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Anna Champagne: Coping with the Loss of a Pet
28 Plays4 years ago
Welcome to this episode of The Glam Reaper. This time, host Jennifer Muldowney chats with Anna Champagne from Lap of Love. Lap of Love is a veterinary hospice that supports in-home animal euthanasia and provides geriatric and end-of-life care. They also offer pet loss support and help make sure that your pet will be comfortable before its ultimate end.
The interview progressed with Anna sharing more of the services that Lap of Love offers and how she became part of the Lap of Love community. A woman-owned business that supports veterinarians in your local area, the business has spread fast and wide in only a few years.
In this episode, Anna also answers a difficult question - when IS the right time for euthanasia? Stay tuned as Anna sheds some light on pet euthanasia, our love for animals, how you can take care of your pet, and the end-of-life journey for them.
LITTLE NUGGETS OF GOLD:
- What is Lap of Love?
- Anna’s journey to becoming a veterinarian
- Other animals that Lap of Love takes care of
- How Lap of Love hospice works
- When is the right time for pet euthanasia?
- How a stateside successful woman-owned business stays local
Connect with Anna at Lap of Love
Website - https://www.lapoflove.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lapofloveveterinaryhospice/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lapoflove
Twitter - https://twitter.com/LapofLoveVets
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/lap-of-love-veterinary-hospice
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/Lapoflove
Connect with Jennifer/The Glam Reaper:
Facebook Page - Muldowney Memorials: https://www.facebook.com/MuldowneyMemorials/
Facebook Page - Rainbow Bridge Memorials: https://www.facebook.com/rainbowbridgememorialsdotcom
Instagram - @muldowneymemorials & @jennifermuldowney
Twitter - @TheGlamReaper
Email us here: glamreaperpodcast@gmail.com
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Transcript
Introduction to The Glam Reaper Podcast
00:00:04
Speaker
My name is Jennifer Muldani, aka The Glam Reaper, and this here is The Glam Reaper podcast.
00:00:09
Speaker
We're in your ears, we're in front of your eyes on YouTube, and the show is going to focus on stories about love, life, and loss.
00:00:16
Speaker
But we'll also have a massive input from the funeral industry, because that is the industry that I currently survive in.
Exploring Pet Loss with Lap of Love
00:00:24
Speaker
So this week's episode is actually taking a turn and looking at pet loss.
00:00:32
Speaker
The wonderful people at Lap of Love gave us an incredible interview talking all things pet, love, life and loss.
00:00:41
Speaker
Without further ado, here we go.
00:00:45
Speaker
I wanted to share a story with you about the love of a dog.
00:00:48
Speaker
A few weeks ago, my best friend called me with heartbreaking news.
00:00:52
Speaker
Sadly, I've already been through this and so have many of you that are listening today.
00:00:58
Speaker
But what I didn't know is what we're about to talk about today.
00:01:01
Speaker
And I would like to introduce my guest with the most fabulous name, Anna
Meet Anna Champagne from Lap of Love
00:01:06
Speaker
Champagne.
00:01:06
Speaker
I feel like we should have champagne while we're chatting.
00:01:09
Speaker
Let's talk about our darling pets and how we can come to say goodbye our way.
00:01:14
Speaker
I hope you will feel your hearts well, just as I did when I heard about this incredible service.
00:01:18
Speaker
Anna, welcome.
00:01:21
Speaker
Your name, first of all, incredible.
00:01:23
Speaker
I'm sure I'm not the first person to have said it to you.
00:01:25
Speaker
My God.
00:01:26
Speaker
Thank you so much.
00:01:28
Speaker
Yes, I can't take credit for it.
00:01:30
Speaker
It is married.
00:01:33
Speaker
So tell me a little bit about you and the amazing company that you work with.
00:01:38
Speaker
Oh, absolutely.
00:01:39
Speaker
So lap of love is based in Tampa, Florida, and we do only house calls.
00:01:46
Speaker
So we only come to homes to perform at home euthanasia service and end of life care.
00:01:53
Speaker
So we will also do hospice appointments.
00:01:56
Speaker
So for example, if your pet has been diagnosed with an illness that will ultimately end their life, or if your pet is just struggling with old age issues and you're having trouble getting to the doctor, then you are more than welcome to make an appointment with us and we'll come do an evaluation of the pet in your home and see what we can do to make them more comfortable and prepare you for the ultimate end, which is kind of sad to think about, but we try our hardest to make it easy for you guys
00:02:24
Speaker
We are all over the United States now.
00:02:27
Speaker
We have well over 100 veterinarians now.
00:02:30
Speaker
It started with Dr. Danny McBeady and Dr. Mary Gardner over 10 years ago now.
00:02:37
Speaker
And ever since then, it has just grown.
00:02:39
Speaker
And we are not the only ones that provide this service.
00:02:42
Speaker
There's a lot of other veterinarians out there who have started at-home primary euthanasia services.
00:02:47
Speaker
So the idea has absolutely blossomed.
00:02:50
Speaker
And people are very grateful, absolutely grateful.
00:02:54
Speaker
I am too to say that if we have the privilege of having an at-home euthanasia, it is so much more comfortable for the family, for the pets.
00:03:04
Speaker
So I'm very, very blessed to be able to be part of this.
00:03:08
Speaker
Absolutely.
The Emotional Impact of Pet Loss
00:03:10
Speaker
I'm going to try and not get emotional on this interview because this really speaks so close to home.
00:03:16
Speaker
We lost Roxy over 10 years ago now and I will never, ever forget going into the Vets that day.
00:03:25
Speaker
Actually, I'm starting to get emotional, but it's something that stayed with me forever.
00:03:30
Speaker
When I heard about what you were able to provide to my friend, I just thought, wow,
00:03:37
Speaker
that is so needed and what I find incredible about innovations like this and America is just incredible for coming up with these things but innovations like this that you don't realize I mean I work in the funeral community both with pets and humans and so
00:03:56
Speaker
I get this the whole time, but you don't realize until you're going through it how badly something like this is needed.
00:04:02
Speaker
And when my friend told me and only a week before had we been rolling around on her floor with her lovely dog and, you know, we knew he was so ill.
