I’ll never forget the day I realized that time with my childhood dog Riley was starting to become limited shortly after his cancer had come back for the third time.

It was a day that started out like any other, except Riley just wasn’t acting like himself. My mom made an appointment for him to be seen by our veterinarian and I headed off to work.

A few hours later, I got a text that made my stomach drop: “Riley collapsed and we don’t know why. We’re taking him to the emergency clinic now.”

We thought we were going to lose him, and it was gut-wrenching because we just weren’t ready to say goodbye. We wanted more time, we needed more time. We knew we would never feel ready to make that decision but damn, we were definitely not ready on that day under those emergency, panic filled need-to-make-a-decision-NOW circumstances.

Much to our surprise and absolute delight, he made it through and we were able to take him home. As happy as we were, deep down we knew that we were on borrowed time, and the end would come sooner rather than later so we treated every day with him like it was a gift.

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Once things settled down from Riley’s emergency visit, we decided to look into what our options were for cancer treatment and explored doing radiation. While at the appointment with the oncologist we were thrown yet another curveball: there was now a golf ball sized mass on his liver.

Taking all of our options into consideration, we couldn’t bear the impact it would have on Riley’s quality of life given his age and personality. It would also have been extremely expensive, so we opted to just remove the mass on his side and focus on making sure he still had a good quality of life.

After over a year of many more cuddles from our lap dog, there came a day when Riley wasn’t acting like himself and we received the most devastating news of all:

The mass on his liver had grown to about the size of a grapefruit.

With heavy hearts, it was then we finally made the tough decision that we’d reached the end and it was time.

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Despite the sadness of this loss, the last day with Riley was beautiful. We took him on a walk in the woods and gave him Arby’s roast beef sandwiches and a Reese cup feast. It really was the most perfect day for him. And as we held him while he took his last breaths in the comfort of our home, we felt at peace with our decision as we said goodbye to our beloved family member.

While it made it a million times harder on a good day when he was acting more like himself than he had in a while, he got to go out on a high note with grace and all of his dignity. And we wouldn’t have had it any other way.

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Through the process of losing my own pets, one thing has really stood out to me—

the more we talked about their Illness, aging, and the end, the more the stress, guilt, and sadness melted away.

Of course we are always still sad, but dealing with these things head-on allowed us to process our emotions, be prepared, and plan for the end. This enabled us to be more present, enjoy the time we did have left, and make it as comfortable as possible for our pets. When their time finally came, we were at peace and as ready as we’d ever be to say goodbye.

This is why I do what I do.

My mission is to take one of the saddest and darkest times you ever have to face as a pet owner, and make it a little easier.

To make it the best that it can be given the circumstances.

To be able to release the guilt that you undoubtedly feel and affirm that you’re making the best decision possible so that you get to have a beautiful, peaceful, and comfortable aging and end of life experience with your pet—100% on your terms.

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why work with me one on one?

I’ve been incredibly passionate about helping people through this process for a very long time and have had the immense honor and privilege to walk side by side with hundreds of people as they navigate aging and end of life with their pet.

I help you discover what’s most important to you when it comes to your aging pet and give you the space to talk and work through whatever is coming up for you, whatever you are struggling with, and to address any questions or concerns you may have all in a compassionate, empathetic, and judgment-free space so you can feel confident that you’re making the right decisions.

I am a veterinarian who “gets it” and understands the importance and value of the human-animal bond. I can use that knowledge to help you make sense of what’s being presented in front of you and help guide you through the decisions you need to make. And not only do I think that the physical health of our pets is important but so is their emotional health and well-being. That’s why I’m certified in techniques that prioritize this: Fear Free, Low-Stress Handling

I worked with people on finding out what was most important to them if they only had 3 months to live when I trained as an End of Life coach.

I worked with people on finding out what helped (and didn’t help) when they lost a pet as well as tips, tricks, and tools for working through their grief when I trained as a Pet Loss Bereavement Specialist.

I know that a beautiful aging and end of life experience IS possible, and I believe that being proactive and preparing for the end (well before you need it) is incredibly beneficial and positively influences the choices and decisions you make in the future. When you know what you want (and do not want), you’ll not only feel more empowered and at peace but also be able to make decisions clearly and confidently.

So my question to you is,

Are you ready to make the most out of your remaining time with your pet?

Let’s do this!

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more about what makes me, well, me :)

I love all creatures, except for spiders. Spiders. Are. Gross! And if I’m being honest, quite terrifying. Eight legs and quick movements. Um, no thank you!
I am an avid Harry Potter fan and can practically quote every movie in my sleep. I am however (and much to my disappointment), still waiting on my letter to arrive from Hogwarts.
I’m constantly making lists because nothing makes me feel more accomplished and productive than crossing something off of it.
I am an extroverted introvert – sometimes I can recharge by dancing the night away while other times I prefer to hang out in my jams on a Friday night curled up on the couch underneath a blanket with a cat on my lap, nose in a book, and a glass of wine in my hand.
If I could, I would wear cowboy boots, leggings, and oversized super comfy sweaters every single day of the week.