Program helps animals that need hospice care

Shelters sometimes receive animals that are older and not medically healthy enough for adoption. Yet, these creatures still have the right to live out their golden years in a loving environment and with proper medical treatment.

BrightSide Animal Center in Redmond receives animals that are older or in ill health - but instead of euthanizing the animal, the "high-save" shelter contacts one of their "fospice" volunteers.

"Fospice" is a combination of foster and hospice care. Four years ago, Chris Bauersfeld, the former executive director for BrightSide, established a foster program for pets needing hospice.

"What's great about the fospice program is it allows us to keep our mission of being a high-save shelter," says Sisters resident Sana Hayes, volunteer coordinator and event director. "Our full-time veterinarian on staff, Dr. Cheryl Byrd, is the one that determines if they still have quality of life, so that fospice can become an option for that animal. We are happy to give end-of-life animals the opportunity to complete their natural lifespan in a loving home while maintaining their dignity and comfort."

BrightSide Animal Center provides all the medical care and medications at no charge to the fospice family.

Fospice volunteers bring the terminal dog or cat into their home and offer love and companionship for the best end-of-life experience.

"We have a few families right now that are fostering animals that need fospice care," said Wendy Monzulla, foster coordinator at BrightSide. "Last winter we had a setter mix named Titan come in that was rescued from one of the high-kill shelters in California. He was older, didn't want to eat and was very lethargic, so we put out an appeal for fostering for fospice care."

Gena Huff from Redmond saw a photo of Titan on BrightSide Animal Center's Facebook page that her friend had sent her.

"I went down to the shelter to visit Titan," Huff recalled. "He seemed depressed and he looked like he needed someone so much, so I decided to foster him. My dog Maggie passed away from cancer in 2013, and we did end-of-life care for her at home, so I understand about fospice care. What is amazing is that shortly after we took in Titan, I brought home a few kittens from the shelter to foster and Titan is now paying it forward by becoming a foster caregiver for the kittens. He loves them, they climb all over him, and it helps his self-esteem and gives him something to live for. We are so happy that he is thriving in the fospice program!"

And while it can be emotionally challenging to take home a terminal animal, the companionship and love that you receive in return is beyond measure. In the past these animals would have been euthanized, but now because of fospice volunteers they can live out their lives in dignity and comfort.

It takes a special personality to care for animals in the fospice program. Redmond residents Jim and Kate Byerly have been in the program fostering for four years. They continue to take in and heal the hearts of end-of-life animals.

"We started fostering puppies in the beginning then have fostered adult dogs," Jim said. "Then there were two Chihuahuas, a mother, Poquito and daughter, Chica, that were both older, over 10. They had been in the shelter for a couple of years and we took them in as fosters because they had been there too long. We needed to fospice the mom and kept the other as a foster to keep them together. We also did fospice care for a dog named Kaiser, but he passed away. We recently took on a stray Chihuahua named Jewel that came in to shelter and fostered her, she is now on hospice care with medication provided by BrightSide. So right now we have two hospice dogs, Jewel and Poquito."

For dogs like Poquito and Jewel, that are older and often in ill health, fospice volunteers can offer an end-of-life experience filled with love and compassion.

For more information about the foster program visit www.brightsideanimals.org.