00:04:11
Speaker
He'd been so ill for so long.
00:04:14
Speaker
you do as a pet parent, I know myself, we really went through the emotional trauma of are we doing the right thing?
00:04:22
Speaker
And euthanasia obviously brings a lot of skeletons out of the closets for a lot of people, you know, and we won't get into the human side of it today.
00:04:31
Speaker
But it definitely it's a heavy weight to bear to know that you did that.
00:04:35
Speaker
And did you do the right thing?
00:04:36
Speaker
And obviously, our gorgeous little furry friends can't
00:04:40
Speaker
necessarily tell us back, but they can in a way, in their own little way.
00:04:44
Speaker
And so I just think it's absolutely incredible what you guys have done.
00:04:48
Speaker
And in such a short space of time, really, I mean, the fact that you're all across the United States is unbelievable.
00:04:54
Speaker
And you're saying other vets do it.
00:04:55
Speaker
I never, I'd never heard of this until
00:04:58
Speaker
my friend introduced me to you guys and I work in the pet memorialization business.
00:05:03
Speaker
So it just goes to show, and I'm sure there's plenty of listeners out there that will completely and utterly run to your website and just know that they have the information.
Support and Services by Lap of Love
00:05:13
Speaker
If I could have, when my friend rang me and told me about it before she came upon you guys, it's such a lovely gift to give somebody because you guys are literally there holding people's hand.
00:05:27
Speaker
as they're saying goodbye to their best friend, their best friend that never judged them, that never, didn't matter what you did in the world, you'd come home to this lovely little ball of fluff and oh my God, it's just, it really is incredible.
00:05:43
Speaker
What got you into the business yourself?
00:05:45
Speaker
That's a good question.
00:05:46
Speaker
I absolutely did not see myself doing this when I graduated.
00:05:49
Speaker
I knew since I was a little kid that I was gonna be a veterinarian, I didn't know anything better.
00:05:55
Speaker
And when I graduated, it was kind of like, well, I'm a veterinarian now.
00:05:59
Speaker
Yeah.
00:06:00
Speaker
I worked about two and a half years in private practice.
00:06:04
Speaker
It was very hectic.
00:06:06
Speaker
I learned so much from it.
00:06:07
Speaker
I absolutely do not regret that at all.
00:06:10
Speaker
But I felt like I wasn't at my place where I kind of needed to be.
00:06:14
Speaker
It didn't feel comfortable for me.
00:06:15
Speaker
And I started asking around about what other things I could try as a career.
00:06:20
Speaker
And I happen to live in Tampa.
00:06:22
Speaker
So I had heard about Lap of Love before.
00:06:26
Speaker
I actually learned about them very briefly, my fourth year of veterinary school.
00:06:31
Speaker
I looked up the website.
00:06:32
Speaker
I found Dr. Danny's email and I shipped off my CV and I was like, hey, I'm willing to give this a try.
00:06:38
Speaker
And she actually called me back.
00:06:40
Speaker
I was very surprised to hear from her, one of the CEOs.
00:06:44
Speaker
That was really bizarre.
00:06:45
Speaker
I was like, why are you calling me?
00:06:47
Speaker
Yeah, of course.
00:06:50
Speaker
But she personally called me back.
00:06:52
Speaker
And sure, about three months after that, we were able to start.
00:06:57
Speaker
And I transitioned over to
Anna's Journey to Lap of Love and Career Reflections
00:06:59
Speaker
Lap of Love.
00:06:59
Speaker
And I...
00:07:01
Speaker
I feel like this is where I belong, actually.
00:07:03
Speaker
It's not... It's so bizarre to say I feel...
00:07:10
Speaker
very comfortable being with people when they're sad.
00:07:13
Speaker
It's a very weird thing to say.
00:07:17
Speaker
I mean, I guess we all have a place.
00:07:21
Speaker
But when I was in general practice, I got a lot of compliments for how I was handling those appointments.
00:07:26
Speaker
And people started asking for me specifically when their pets started getting sick.
00:07:31
Speaker
and so I said well I think I'm I think I'm being called this way and I've been there ever since and I really think this is the place where I'm gonna stay for quite a while and I am very grateful I'm very grateful I found where I belong in veterinary medicine and as I said you don't realize at all when you graduate where your career is going to take you and here I am doing something extremely unique and
00:08:00
Speaker
Again, very grateful, very grateful that I'm here.
00:08:03
Speaker
You actually raise a completely off topic, but a very valid point because a lot of people often ask me, how in God's name did you get, or why did you choose this, or what?
00:08:13
Speaker
And I personally feel like it chose me, and I don't really like the generic terms of, oh, it's my calling, and that sort of stuff, but I do feel like when you find your niche, or your niche, as you guys say, when you find that,
00:08:28
Speaker
you know, you absolutely know, you feel it in every fibre of your being.
00:08:32
Speaker
Like, you know, when you said there about, is it weird that I'm happiest when I'm kind of with sad people?
00:08:40
Speaker
No, like I, my heart, I joke, but I don't joke about how my heart feels like it swells after I've helped complete a memorial and done that person who has died and their whole family's justice.
00:08:54
Speaker
Like I literally feel like my heart swells with love and just affection for what I do and just, you know, people, whether it's loss of a pet or loss of a human or loss of a job or loss of a partner through divorce, like,
00:09:09
Speaker
they're going through what at the time they're considering the worst time in their entire lives and so many of us don't see the wood for the trees we we don't see a way out we don't it just feels like you're being swallowed up and to have somebody throw you a lifeline or just even reach out a hand to you to kind of keep you marginally above water for even a short space of time I just think is a wonderful thing and I think I completely agree with you and I
00:09:39
Speaker
You know, I remember back in college, I mean, I did a four year degree back home in Dublin, Ireland in business.
00:09:45
Speaker
And when I set up my business then 10 years ago, and so college is about
00:09:50
Speaker
God, is it 20 years ago?
00:09:51
Speaker
How did that happen?
00:09:54
Speaker
But when I set up my business many years later, I had to go and do like a general course in business.
00:09:59
Speaker
I had a four-year degree in business.
00:10:01
Speaker
I still had to go back to do a course.
00:10:04
Speaker
So I think college is incredible.
