When to opt for “pawspice” care

According to Dr. Villalobos, “pawspice” is the animal variant for “hospice” and she encourages pet owners to make the right decisions when their pets are suffering unnecessarily because of terminal cancer. 

“Pawspice often isn’t a point, it’s a transition toward the very end of life when the decline is really obvious,” she says. “Life is no longer worth living for these patients, and we try to help people see that so they’re not trying to hang on when the pet is in futility, and there’s relentless and unnecessary suffering.”

In fact, the decision to continue to support sick creatures that suffer from severe pain and live the last days of their lives is not good for them… maybe we are happy to have them among us, but those animals are tormented every day because of the severe pain that grinds their remaining days. Dr. Pellin suggests euthanasia in this case (as she also did with her dogs that suffered from cancer), and you can opt for either the clinic or the home option. So, you should opt for euthanasia only if your dog has severe pain and terminal cancer.