| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Service |
| Founded | Lutz, Florida, USA 2009, incorporated 2011 |
| Number of locations | Operations in 37 states with over 350 veterinarians in total |
| Website | https://www.lapoflove.com/ |
Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice is a family-centered veterinary hospice and in-home animal euthanasia service, recognized as the first organized group of its kind in America. The company is a member of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care, and it operates in 37 states.
History
In 2009 Lap of Love was founded by Dr. Dani McVety, a graduate of University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, after spending several months working in a traditional veterinary emergency room and recognizing the growing demand for end-of-life services to be performed at home. Shortly thereafter, McVety teamed up with Dr. Mary Gardner, a fellow UF grad, with the hope of developing a model for pet hospice and at-home animal euthanasia services that could be taught to other veterinarians. Lap of Love was incorporated in 2011, and began offering franchises in 2012.
In 2015, the company was awarded the University of Florida Entrepreneurship Award, given by the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
Services
Animals seen by Lap of Love veterinarians are either geriatric or terminally ill patients. Hospice and palliative care includes phone and in-home consultations on a pet's appetite, hydration, mobility, wound care, and pain management. The company also offers an online Pet Hospice Journal which includes a quality of life scale, and a diary to help the pet owner track daily health issues. Should natural death not appear to be imminent when an animal is suffering or exhibiting signs of a degraded quality of life, pet owners may elect for at-home euthanasia services by Lap of Love veterinarians, and burial or cremation arranged through the company.
McVety and Gardner have authored several seminars and videos relating to the human-animal bond and compassionate medicine, and both have appeared nationally at public speaking engagements, including the 2012 North American Veterinary Conference.
References
- Manning, Sue (Dec 11, 2013). "Hospice care offered to ill pets, grieving owners". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- Richtell, Matt (Nov 30, 2013). "All Dogs May Go to Heaven. These Days, Some Go to Hospice". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- Soergel, Matt. "A death in the family: Saying goodbye to Ruby Ann, the family dog". Jacksonville.com. The Florida Times Union. Archived from the original on 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ Gavzer, Karyn (1 July 2011). "Pet hospice: Bridging the last stages of terminal illness and euthanasia". DVM Newsmagazine. No. 7. p. 34. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
- "Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice Receives University of Florida Entrepreneurship Award". PR Newswire (Press release). UBM Pic Company. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- "Families finding ways to comfort older dogs, cats". Click on Detroit. 25 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- "Lap of Love brings in-home pet hospice care to Renton". Renton Reporter. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- Lavin, Sean. "Vet puts dogs down at home instead of office". Click Orlando. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- "Veterinarians Serve Peaceful Passings For Pets In Comforts Of Home Through Hospice Euthanasia". CBS Los Angeles. March 4, 2014. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.