00:10:06
Speaker
I don't discount it.
00:10:07
Speaker
I don't think people should not do it.
00:10:09
Speaker
I think it's an incredible growth experience.
00:10:12
Speaker
And yes, education is amazing.
00:10:14
Speaker
But a lot of what they teach is
00:10:16
Speaker
is not practical and so I do feel like you do have to go out and kind of figure your do it I'm a fan of doing work experience and being an intern at a couple of different things that maybe you think might float your boat I went back to college and I did a PR diploma did an events diploma you know and it's it's still a far cry from what I'm doing right now but
00:10:38
Speaker
it's valid.
00:10:39
Speaker
And so, yeah, I'm sure there's plenty of veterinarians out there who come out of college and they're like, okay, now what?
00:10:46
Speaker
You know, and there's so many options in veterinarian as well.
00:10:48
Speaker
I mean, you can be, you've the large animals, the small ones.
00:10:51
Speaker
And actually that brings me to a question.
00:10:53
Speaker
Is it just for dogs that you do or is it for dogs and cats?
00:10:57
Speaker
Is it for any animal, any size?
00:10:59
Speaker
Yeah.
Diverse Services Offered by Lap of Love
00:11:00
Speaker
Lap of Love advertises primarily cats and dogs, but we do have veterinarians who start with Lap of Love for willing to see other species.
00:11:08
Speaker
And I myself actually have a lot of exotic experience.
00:11:13
Speaker
So I help with the guinea pigs, ferrets, lizards.
00:11:19
Speaker
Somebody called and asked me to do their pet chicken once, a fish.
00:11:23
Speaker
That was unique.
00:11:25
Speaker
Please don't tell me you've had to do a tarantula.
00:11:27
Speaker
Not yet.
00:11:30
Speaker
I mean, I couldn't cope with that.
00:11:33
Speaker
I don't think I'd have any empathy or sympathy there.
00:11:36
Speaker
I just feel like, you crazy.
00:11:38
Speaker
I think the most common exotic, I guess, quote unquote exotic, more farm animal would be a pup belly pig.
00:11:45
Speaker
It is very fascinating how much people love their pigs and they are so sweet too.
00:11:51
Speaker
They are the absolute sweetest creatures, but they take up a lot of space.
00:11:56
Speaker
They are big and animals, honestly, animals in the U S I've often, um, on social media kind of had fun, if you like, with the size of, of, I know we're talking about
00:12:10
Speaker
pets and things, but meat, I mean, I unfortunately am a meat eater.
00:12:14
Speaker
I'm not going to claim that I'm anything other, but I mean, the size of chicken breasts, like do the chickens get plastic?
00:12:22
Speaker
That's a very American thing.
00:12:23
Speaker
I actually studied at the college of agriculture at Kansas state university.
00:12:27
Speaker
So I know all about that.
00:12:30
Speaker
I mean, that's a whole other podcast.
00:12:32
Speaker
Cause I'm fascinated with how a chicken back home in Ireland, a chicken fillet is the size of the inside part of my hand, the palm.
00:12:40
Speaker
And a chicken, you know, is a double D or a triple.
00:12:44
Speaker
Like, I mean, the Kardashians would have their, oh my God, it's just crazy.
00:12:50
Speaker
And so you do, you do quite a lot of different animals.
00:12:54
Speaker
That's interesting.
00:12:54
Speaker
Cause I kind of figured it might just be
00:12:56
Speaker
Cats and dogs, they're obviously the most typical household animal, but people have different tastes.
00:13:02
Speaker
I mean, the tarantula thing, I can't get behind it.
00:13:05
Speaker
As an arachnophobe, I cannot support that.
00:13:08
Speaker
I always recommend that they call first if they have something other than a cat or a dog and find out if there's a veterinarian in the area willing to do that.
00:13:17
Speaker
Because again, we're all a little bit unique, which is why we just primarily advertise cats and dogs.
00:13:23
Speaker
Right.
00:13:24
Speaker
But yeah, just in case, give us a call.
00:13:25
Speaker
There's no worries.
00:13:27
Speaker
Just check in if you want your dragon at home.
00:13:31
Speaker
Just check in, just in case.
00:13:33
Speaker
Now, quick question.
00:13:34
Speaker
So you're all over the States and you're obviously, you're under the lap of love umbrella as such.
00:13:41
Speaker
so does each person in each state are they busy enough that they that's all that they do is there certain states that are maybe busier do you know in maybe one state where it's not as busy do they double up as a regular veterinarian and then do the at-home service oh that's a really good question it's amazing how quickly lap of love grows every time they open a new location and it's really up to the veterinarians how they want to do their schedule we try to be very flexible
00:14:11
Speaker
As you can imagine, being a company started by two women, we're very cognizant of family life.
00:14:16
Speaker
For me personally, I started full time.
00:14:18
Speaker
I continue as full time and I do this as my full time job.
00:14:22
Speaker
Other veterinarians may want to do this just as part time.
00:14:25
Speaker
I know some do this as basically their retirement veterinary job and they work just a little bit.
00:14:31
Speaker
And so there's all sorts of varieties.
00:14:34
Speaker
But every time we open a new location, absolutely, it's a little bit slow at first, but it is quite incredible how quickly it gets busy.
00:14:43
Speaker
A good example would be when you start, we might see maybe one or two patients a day.
00:14:49
Speaker
If that, if you start a new location, it tends to be pretty slow.
00:14:52
Speaker
And your free time, you're going to the clinics and talking to them, letting them know you're in the area.
00:14:57
Speaker
And most veterinary clinics are so happy that we are there for them.
00:15:01
Speaker
And surprisingly enough, within a few months, you might start seeing up to four or five appointments a day.
00:15:06
Speaker
It goes really quick.
00:15:09
Speaker
Word spreads.
00:15:10
Speaker
Yes, word spreads very quickly.
00:15:13
Speaker
And in Tampa, since we've been around in Tampa the longest, we are very busy here.
00:15:18
Speaker
I easily see four or five patients a day.
00:15:21
Speaker
It's incredible.
00:15:22
Speaker
And I actually want to come back to because I guess I'm focused probably just from my own experience on the euthanasia part of it.
