ANIMAL JOURNEY

We are excited to announce that Faith Hospice is implementing a ground breaking approach to Pet Therapy with their staff, patients and patients families.We affectionately call this program, Faithful Paws.

All pet  parents have had, at one time or another, an experience in which their pet recognized their suffering and offered comfort. Animals have the ability to sense changes in the body and mind and can positively influence humans and enrich their lives in many ways.

Faith knows the value of a relationship between a human and a companion animal and has identified a need that can be filled with our trained and certified Faithful Pet Companions.

When a patient enters into hospice care, the experience sometimes may bring about many mixed emotions and fears. Anxiety can certainly escalate and the feeling of aloneness magnifies itself greatly. Oftentimes, family and friends cannot be present to soothe those anxious feelings as they arise. Uncertainty and aloneness magnifies fear and anxiety in patients and their families as well. A dependable relationship is a treasured part of life and these special animals will be able to share that gift with a patient and their family.

Animals are always in the moment and help to ease tension, fear and loneliness. These Faithful Animal Companions enrich the good times we experience and stay right beside us when life challenges us. These wonderful creatures share their peaceful energy with us and our environment to help keep us calm and focused outside of ourselves. They show acceptance and love with a wag of their tail or a nuzzle in close. They are able to sense when there  is pain or grief and respond with gentleness and compassion.

We, at Faith believe, the Faithful Paws Program will take the magnanimous spirit of the companion animal and enable the animals to nurture, care and accompany our patients through their sacred end-of-life journey.

Our Faithful Pet Companions will be part of a loving staff member's family or volunteer's family. The animals will go through many levels of training to be certain of their compatibility with our program. They will go to the Faith office regularly and then begin home visits with patients. As the animal advances through the learning process, they will  progress deeper into the program. Our goal  is to have several pet therapists on call to be present with patients during the final  hours and days of their life. The presence of a loving animal spirit is calming and comforting to every animal lover and will be available through this  program.

The Faithful Pet Companion will understand the importance of their role and will feel valued and respected. Animals love to work and be an important contributor to the life of their humans. They will be able to sense the importance of what they do naturally.

All partners in this program will benefit from this collaboration and we feel this will add depth to our program and relationship with our patients. We welcome these important caregivers into our Faith Hospice family.