June 4, 2026 • 30 mins
One of the first signs that something is changing with an aging or ill pet often shows up at the food bowl. Maybe your pet is eating more slowly, turning away from foods they used to love, losing weight, or skipping meals altogether. And if you've ever stood in your kitchen worrying about whether your pet ate enough today — this episode is for you.
In this conversation, Karen and Gail explore one of the most emotionally loaded aspects of pet caregiving: feeding. Because for most of us, feeding our pets is one of the primary ways we show love. So when that changes, it doesn't just create worry — it can bring fear, guilt, helplessness, and grief.
But here's what Karen and Gail want you to know: nourishment is so much bigger than what's in the bowl.
In this episode, you'll hear:
- Why Karen and Gail chose the word nourishing over feeding — and what that distinction means for how we care for our pets through illness
- What a change in your pet's appetite is really telling you, and why it's about more than food
- How Gail adapted feeding for hundreds of animals at BrightHaven — from elevated plates to napkins on beds to "waitress service" for pets who couldn't come to their bowl
- The difference between assisted feeding and syringe feeding, and how to know when you've crossed the line from helping into forcing
- Why flexibility is one of the most important caregiving skills you can develop — and how to follow your pet's lead when what worked yesterday no longer works today
- The role of regular blood work in staying ahead of changes in your pet's needs
- How the LIVING Quality of Life Care Assessment tool can help you observe and track what's really happening across all six dimensions of your pet's well-being — not just food and water
- What Gail's experience accompanying her own mother through the end of her life taught her about appetite, decline, and letting go
- Gail's one piece of advice for every caregiver standing at the food bowl, worried: be kind — to your pet, and to yourself
This episode is the companion conversation to Karen and Gail's newest BrightHaven Caregiver Academy eBook, Nourishing Through Illness: Supporting Appetite, Comfort, and Care for Pets with Life-Changing Diagnoses, available now at the BCA shop at BrightPathForPets.com.
Whether your pet has a chronic condition, a difficult diagnosis, or is simply showing the signs of aging, this conversation will help you move from worry and frustration to greater confidence, flexibility, and peace of mind. 💜
📌 Related Resource:
- 📖 Nourishing Through Illness: Supporting Appetite, Comfort, and Care for Pets with Life-Changing Diagnoses - brightpathforpets.com/nourishing-through-illness
- 📖 The Pet Legacy & Lifetime Care Planning Workbook - brightpathforpets.com/pet-future-care-planning-workbook
- 📖 The BrightHaven Way: Lessons from 700 Animal Teachers PDF: https://brightpathforpets.com/brighthaven-way-book/
-
📖 Download the PEACEFUL Quality of Dying Guide: Signs of a Peaceful Passing at: https://brightpathforpets.com/resources-html/
-
📖 Walking The BrightPath: A Pet Parent’s Guide To Home Hospice And Natural Transition - https://brightpathforpets.com/blog/pet-hospice-guide
-
📖 Soul-Centered Care: Seeing Pet Death Differently A BrightPath TRANSITION Series Booklet - https://brightpathforpets.com/soul-centered-care-booklet/
🌹 Join our monthly Rose Ceremony (free online pet celebration): https://brightpathforpets.com/rose-ceremony/
💬 If this episode touched your heart, you’re not alone. The BrightHaven Caregivers’ Hub is our supportive membership community for pet parents navigating caregiving, anticipatory grief, and all the moments in between.
We gather to share stories, ask questions, and care for each other as we care for our animals. If you’re walking this path, we’d be honored to walk it with you.
🔗 Learn more about the Hub:
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome to Peace of Mind for Pet Parents, the podcast by BrightHaven Caregiver Academy.
I'm Gail Pope and I'm Karen Wylie and together we're here to support you in navigating life with your aging or ill pets.
We know how deeply you care for your beloved companions, and we're here to offer guidance, understanding, and resources for this meaningful journey.
(00:25):
Each episode we'll explore topics that address the daily challenges, emotional realities, and choices you face as a pet parent helping you and your pets find peace, comfort, and joy.
Whether it's making sense of a new diagnosis, adjusting to changing needs, or simply seeking a place to feel understood, you're not alone.
(00:47):
Thank you for being here with us.
Karen Wylie (00:50):
Hello and welcome to Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.
I'm Karen Wylie here as always with Gail Pope.
Today we're going to be talking about food and feeding our pets and our relationship with them.
Because one of the first signs of something changing with an aging or ill pet is often found at the food bowl.