00:15:29
Speaker
But you described the end of life and the sort of hospice care.
00:15:32
Speaker
So if they're not all these appointments that you're talking about, they're not all tragic appointments.
00:15:37
Speaker
It's not all euthanasia in home.
00:15:39
Speaker
So describe to me a little bit more about the hospice and the end of life, because I'm honestly, I'm
00:15:44
Speaker
It's terrible.
00:15:45
Speaker
I'm such a visual person, but I'm just imagining all these little graying old puppies, like, you know, with the little graying taches on these little, these little, um, yeah, like hobbling around.
00:15:56
Speaker
Geriatric animals are the cutest things ever.
00:15:59
Speaker
I think they, they just tug at my heart.
00:16:01
Speaker
That's probably one of the reasons I love what I do is old pets.
00:16:04
Speaker
I just think they're so sweet at the moment because of coronavirus, we are not advertising hospice because we try to stay,
00:16:13
Speaker
in the homes as short as possible.
00:16:14
Speaker
We're trying to keep distance and everything like that.
00:16:17
Speaker
But when we do offer, oh, and we also are offering telehealth right now.
00:16:21
Speaker
So we offer telemedicine advice.
00:16:23
Speaker
So if you're kind of in that position where you're like, I'm kind of not sure what I should do, you can schedule a telehealth advice and they'll talk to you about what you could potentially do with your pet via video chat.
End-of-Life Care and Telehealth Services
00:16:34
Speaker
When we're not in a pandemic, when we're not in a pandemic, we have about an hour to sit, we'll do a physical exam on your pet, and we'll kind of eyeball around the house too, because you'll be surprised how much you can do around your house to help your pet's comfort.
00:16:50
Speaker
We'll talk about your pet's specific condition.
00:16:52
Speaker
If there is a particular diagnosis, we do appreciate you having some records if you do.
00:16:58
Speaker
A lot of the times we don't.
00:16:59
Speaker
And we go from there.
00:17:00
Speaker
Every appointment is very unique.
00:17:02
Speaker
We will go over food, we will go over medications and the question, how do we medicate?
00:17:09
Speaker
Some pets don't even want to be medicated.
00:17:11
Speaker
My dog at home in Ireland picks out any pill, no matter what you give it to her, and will eat around everything and leave the pill.
00:17:19
Speaker
I don't know, how she does it?
00:17:20
Speaker
A marshmallow-like.
00:17:21
Speaker
That's impossible.
00:17:22
Speaker
I couldn't even do that.
00:17:24
Speaker
So when we leave, you are going to have to do the care at home when we leave, but we're available.
00:17:30
Speaker
Email is the best way to get a hold of us and we'll give you our information and everything if you have further questions and we check in on each other and everything like that.
00:17:36
Speaker
But one of the biggest things that I think I leave with people is not just, okay, this is what we're going to do to focus on the comfort and health of your pet, but we're going to
00:17:45
Speaker
When exactly do I say it's time to call you for euthanasia?
00:17:49
Speaker
That's the biggest question we get is when is it time?
00:17:52
Speaker
And so when we're there doing a hospice, we can actually sit down and talk about your pet's specific condition or situation.
00:18:00
Speaker
And although I'm not psychic, if I were psychic, I'd be making lots of money.
00:18:05
Speaker
But I can go over some specific situations that could happen.
00:18:10
Speaker
And I can give you an idea of what it looks like when a pet starts to decline.
00:18:16
Speaker
And when is that window of time to go ahead and say, okay, we need to schedule that euthanasia because that window of time is very gray for a lot of people.
00:18:25
Speaker
It's very rare that it comes like, oh my gosh, now's the time.
00:18:30
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:18:30
Speaker
Right now.
00:18:31
Speaker
I know.
00:18:32
Speaker
Usually if that happens, it's emergent.
00:18:34
Speaker
You have to rush them to an ER and that's scary.
00:18:37
Speaker
But sometimes...
00:18:39
Speaker
It's really slow and it's hard to recognize those changes.
00:18:43
Speaker
And so that's why we're there to let you know, okay, when you see these symptoms, you know, more than four or five times a week, we need to think about scheduling that appointment because we don't want it to get this bad.
00:18:54
Speaker
Yeah.
00:18:55
Speaker
Right.
00:18:55
Speaker
What a really bad situation is.
00:18:58
Speaker
We'll counsel you through that.
00:18:59
Speaker
We do our best to deal with every situation uniquely.
00:19:03
Speaker
You have to remember that death is like birth.
00:19:05
Speaker
You can have a birth plan, but Lord,
00:19:07
Speaker
We'll decide what happens that day.
00:19:10
Speaker
And it's the same with death.
00:19:12
Speaker
We do our best to prepare ourselves.
00:19:14
Speaker
But again, it's really up to the pet to decide when it's going to happen.
00:19:18
Speaker
It's always up to them.
00:19:19
Speaker
But we're always here.
00:19:20
Speaker
We answer the phones 7 a.m.
00:19:22
Speaker
to 11 p.m.
00:19:23
Speaker
Eastern time every day.
00:19:25
Speaker
We have wonderful people on the phone to answer and talk to you if you feel like you really need to speak with somebody.
00:19:31
Speaker
So we're here.
00:19:32
Speaker
Yeah, it's I mean, it really is a truly incredible service.
00:19:35
Speaker
I just wish.
00:19:37
Speaker
I mean, you're not in Ireland, I don't think anyway.
00:19:38
Speaker
So that's unfortunate.
00:19:40
Speaker
Not outside the US yet.
00:19:41
Speaker
Soon, soon.
00:19:43
Speaker
Yeah, soon.
00:19:44
Speaker
Because I just, yeah, it definitely would have, it would have just taken, as I said, I remember it.
00:19:51
Speaker
I remember every detail about it.
00:19:53
Speaker
Roxy had had multiple strokes.
00:19:55
Speaker
I'd actually just flown in from Cuba that morning and I remember looking at my mum's face and I knew there was something wrong straight away.
00:20:02
Speaker
And I remember we bundled her up into a car and took her to the vet.
00:20:05
Speaker
But I remember leaving my father and my brother behind, both crying their eyes out.
