As some of you may be aware at Dignipets we are big fans of an organisation called IAAHPC- the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative care. I know it’s a mouthful! This organisation, which is not for profit, strives to give animal hospice and palliative care its’ rightful place within veterinary medicine. You can read about it here, https://iaahpc.org/.
Last year I was lucky to be able to join the Board of Directors for the IAAHPC, being part of representing the “I” in IAAHPC. It feels like an honour to be able to help out this way, and to be able to work with some really lovely and inspiring people that have been at the forefront of this movement for years! Hopefully one day we can look back at how far this area of veterinary medicine has come, and say “we were part of this”!
In 2015 when I “discovered” (it was of course a personal discovery, not a discovery in any other sense!) there was such a thing as pet hospice and palliative care, it was a big step to take, walking away from the safety and comfort of general practice, into the unknown of a new field, which at the time was almost unheard of. For all of us at Dignipets we have taken that leap at some point, to end up where we are now, and I know none of us will ever regret this decision.
The privilege to be able to help pets at the end of their lives, whether it’s providing comfort and quality of life for the pet, education and support for the pet parent, or a dignified ending, is something as a vet and as a human I am proud to be part of. And for me it’s truly something that never would have happened had it not been for the support of the IAAHPC at the start of this journey for me. So, with all the support the IAAHPC has given me as a professional, I want to do what I can to in turn give back to the association. Being on the Board of Directors is one way that I’m able to do that.
As I’m sitting here, jet-lagged, on the other side of the big pond (where the weather is also very different from in the UK at the moment!), getting ready for some meeting time with the rest of the board, I wanted to share this with you!
The IAAHPC has grown in just over a decade from a tiny association, the vision of one man, to an international organisation bringing together vets from all over the world, helping them helping pets! Every year they put together a wonderful conference to help veterinary professionals stay up to date and always improve and grow. They have a veterinary certification program, allowing vets within this field the peace of mind knowing they have the education behind them to know they are the best within this field. There is of course so much more, too much to write about in this blog!
The association welcomes donations, for example in memory of a pet that has been lost, https://community.iaahpc.org/page/Donations. You can also read my blog about how to memorialise a pet Memorialising a pet – DigniPets Blog.
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Thank you OLA for your kindness and caring way you helped our family cope with the passing of Sally , we are still trying to come to terms with our little girl not being here , but for your gentle manner and understanding this has helped us so much bless you . ❤️
I’d like to say how fantastic Sylvia was with Wilf and our family today.
Such a great service. So patient and kind. A truly lovely lady.
Sylvia helped reassure us as a family that we had made the right choice in choosing to let wilf go at the right time, because you do worry about the timing.
So thankful for your service ❤️