(01:13):
Maybe they're eating more slowly than they used to or they're suddenly becoming picky about foods they always used to love, and they could be losing weight or skipping meals, or maybe they're starting to refuse food entirely.
So for most pet parents, feeding becomes one of the primary or is one of the primary ways that we express our love.
(01:34):
When their eating habits begin to change, then it can obviously trigger some worry and frustration, sometimes fear, sometimes feeling helpless to change it, and sometimes even guilt.
So today, we're going to talk about some of these challenges and how caregivers can navigate them with greater confidence and peace of mind because after all, that's the name of the podcast.
We're also excited because today's conversation is inspired by our newest BrightHaven Caregiver Academy e-book called "Nourishing Through Illness (01:57):
Supporting Appetite, Comfort, and Care for Pets with Life-Changing Diagnoses".
I had to make sure I was reading the words in order on the subtitle.
(02:17):
As Gail and I were creating this e-book, we realized that the conversation is, of course, much bigger than food.
We intentionally selected the word "Nourishing" rather than "Feeding", because nourishing involves so much more than calories and nutrition.
It involves comfort, our love, connection, our emotional wellbeing as well as theirs, and supporting the whole animal through whatever challenges they may be facing.
(02:48):
So Gail, as always, I'm going to give you first dibs on the first question, and that is when you hear the phrase nourishing through illness that we selected for this e-book, what does nourishment mean to you?
Gail Pope (03:02):
Good question.
I think I love, as you know I do, I love the title of the book.
The word "Nourishing" makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
For me, regardless of what we all choose to feed our animals as far as actual food goes, that's almost irrelevant because we're all very different from each other.
(03:22):
Some choose one kind of diet, some choose another.
So putting that aside, what we're nourishing when we're eating and feeding is body, mind, and spirit.
I think that's the direction that probably you want this conversation to go because it's so important.
If we aren't feeling nourished, if we can't offer nourishment then there's a very big gap missing in our lives and in their lives.
(03:48):
So as you said when an animal or a human is in a state of illness, decline, aging, appetite changes.
It's not only appetite for food, it's appetite for life.
So as those changes start to occur, that's when that old saying that I love comes in, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
(04:11):
So I think that's probably what this conversation is really all about and how we can help support our animals as we see these little changes.
What delightful little things can we do or offer them?
It could be as simple as a new toy.
It could be a little baby food treat.
It could be treats in all manner of direction.
(04:31):
It could be instead of one walk a day, it could be two short walks a day.
Stopping to smell the roses a little more often perhaps.
Karen Wylie (04:39):
Absolutely.
What do you think caregivers might misunderstand most about feeding a pet that has some kind of a life-changing diagnosis?
Gail Pope (04:49):
That's a good question and I think it's something that we're all guilty of.
Again, I have to make the parallel with the world of human care and the world of animal care because we are so focused even in general illness.
If a person stops eating or gets really picky and just doesn't feel hungry, we worry.
(05:11):
We panic.
They may not even be approaching the end of life.
It's, "Haven't you eaten today?
Hasn't he eaten today?
Oh, you've got to give him a treat.
You need to do this…" and sometimes it isn't about that.
We all have those times when we are declining and I think the first step for us is to step back, take a deep breath, let go, and think, "What can I do to help him feel better?" And it's not necessarily that food for the stomach.
(05:40):
It may be food for the soul.
Karen Wylie (05:42):
Oh, I love what you're saying.
We need to go back and edit the e-book another time and include some of these new phrasings that you're using.
Gail Pope (05:51):
It's true.
You know, when you're thinking literally about something, you write it as you're thinking it.
But in a conversation like this, it's opening it up to a deeper level.
It really is.
As I said, we do focus on food for good health and then we enlarge it.
Food for good health and for happiness.
(06:12):
And let's face it, we know as humans we all eat different stuff.
Some people are very careful about it.
But I know if I've had a really good meal that I enjoy, it makes me feel happy.
But, that really isn't the answer because food may make me feel uncomfortable later on when my stomach says, "I've just had too much of that." You can't gauge it that way, can you, really?
Karen Wylie (06:35):
No.
The whole person, the whole pet remembers.
There we go.
Gail Pope (06:39):
Yes, exactly.
Karen Wylie (06:41):
Feeding changes or maybe a better way to phrase it is the changes in our pet's interest in food or consumption of food is often one of the first signs that we as caregivers take notice of.