00:20:11
Speaker
And both very masculine men would not be shedding a tear very often at all.
00:20:17
Speaker
And they were both
00:20:19
Speaker
you know, crying their eyes out and, you know, me and my mum took her and it just would have been much nicer and much more comfortable.
00:20:27
Speaker
And I guess just not as horrific, you know, if you guys could have come to us as opposed to us go and put her on a, you know, lie her on a metal tray.
00:20:35
Speaker
And I mean, oh, I, yeah.
00:20:38
Speaker
But it's, I just think it's
Resources and Industry Insights
00:20:40
Speaker
incredible.
00:20:40
Speaker
And lapoflove.com is the website, right?
00:20:43
Speaker
Just in case anybody wants to know.
00:20:44
Speaker
Correct, yeah, lapoflove.com.
00:20:46
Speaker
And we also have pet loss support as well.
00:20:49
Speaker
Clicking through that website, you'll find that we have a support line and we also list other support lines if you're struggling with grief.
00:20:57
Speaker
So even if you didn't use our services, we try to put as much information on that website for you so that you can find help if you need it.
00:21:06
Speaker
So it's all there.
00:21:08
Speaker
the big website I think we're in the middle of actually trying to make it a little bit more user friendly information it's hard and as somebody who does her own websites it's a minefield as well because you know you're trying to put yourself in the users position but you're also trying to make everything
00:21:28
Speaker
look cohesive and make sense um so it is difficult I mean the whole internet and online is is a crazy thing what I also love about this business is that it was started by two women um so can you tell me a little bit about them did they have pets themselves what made them was it was it something missing that they saw an opportunity or how did that begin
00:21:50
Speaker
The idea originally started with Dr. Dani McVitie and she was doing emergency medicine.
00:21:56
Speaker
She had just graduated and a little dog came in and the lady said, can he stay in my lap while we euthanize?
00:22:04
Speaker
And she said, absolutely, absolutely, we'll do that.
00:22:07
Speaker
And it kind of just triggered her.
00:22:09
Speaker
The name Lap of Love came from that situation.
00:22:11
Speaker
They started getting phone calls of people who needed somebody to come to them either because they physically could not move the pet.
00:22:19
Speaker
That's a common call.
00:22:20
Speaker
Like it's too big.
00:22:21
Speaker
We can't move them.
00:22:23
Speaker
Or the cat is scared.
00:22:24
Speaker
The cat's not coming out from under the bed, but you don't want to touch them because they're in pain.
00:22:28
Speaker
It's a scary situation or the client themselves, the family for one reason or another cannot leave their home.
00:22:36
Speaker
So she started taking those calls.
00:22:38
Speaker
and realized I could do this and she went to school with Dr. Mary.
00:22:45
Speaker
Dr. Mary she's totally cool.
00:22:47
Speaker
Basically she's a software engineer.
00:22:48
Speaker
She's awesome.
00:22:49
Speaker
She does programming.
00:22:50
Speaker
She did that before she became a vet.
00:22:52
Speaker
So they tag team up and I swear Dr. Danny is a wonderful businesswoman.
00:22:57
Speaker
She just is she's very talented with it and then Dr. Mary took on
00:23:04
Speaker
programs.
00:23:05
Speaker
She helped with the website.
00:23:06
Speaker
We have electronic medical record that she did and then we revamped it a couple years ago.
00:23:13
Speaker
So she's just constantly doing all of the computer stuff and that's how our database works because of her.
00:23:21
Speaker
So they really made such a wonderful team.
00:23:24
Speaker
Dr. McVitie herself
00:23:26
Speaker
is a mom.
00:23:27
Speaker
And so she was doing vet school as a mom.
00:23:32
Speaker
She started out as a veterinarian as a mom.
00:23:35
Speaker
She started a brand new business as a mom.
00:23:38
Speaker
And so she obviously understands how a lot of us veterinarians who are
00:23:44
Speaker
like 80% women now, right?
00:23:45
Speaker
There's a lot of women in veterinary medicine now.
00:23:49
Speaker
We're taking over, guys.
00:23:52
Speaker
You're going to watch our generation really change veterinary medicine, and it already has.
00:24:01
Speaker
We are changing how we deal with employees.
00:24:05
Speaker
We're much more understanding about
00:24:07
Speaker
being parents, about needing, about taking care of elderly at home, because a lot of women in the United States end up taking care of elderly family members at home.
00:24:16
Speaker
So you're really watching veterinary medicine change because women are taking over.
00:24:20
Speaker
And so
00:24:21
Speaker
Dr. Mary and Dr. Danny really tag team well and then they got of course a whole crew of wonderful people together who've been with them a long time and then lots of veterinarians behind them after that.
00:24:32
Speaker
So that's how it definitely is.
00:24:35
Speaker
I think in any company it's who you surround yourself with and who's on the team.
00:24:40
Speaker
It's the people that make any company.
00:24:42
Speaker
I don't care what anybody says.
00:24:43
Speaker
You can have the Apple and the technology is amazing but really at the core it's the people behind it and
00:24:49
Speaker
that's what drives any company to be a success, I believe.
00:24:53
Speaker
Just, I mean,
00:24:56
Speaker
Question, you know, you just already said that you're not a fortune teller, but how do you see the industry, the pet grief industry and that side of what you do?
00:25:10
Speaker
How do you see it going in the future?
00:25:11
Speaker
Do you think people are going to start embracing more funerals and memorials for their pets?
00:25:17
Speaker
Is that going to become more of a thing or, you know, have you got any thoughts on that?
00:25:22
Speaker
Oh, absolutely.
00:25:23
Speaker
I think, and I think this actually goes along with more women taking over the pet veterinary medicine industry and our culture moving towards more and more people having pets at home.
00:25:37
Speaker
Especially thanks to COVID.
00:25:39
Speaker
Right, thanks to COVID.
00:25:40
Speaker
We're so welcome a dog in New York City to be fostered during COVID-19.
00:25:44
Speaker
I'm telling you now because I tried.
00:25:46
Speaker
It's been wonderful watching shelters actually become empty.
00:25:50
Speaker
It's a good thing.
00:25:51
Speaker
It's a good thing.
