Homecooking Made Easy!

     Animals are resilient. They survive on many kinds on diets, but they thrive best on a species-appropriate diet filled with fresh, quality ingredients. We notice a huge difference in health, vitality and energy when animals are fed a good diet. Many of us at New England Pet Hospice feed our own animals home cooked food.

      It is natural to assume this is expensive, time consuming and more hassle than it is worth - I did too when I heard about it, but now I am a convert! Home cooking will be more expensive than kibble, but less expensive than premium canned food. It is very, important, however that home cooked is prepared carefully and in proper balance. We see too many dogs fed meat only or unsupplemented meals that can cause problems in the long run. Often problems related to nutritional deficiencies develop over time, so it is easy to miss problems in the diet.

      There are many excellent books and resources available on homecooked diets, but in the end, they essentially boil down to the same recipe - which is simple and affordable.

Click here to read more and get the recipe

Quote for the Day

All that is harmony for you, my Universe, is in harmony with me as well. Nothing that comes at the right time for you is too early or too late for me. Everything is fruit to me that your seasons bring, Nature. All things come of you, have their being in you, and return to you.

~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Quote for the Day

A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.

~ Albert Schweitzer

If You Could See What I See

     When I conceived of New England Pet Hospice so many years ago, I envisioned a company in which people with huge hearts and committed souls found a meaningful way to be of service to both animals and people.  A place where hard work was also heart work.  Where being sensitive, passionate, and vulnerable were valued and important traits. Where teamwork, camaraderie, and love would be the driving forces in all we do.

     I am incredibly proud and humbled to say much of this has come true - for better and for worse. Never in a million years could I have imagined the huge impact we would have on the families who so graciously allow us into their lives and into their homes in heartbreaking times. Nor could I have ever envisioned the incredible group of people who would be drawn to do this work with me. Their knowledge, skills, passion, courage, conviction and compassion routinely amaze and impress me.

     But with success and growth comes those few people who wish us to be something we are not, want more than we have to offer, or who need someone to blame for something that is outside of our control.

     It breaks my heart when this happens, because if you could see what I see:

     You would see smart, talented, accomplished professionals sacrificing personally and professionally for the opportunity to be of service.

     You would see the purest form of love and giving.

     You would see a determination to be better every day in everything we do.

     You would see hundreds of hours of training, education, and sharing.

     You would see late nights and early mornings, holiday crises, and weekend scrambling.

     You would see risk, responsibility, vulnerability and humility.

     You would see an organization determined to remain open and emotionally attached, refusing to become jaded or cynical, fueled by hope and the belief that we can do something important and lasting, that we have the capacity to make a difference.

     This company and all those involved in making it thrive and grow, develop in ways that simply astound me.  I know that something bigger than any of us brought us together and set us on this path.  And I for one can't wait to see where it takes us tomorrow, next year and many years into the future!

Quote for the Day

Today, just today, entertain the notion that it's not all up to you. Creating comfort is your practice. Choosing the magic of uncertainty is your human obligation. Make a space for your hopeful soul today by honoring your body. Allow in the goodness of truly believing that there's nothing to say, nothing to do, but to wait for what you absolutely know deep down is your next move.

~ Jen Lemen

Hopeful World

 

Quote for the Day

In honor of Lucy and with much love for Dolly:

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Death is Not a Dirty Word

     For as long as we have records, people have been afraid of dying – partly because we didn’t have good pain strategies and partly because many feared the unknown or their own beliefs about what comes after death. 

     But it has only been in the last 100 years that the dying process itself  has become so foreign and invisible to us that the unknown about the dying process causes us so much fear and anxiety.

     Less than 100 years ago 80% of all people died in their own homes, the average life expectancy was 50 years and the infant mortality rate was 24 times higher than today: more than 16% of children died before their first birthday.  People may not have liked it, but they were very familiar with death and the dying process.  Parents knew the anguish of losing a child; children witnessed the decline and death not only of grandparents, but also of siblings and parents; and the primary caretakers through illness and death were close family members in the home.

     Today, almost 70% of people die in institutions (hospitals and nursing homes) and the average life expectancy is close to 80 years.  We do not witness or participate in the dying process often in our lifetimes.

     Dying has become a mystery to us and the rituals we once had of washing the body, preparing for burial and the burial itself have been transferred into the hands of strangers.

     In addition, medicine has come so far that we expect it to prevent death, stop the aging process and keep us eternally happy, healthy, comfortable and young.  Aging and death are seen as failures of the medical community and our own will.

     Death has become a dirty word.

     We are awkward around the dying and bereaved.  We don’t know what to do or say.  We avoid witnessing dying and prefer that others do not discuss it.

     But we are making a big mistake.

     Death comes to all of us and everyone we know and love at some point.  Our ostrich approach to dying benefits no one, least of all ourselves and our children.

     Those who have witnessed the peaceful  death of a loved one – human or animal – are  universally transformed in any number of ways, almost always in a positive way.  Most feel a deeper and stronger connection to the one who has passed, a reduction in anxiety about dying ourselves, an appreciation of the beauty and gift that is our own lives and the lives of those we love, and a peace within.

     There are times when it is not possible to care for your loved ones at home, and some occasions where there is a need to be in a hospital, but there are many times when there is a choice whether to care for our own at home, allow others to care for them somewhere else, or hide from death altogether by ignoring the situation.  In the animal world, we are also often faced with the choice of euthanasia.

    Not every situation allows for hospice-assisted natural death at home, but if the opportunity were there, would you have the courage to try?  Would you be able to overcome your fear of death and isolation from the dying process to take that leap of faith?  Could you trust yourself, your knowledge, your skills, your instincts, and most of all your compassion enough to be that loving family caretaker?

     We think you can.  We believe in you.  And we know, no matter what comes,  you will never regret trying.

     Death is not a dirty word.  Take that leap of faith.