Something that we understand that it could be worrisome and is something that may very much require that we make some changes, or we at least consider we might need to make change and to observe very carefully what continues to go on.
(07:10):
So as pets age and become ill, how does feeding become one of the first places where caregivers realize that their role has changed, that they are moving from being a pet parent enjoying day-to-day life with everything as usual to becoming a caregiver?
Gail Pope (07:30):
Well, that's right up my alley because I think all the years at the sanctuary with animals at all stages of life, or maybe not the very young generally but animals who were aging, animals who actually had an illness or a disability.
A disability or let's say an inability, I'm not sure how to express what I'm thinking, to eat can be as simple as they may need to have their plate elevated because us old folk can't bend down quite as easily.
(08:01):
So they may need the plate elevated or a different size plate or cats hate getting their whiskers caught on the side of a plate.
So those are all things that we can do to help them.
I'm just thinking, I used to have a trolley with a piece of top ledge that had food and plates and treats and all sorts on.
Then generally it started off as a place to put empty plates on the bottom but then I ended up putting blankets in it because there was always a cat or two or a dog that wanted to actually sit in the bottom or eat in the bottom.
(08:33):
But I'm just picturing myself going around the sanctuary with the trolley and having to think about each animal that was waiting.
The animals didn't generally all come to me.
They got very used to waitress service, so I would wheel.
They'd be in the bedroom or here or in the bathroom.
But being very aware of how to feed each particular one and so I used to have an array of various things that even a large can of food.
(08:59):
Although I didn't use it, I would have those on the cart because that would be a perfect way to elevate a plate.
I'd have smaller ones for cats that just needed to do that, and then higher ones maybe for a dog that couldn't bend down so much.
I could put their bowl or plate on top, and then they could access it more easily.
Then there'd be those that were eating in bed or that were lying in bed.
(09:20):
They'd be, "Oh, Yes, I'm here." I'm not going to make them get out and come to eat.
So I would go to them.
I would place a napkin on their bed, as one would in a restaurant, and put their plate on there so that they could reach it in the nicest way.
So I think, again, it's looking into the human world and how we adapt to our loved ones as they get older.
(09:43):
We go with their habits and do what we need to.
Sometimes you don't want to go and sit up at the table and eat formally when you're old and tired, and you sit on the couch with your dinner on your lap.
It's that same kind of idea, isn't it?
It's just watching and feeling their needs because they haven't come for dinner doesn't mean they don't want dinner.
(10:04):
So where is he?
What's he doing?
And he may be just still in bed going, "Oh, I'd really like my dinner. Could you bring it here?"
Karen Wylie (10:13):
And you always did.
Gail Pope (10:15):
Of course.
Karen Wylie (10:15):
I remember seeing those photos of you at your trolley with all your bowls and your options and everything else.
I think I don't remember what page we put it on but we did include at least one of those in "The BrightHaven Way" book because I know that was a multiple-time daily kind of activity for you.
So our animals are always communicating with us in various ways if we are willing to observe and then begin to notice what to observe.
(10:44):
So what do you feel their feeding behavior, their eating behavior can tell us about what a pet may be experiencing?
Gail Pope (10:52):
I have to think about that a little.
Actually my mind was still on the previous conversation a little bit because as part of that, I was thinking one of the important things is time and company.
Because when an animal is in some kind of general state of decline and we're watching carefully, one of the things that we might notice is they're eating more slowly or they're eating much less.
(11:17):
Meaning we might need to perhaps instead of feeding them twice a day, we may want to add lunch.
We always have the lunch cart that went round for those and there were some who would be like, "No way. You're not having lunch." But, you have to adapt to them and part of that isn't being the waitress, it's being with them, taking time.
(11:39):
Not just, "Here's your lunch," and walking off.
Let's just sit and be together, and that way you do absorb, " Is he feeling a bit nauseous?
Why didn't he eat?
Why did he only eat half his dinner and he only ate half of it?
Oh, but look, he's out in the garden chasing a bird at the moment."
Just getting a sense on what's going on.
Is it an inner illness of some sort?
(12:01):
Again, body, mind, and spirit.
What is going on?
Not jumping to conclusions but just watching it may be that a trip to the vet for an update of blood work may be important because it's part of a picture that you're developing.
It may not be necessarily all about food.
Karen Wylie (12:20):
What my vet has emphasized in recent years is how important it is when you do have a diagnosis of some sort on a pet.
Let's say Stage 1 or 2 kidney disease, just as an example, that having blood work every few months allows your vet to view what's happening inside the body.