00:25:52
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:25:52
Speaker
Talk about heart swelling.
00:25:54
Speaker
People are choosing to have less children and therefore more pets and so yes, we are absolutely shifting over to pets being more family members and People are spending more money on their pets, you know, not just food and toys But also they're spending they're willing to spend more money for veterinary care meaning more people are wanting to ask the question Well, what about chemotherapy and pets?
00:26:16
Speaker
What about a hip replacement in my dog?
00:26:18
Speaker
People are willing to ask those questions and some are willing to actually financially move in that direction
00:26:24
Speaker
We're seeing more of that.
00:26:25
Speaker
And so absolutely, at least with Lap of Love, we are seeing an increase overall of use of our services and tons of positive reviews.
00:26:36
Speaker
And
00:26:37
Speaker
for general practice as well veterinarians who are doing regular appointments and everything they are also thanking us because they themselves have clients wanting us to do this at home more and more often and when it comes to aftercare so funeral services burials ashes that sort of thing there is absolutely an uptick in that as well i work with a wonderful crematory honor thy pet in tampa one of the oldest
00:27:06
Speaker
pet cremation services here in the area they're like three generations of family who own it and they are like at capacity they had to somehow buy a new cremation machine like and that's hard that's that's expensive and yeah permits space and so they are absolutely like
00:27:28
Speaker
at capacity right now and they also help with burials and so yeah i'm i'm seeing more my friends are seeing more the cremation industry is seeing more and i see that just to continue to grow as long as we continue bringing animals into the home yeah i have no wind in sight yeah i completely agree it's
00:27:49
Speaker
One of the things that irritated me over the last couple of years is, and I spoke about it on my TED talk, is the judgment of grief.
00:27:58
Speaker
I mean, just what you touched on there about people asking about chemotherapy for their dogs.
00:28:02
Speaker
I thankfully have not ever been in that position to even consider that.
00:28:07
Speaker
But I know myself, if I was sitting in front of a vet who maybe didn't broach the subject with me and I had heard of it from you, say, I'd
00:28:14
Speaker
I know I would probably say, okay, is this a stupid question?
00:28:18
Speaker
But is there such a thing as chemotherapy for dogs?
00:28:21
Speaker
I know I would.
00:28:22
Speaker
And I would feel like, you know, is that an appropriate thing to ask?
00:28:25
Speaker
I don't know.
00:28:27
Speaker
But I know my dogs are my life.
00:28:29
Speaker
And so it's interesting that whole idea of how we still feel judgment that the having a dog is not the same as having a child and
00:28:39
Speaker
And I'm not going to go into those comparisons now because I know that there's people who have very strong ideas on both, but I, and I'm sure you have, have been on the phone or in person holding somebody's hand for hours while they've cried about their dog and that, you know, they might've gone through a divorce and this was literally their last pal, their last friend in
Respecting Pet Grief
00:29:01
Speaker
the world.
00:29:01
Speaker
And it's devastating.
00:29:03
Speaker
It's absolutely devastating.
00:29:04
Speaker
And my one thing, and especially with this blog and I will always in life is ask
00:29:09
Speaker
any listeners and any anybody to just not judge anybody.
00:29:13
Speaker
It doesn't matter whether you're grieving the loss of a job, the loss of a partner, the loss of a human being, the loss of a pet.
00:29:19
Speaker
Your loss is your loss and you're allowed to have it.
00:29:22
Speaker
And it
00:29:23
Speaker
It shouldn't warrant judgment from anybody.
00:29:25
Speaker
I mean, we're such a judgmental world anyway.
00:29:28
Speaker
It's very difficult to get away from that.
00:29:30
Speaker
But when it comes to grief, oh, I'm just like, give it a break.
00:29:35
Speaker
Give us a break.
00:29:35
Speaker
When it comes to that, just stop.
00:29:39
Speaker
I'm going to ask you this, and I don't know how you're going to feel about it, but I'd like you, if you could, share with me one good and one
00:29:48
Speaker
potentially horror story that you've had in your career, if there is any.
00:29:52
Speaker
Oh my goodness, we would have to pour some alcoholic beverages and such.
00:29:58
Speaker
Well, that's what happened.
00:29:59
Speaker
Open to all.
00:30:00
Speaker
We've got some time.
00:30:02
Speaker
It is ruined by an Irish girl.
00:30:05
Speaker
I think I'll start with one that like everything just oh my gosh I was so embarrassed I'll start with the bad because that way end on a good note.
00:30:15
Speaker
Yeah that's it.
00:30:18
Speaker
It was when I first started with Lap of Love it was within the first month or so.
00:30:23
Speaker
And I was just a flustered disaster for some reason.
00:30:26
Speaker
I was.
00:30:27
Speaker
And I show up very late to this apartment complex.
00:30:30
Speaker
And apartment complexes are so difficult.
00:30:33
Speaker
This is like a 20-story apartment complex.
00:30:36
Speaker
So you have to find a way in.
00:30:37
Speaker
You have to go up all.
00:30:38
Speaker
It's communal.
00:30:40
Speaker
So, I mean, there's people in the elevator.
00:30:42
Speaker
And before coronavirus, we weren't socially distancing.
00:30:45
Speaker
Yeah.
00:30:45
Speaker
I'm so grateful for that on many levels.
00:30:48
Speaker
Yes, absolutely.
00:30:49
Speaker
People are like curious about what you're doing there.
00:30:51
Speaker
They see that you have a doctor bag.
00:30:53
Speaker
They see that you have a stethoscope.
00:30:54
Speaker
They see your name tag.
00:30:55
Speaker
And it's just like, oh my goodness, leave us alone.
00:30:58
Speaker
Okay.
00:30:59
Speaker
Yeah.
00:31:01
Speaker
And this particular situation, I was very grateful this person was not alone.
00:31:06
Speaker
He was really suffering and he was really struggling with his decision.
00:31:09
Speaker
This was a larger dog who...
00:31:13
Speaker
was slowly losing the ability to walk in his hind end.
00:31:16
Speaker
He was older and he was incontinent as well.
00:31:19
Speaker
And he was painful back there.
00:31:21
Speaker
And he was on medication and everything, but the pain was breaking through.
