Episode 61: The silver lining of at-home end-of-life care

When Jersey shore native Suzanne Ellis, DVM, was scrolling through a veterinary Facebook group, she happened upon a comment that read, "3 years ago I joined Lap of Love—it was the best decision I ever made.” This intrigued her enough to not only do research on what Lap of Love was but to also leave her job of 20 years at a small animal practice—making the rest history.

In this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Ellis talks with Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, about the initial spark that led her to work at Lap of Love as a house-call veterinarian, plus shares the importance of promoting peaceful end-of-life transitions for patients.

“I wound up going to [Lap of Love’s] website just to even find out what that was and it kind of just snowballed from there," she said. “The more I learned about it, the more information I got…I [thought] this is really for me, I think this is what I want to do."

Ellis then shared the silver lining of this house call service for end-of-life care and the benefits it has for both clients and their pets.

“I really got to see the difference between [performing euthanasias] in someone’s house versus them coming to the clinic…there’s no comparison," said Ellis. "It’s so much nicer for people, it’s more private, it’s peaceful. The pets not upset or stressed out, the people aren’t because they can grieve in the privacy of their own home.”

Listen to the full podcast below to learn more about Ellis' journey into becoming a house-call veterinarian