(12:41):
There are things that can be done earlier rather than waiting until whatever the change is shown on the external body of your pet.
That's something she's emphasized frequently with my pets and I think that becomes an important thing to have that check-in and to consider having the blood work.
Because there's just so much when it comes to feeding.
(13:04):
When our pets are younger and when they're in good health and very robust and every aspect of their life and their life with us seems perfect and no worries.
We're putting the water down.
We're putting the food bowl down.
It becomes very mechanical and 90 seconds later the bowl is empty, "Okay, good".
(13:26):
It really changes when we are aware that a pet has some kind of condition to just keep an eye on.
It could be that even after their blood work shows something and the vet makes a note of it for you and to you, there's still no change at home but at some point there could be.
That's where the observation's exactly like you're describing, Gail.
(13:47):
Did they finish the bowl or did they go away for a little while and come back and finish it?
Did they eat it quickly or do they even struggle to reach the bowl like you were talking about some of the pets that were in their beds and you were serving them, as you should.
Gail Pope (14:02):
Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you but I just, you know me, if I think of something I have to say it.
Karen Wylie (14:06):
Go for it.
Go for it.
Gail Pope (14:07):
I was just thinking, again, when you do some follow-up blood work here and there and it gives you a little more information perhaps about the thyroid or the kidneys.
It allows you to decide on maybe adding a new supplement to the food or not adding something that you were giving before.
So it allows you to work with the animal's diet, to make it a little more balanced and friendly.
(14:32):
It may be that it doesn't make any difference but sometimes it can really be helpful.
Sometimes you add a supplement thinking, "Oh my gosh, this is perfect. That's exactly what he needs," and he looks at his plate, sniffs it and goes, "Are you serious? There is no way I'm eating this." So then you have to be—
Karen Wylie (14:48):
"But it's good for you. It's good for you. Eat it."
Gail Pope (14:52):
And then you have to be a bit more innovative as to how you are going to actually have them to take this particular supplement.
Of course, there are all sorts of tricks and trades there.
Karen Wylie (15:02):
Yes and of course then you're bringing up one of the real challenges for any of us in a caregiving situation is when we have identified something we feel they need and maybe the vet has recommended and said they need but they want nothing to do with it.
Then it's like you can get into such a power struggle with your pet.
So much for that wholistic relationship you have because you are affecting it greatly.
Gail Pope (15:28):
Oh, yes.
Karen Wylie (15:29):
So of course many caregivers become frustrated when their pets who loved a particular food yesterday are suddenly refusing it today.
So why do you see flexibility as becoming such an important part in caregiving for our pets?
Gail Pope (15:45):
Again, look at the world of humans.
We have to be flexible with our own selves as well as our family members when they get into a situation like that.
We have to literally go with the flow because if the appetite is changing, we have to change with it.
Or sometimes with our animals, we can make a little change to the diet.
(16:06):
We can maybe add a little baby food or something like that, or chicken liver powder, and their ears perk up and they go, "Oh my gosh." I think maybe the sense of smell for an animal is probably the most important thing.
If they smell something good, that is going to encourage them.
If they continue eating and go, "Ugh, I thought that was going to be wonderful but now it's not," okay, that's not going to work.
(16:27):
We just have to be magicians, as it were, and figure out what's needed.
If they're getting close to the end of life and they really don't want to eat, we have to honor that.
Of course, there are tricks and obvious things that we can change, as we do with humans.
Because the appetite doesn't generally just stop, it declines and changes here and there.
So we have to ebb and flow with it.
(16:50):
It's hard being a caregiver.
Karen Wylie (16:52):
Yes, it is because whatever worked last month or last week or even yesterday may not work today.
Gail Pope (16:58):
Exactly.
Karen Wylie (16:58):
That just really underscores, I think the importance of observing your pet and making notes.
That's of course why we have developed "The Living Quality of Life Care Assessment" tool, to guide your observations.
Because food and water are only one out of the six dimensions that we focus on in the Living tool.
(17:20):
We're also looking at love and connection and your pet's mobility, vitality and joy, the environment they're in.
And how the two of you are adapting to changes like what we're talking about today when the amount of food or the type of food that they want to eat is changing.
Gail Pope (17:37):
You just summed it up again as body, mind, and spirit.
It all comes back to that, not focusing on one particular thing but in general life itself.
Maybe a walk in the garden or I always found towards the end of life, particularly for dogs, having a stroller or something to get a little fresh air.