00:31:26
Speaker
that pain medication.
00:31:27
Speaker
And of course, because we don't deserve dogs, this dog, his tail was still wagging.
00:31:31
Speaker
He was still eating.
00:31:33
Speaker
But, you know, every time the owner wasn't there, he just, oh man, he really struggled.
00:31:38
Speaker
So he was putting on quite a performance for his owner.
00:31:41
Speaker
And I'm here to say that happened to me too.
00:31:44
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:31:45
Speaker
No one's alone in this.
00:31:47
Speaker
And
00:31:47
Speaker
He was an absolute mess and thankfully he had a friend there and his friend said, oh man, I just want to apologize for his grieving.
00:31:57
Speaker
You know, this has been his life.
00:31:59
Speaker
He actually like lost a lot of friends these past few years and this was his only dog.
00:32:04
Speaker
And I was like, oh my gosh, I understand it's perfectly fine.
00:32:07
Speaker
We'll go slow.
00:32:07
Speaker
We'll take it easy.
00:32:08
Speaker
But he was struggling so much.
00:32:09
Speaker
We had to call his mother and have his mother on the phone for him to get through this.
00:32:13
Speaker
And he was a very physical griever.
00:32:16
Speaker
So a lot of crying and
00:32:17
Speaker
I certainly walked away with tears and snot on me, but I'm used to it.
00:32:20
Speaker
I'm tearing up as you're telling me the story.
00:32:24
Speaker
But yeah, the euthanasia itself went very smoothly, and then I stepped away to give them some time to grieve like I always do.
00:32:33
Speaker
I went back down to the car.
00:32:36
Speaker
Oh my goodness, I just locked my keys in my car.
00:32:38
Speaker
No, I did not.
00:32:39
Speaker
And it was back when I had my, oh gosh, I had a 2005 Toyota Matrix.
00:32:45
Speaker
It was a wonderful old car, but it still had the manual ignition.
00:32:50
Speaker
And of course, I'm pretty sure my cell phone was in there.
00:32:53
Speaker
That was great.
00:32:56
Speaker
Oh my gosh.
00:32:56
Speaker
And it's dark out in this parking lot.
00:32:59
Speaker
I just let off a string of profanity because nobody else was around so I thought.
00:33:03
Speaker
And of course this man walks up and he's like, ma'am are you okay?
00:33:05
Speaker
And I was like, oh, hi.
00:33:06
Speaker
And I am so sorry.
00:33:09
Speaker
I apologized up and down for my behavior.
00:33:12
Speaker
I was just upset.
00:33:14
Speaker
I told him what had happened and what I was doing there and he said, you know, I kind of understand what you're going through.
00:33:20
Speaker
I'm a physician at the hospital over here.
00:33:23
Speaker
And I was like,
00:33:24
Speaker
Oh, thank God.
00:33:26
Speaker
I was so embarrassed.
00:33:27
Speaker
He, this guy actually called somebody a locksmith for me.
00:33:32
Speaker
I was so, so astounded by that.
00:33:34
Speaker
He was so sweet.
00:33:35
Speaker
He called a locksmith for me.
00:33:36
Speaker
He got somebody over there.
00:33:38
Speaker
Of course, at this point, I run myself back upstairs and let the, let the friend know, Hey, I apologize.
00:33:44
Speaker
It's going to be a,
00:33:45
Speaker
like 20 minutes before I have my stretcher back up here because I'm all by myself.
00:33:49
Speaker
I go to these appointments all by myself.
00:33:51
Speaker
It's dark in the middle of Tampa and oh it was it felt like it lasted forever.
00:33:59
Speaker
It felt like everything just went on and on and on and it really in the end it really didn't.
00:34:06
Speaker
It was still about an hour and the owner
00:34:08
Speaker
got plenty of time with his pet and was very grateful.
00:34:12
Speaker
But, oh my gosh, I was sweating.
00:34:14
Speaker
I was embarrassed.
00:34:16
Speaker
Oh my gosh, I was so, so, so nervous.
00:34:18
Speaker
That was probably, I don't think anything can possibly get worse than that.
00:34:23
Speaker
I'm actually laughing as I'm listening to this, Anna, because do you know what?
00:34:27
Speaker
That's me on a regular basis.
00:34:29
Speaker
The things that happen to me.
00:34:31
Speaker
It's just so embarrassing because they're upset and I just, oh, whew.
00:34:37
Speaker
thinking about it again I'm just so sad oh my gosh worst case situations or the best one best possible one oh gosh I don't even know and it's so hard to say best in these situations I would have to say I'll say my favorite my favorite thing people say a lot of things when they're grieving it can be quite surprising what they say it can be comical
00:34:57
Speaker
One of my favorite ones that I ever heard was a guy who was sitting there holding his dog crying and he said, this was the worst dog I ever had.
00:35:09
Speaker
And he was weeping over this dog and his wife sitting there like, I know, honey, he was terrible.
00:35:17
Speaker
And he's like, I don't know why I'm crying.
00:35:19
Speaker
I was like, that's because dogs are the best, even when they're the worst possible in our lives.
00:35:25
Speaker
This is what happens.
00:35:26
Speaker
We end up just weeping over them.
00:35:29
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:29
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:30
Speaker
Well, what is it?
00:35:30
Speaker
Isn't there that famous Marilyn Monroe quote?
00:35:33
Speaker
If you can't handle me at my worst, then you don't deserve me at my best.
00:35:37
Speaker
But that's not it.
00:35:37
Speaker
You can handle them at their worst.
00:35:39
Speaker
And they're better.
00:35:40
Speaker
I mean, they're better just beyond comprehension.
00:35:43
Speaker
They're just, they truly are.
00:35:44
Speaker
They're just...
00:35:46
Speaker
Oh, they're just your best friend.
00:35:49
Speaker
I mean, it's just, it really is incredible.
00:35:50
Speaker
To me, a house is not a home without a dog in it.
00:35:53
Speaker
Oh, absolutely.
00:35:53
Speaker
It feels very weird without, like, I always, I've had animals in my life.
00:35:58
Speaker
Always.
00:35:58
Speaker
I think, like, in school, when I went to college and I was in, I was in the dorms.
