50 locations by 2014.
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