Terminally-ill dogs find love through hospice foster program
AUSTIN, Texas - Some Austin-based volunteers are making sure terminally ill dogs get the love they deserve. Austin Pets Alive! recently launched a hospice foster program, and it was all inspired by a very special pooch named Opie.
Early this year, Opie’s owner gave her up, reportedly for being too old. She and several other dogs were about to be euthanized by a rural shelter during February’s winter storm.
Austin Pets Alive! rescued the dogs and found most of them homes, but it turned out Opie had untreatable cancer. Her original foster was unable to care for her, so four APA! volunteers, including Jess Borda, switched off caring for her. Despite being given eight weeks to live, she lived for eight months filled with joy.
"We’re able to give the dog the life they deserve and not the life that they were given," said Borda.
Opie passed away a couple of months ago, but her journey inspired the creation of Austin Pets Alive!’s hospice foster, or "Fospice" program, to make sure that the final chapter of other terminally ill dogs is filled with love.
"Right now it's pretty simple. Basically, an email list of people that we reach out to when a dog comes into the clinic, and they decide that their lifespan is going to be shorter than other dogs," said Borda.
Austin Pets Alive! helps out with medical and end-of-life care. Right now, there are about five dogs in the program, like Jagger, who is in need of a foster.
"You can see on his skin that he has cancer, but his behavior and his attitude and his personality, you don't know that he's sick, the dog doesn't know he's sick," Borda said.
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While saying goodbye is never easy, Borda says this is one of the most rewarding things an animal lover can do.
"To know that I provided a soft bed, the medication a dog needs, and prevented them from just dying in the shelter," said Borda. "I would rather be sad and have known the dog, than not to have known the dog at all."
In addition to the dogs who are ill, Austin Pets Alive! says there are also plenty of senior dogs in need of a foster or adoptive home.
You can support Austin Pets Alive! by donating at austinpetsalive.org, or sign up to be a "Fospice" foster by emailing dog-foster-hospice@austinpetsalive.org.