00:36:03
Speaker
Now, of course, you're not allowed to have a pet in the dorm, and I,
00:36:06
Speaker
I didn't feel right.
00:36:07
Speaker
I didn't feel right at all.
00:36:08
Speaker
I mean, I got a plant.
00:36:09
Speaker
That was nothing.
00:36:11
Speaker
I ended up sneaking a turtle into the, into the door because I needed something.
00:36:16
Speaker
Very good.
00:36:17
Speaker
Yeah.
00:36:17
Speaker
I, I, I'm in New York six years now and I don't, I haven't had a dog because I travel too much.
00:36:23
Speaker
I live on my own and I travel too much.
00:36:25
Speaker
So I, I can't, even though for the last year I have tried,
00:36:31
Speaker
I'm like, no, I'm going to, and it's, you know, the right one is going to come along and it's just going to make sense.
00:36:36
Speaker
And it doesn't matter.
00:36:36
Speaker
I'm just going to change my travels and I'm going to change my life and everything.
00:36:40
Speaker
And I've just got to have one and I've got to make it work because it's just coming home to an empty house.
00:36:45
Speaker
It's just not right.
00:36:46
Speaker
So I think that's probably why I go home to my own dog back in Ireland that lives with my parents.
00:36:50
Speaker
I go home to her or pre-COVID I did three or four times a year.
00:36:55
Speaker
And it's so funny.
00:36:56
Speaker
I FaceTime my parents and I'm like, yeah, can you just move, move?
00:36:59
Speaker
Hey, you're welcome.
00:37:01
Speaker
You know, I can't say if people could hear me because my mom tells me that apparently, you know, the FaceTime has a certain ringtone.
00:37:08
Speaker
When that phone rings, mom says, Poppy comes running in because she knows it's been on the phone because I'm the only one that FaceTimes my mom.
00:37:15
Speaker
So I'm like, my baby.
00:37:18
Speaker
Oh, they are.
00:37:18
Speaker
They're just, they really are the best.
00:37:20
Speaker
But I'm very excited because I'm potentially going to Florida.
00:37:23
Speaker
I've only been to Florida once in my life.
00:37:26
Speaker
and I did the Miami marathon 15 years ago and I'm never doing it again.
00:37:31
Speaker
So I need to go back to Florida and like attempt to see the rest of it.
00:37:35
Speaker
Tampa, I don't know if Tampa is potentially on our list, but we'll see.
00:37:38
Speaker
But I'm really intrigued now because I want to come by the head offices and maybe check it out and see what the crack is.
00:37:44
Speaker
Now, tell me this though, because my only previous knowledge of Tampa, is Magic Mike going to be working in the offices?
00:37:53
Speaker
I'm not sure.
00:37:55
Speaker
I'm calling in there.
00:37:56
Speaker
We'll have to do a check on that.
00:37:57
Speaker
We'll check the schedule.
00:37:59
Speaker
Make sure that he's the receptionist.
00:38:04
Speaker
Oh, that's it's it's terrible how we get all our information from the movies.
00:38:07
Speaker
But definitely find time to see manatees while you're here.
00:38:12
Speaker
I tell everybody if you're coming to Florida, see manatees.
00:38:15
Speaker
This is the only place you're going to find them.
00:38:18
Speaker
And you will just grin ear to ear like you cannot look at a manatee without smiling.
00:38:23
Speaker
And it.
00:38:24
Speaker
Oh, wow.
00:38:25
Speaker
OK, definitely.
00:38:26
Speaker
I'm going to have to.
00:38:26
Speaker
Well, you can send me a list because if I'm coming, I want I want the local list from top to toe.
00:38:32
Speaker
I'm a big fan of ticking off places and going to see them, but I, as much as possible, will try and get locals to give me the directions because it's like back home in Ireland, when people say they're coming to visit and I'm from Dublin, they say, oh, a Temple Bar.
00:38:45
Speaker
I'm like, no, don't go near a Temple Bar.
00:38:48
Speaker
Are you crazy?
00:38:49
Speaker
That's where all the tourists go.
00:38:50
Speaker
And they're like, but that's what I am.
00:38:51
Speaker
I'm like, exactly, don't go there.
Conclusion and Gratitude
00:38:54
Speaker
You'll pay 10 euros for a pint of Guinness and it won't be great.
00:38:59
Speaker
So it's always the locals is always the way to go, I think.
00:39:03
Speaker
But Anna, thank you so much.
00:39:06
Speaker
This was such a good interview.
00:39:07
Speaker
I mean, I could talk to you all day and probably ask some more.
00:39:10
Speaker
So if you're open to it, if I want to do another short one, maybe a follow up once I release this.
00:39:17
Speaker
As I often say to people when I'm signing off from them, I'm like, I hope I never see you again because you know, it's never good news.
00:39:26
Speaker
So I now get to say it to you, which is unusual for me.
00:39:32
Speaker
But yeah, thank you so much for taking the time with me today.
00:39:35
Speaker
Oh, you're very welcome.
00:39:36
Speaker
Thank you for thinking of me.
00:39:37
Speaker
No worries.
00:39:38
Speaker
And is there anything else?
00:39:39
Speaker
Do you want to add anything before I, we say goodbye or whatever?
00:39:42
Speaker
Do you need to know?
00:39:44
Speaker
website yeah our website is the best resource it has everything when I was in general practice I would use the lap of love website for my clients and so many so many clinics do so as well and so if you're curious click through it perfect all right super thank you so much my lovely I'll talk to you soon
00:40:13
Speaker
I hope you really enjoyed that.
00:40:14
Speaker
Some definitely interesting takeaways for sure.
00:40:18
Speaker
I just think what Lap of Love is providing is an incredible service.
00:40:23
Speaker
And if you haven't seen it yet, check out my TEDx talk.
00:40:26
Speaker
Search Jennifer Muldaney and grief is as unique as your heartbeat.
00:40:30
Speaker
It's also my website, theglamreaper.com.
00:40:33
Speaker
But let us know, what are your thoughts?
00:40:35
Speaker
Email us at theglamreaperpodcast at gmail.com.
00:40:38
Speaker
That's theglamreaperpodcast at gmail.com.