Mother Nature welcomes us old folk when we're declining.
(17:59):
I think cats and dogs are the same.
Getting out in nature a little bit as best you can is nourishment for the body as well as the mind and the soul.
It really offers nourishment.
Karen Wylie (18:11):
It does emphasize there, I think, how flexible we need to become because food can be one of the primary ways we express love to humans in our life as well as our pets.
Then when there's a disruption in that process, the feeding process becomes worrisome or stressful.
Finding other ways to love, to care, and to nourish the spirit becomes so much more important, as you're saying.
Gail Pope (18:38):
They absolutely do.
Karen Wylie (18:39):
Now in the ebook we have made a distinction between assisted feeding and syringe feeding.
So how do caregivers know the difference between helping and forcing a food?
Gail Pope (18:51):
I think the word "Force" actually sums it up, doesn't it?
This is actually something that I became more and more concerned about, I think, as I learned more and more as animals taught me more and more.
Because if an animal's had surgery and they're in recovery and you need to help them to eat, and sometimes with some illnesses you have to force food.
(19:13):
You do it gently and as instructed but you do have to help them to eat.
Sometimes a feeding tube may be used.
But the area of the age, the ability that we're discussing today, it's more about aiding and not forcing.
It's something that I've seen, gosh, I must have assisted fed an awful lot of animals in my time.
Karen Wylie (19:38):
700 of them, I believe.
Gail Pope (19:39):
Yes, because the thing is, you can do it in so many ways.
You can have the food and you put it on your finger, put it on a spoon and they can lick it.
Small dogs, big dogs, cats, they all have a preference for what they might like.
Sometimes, again, it comes back to smell.
Say you dip your finger in some baby food and you offer it to them and they go, "Get a little closer." And once they smell it, it could be, "Oh, that's interesting."
(20:05):
Sometimes, particularly in older age, you rub a little on the gum.
You'll get a reaction there as, again, "Ooh, yes, where's the plate?" Because the sense of smell is so important to them.
Then the sense of taste as well can come into play.
So remembering those things but going gently, not trying to force them to take it.
(20:27):
Obviously, syringe feeding is where we come into the picture here, and I've done so much syringe feeding.
I think that's where it can be a problem because some people think, "If I'm going to syringe feed him, okay, I've filled up my syringe. Now I'm going to put it in his mouth and I'm going to squeeze it." And they force it.
You don't need to do that.
Again, you can just syringe a little bit in the side of the mouth and once they get used to it, "Oh!", they lick and swallow.
(20:53):
They'll come forward and look for more.
I know we've got all sorts of videos stored away.
There's a video I'm thinking of Daisy, when she was nearing the end of life.
Actually, we had a different trolley.
She was actually unable to walk, so she was up at waist level, so she was with everybody.
She used to just lean forward, open her mouth, and it's like she would almost be laughing and smiling.
(21:14):
We'd just very gently "syringe, syringe", just a little at a time.
She would be in absolute heaven.
She was perfectly fine with that.
We were not forcing her to eat but allowing her to choose to have the food that way.
Karen Wylie (21:26):
So funny as you're describing that.
We probably have that video on the BrightHaven YouTube channel, BrightHaven Animals.
We'll check on that and see if we have a part of that available for people to see.
Because you're reminding me of my own experiences with some cats in particular where they would actually like being syringe fed.
Just providing it a little bit at a time.
(21:48):
And with kids, "Here's the airplane coming into the hangar." And make a little game of it.
It was the same kind of thing with several of my cats.
They understood that we're just taking a little bit of a rest after each time and that would help.
This also reminds me of one of my vets that was so wonderful, Jack.
I guess I was trying to get somebody back into regular eating after a surgery, and he said, "Hansel and Gretel. Do the Hansel and Gretel method." He said he would just put little pieces of food, whether it's wet or dry.
(22:22):
Little pieces that they have to be intrigued by because they're more like, "Oh, there's one. Where's the next?"
Just kind of, get that spirit again going in them as opposed to feeling it being forced upon them.
So I always found that to be, again, part of nourishing the spirit is trying to get them back to feeling more like themselves as best you can.
(22:44):
Now in general, Gail, what have the animals themselves taught you about feeding, appetite, comfort, and choice?
Gail Pope (22:52):
Respect.
I think that's one word that comes to mind.
Balance.
I was going to say allowing them to lead the way but as with children, you can't necessarily allow them to lead it all the way.
And follow your heart, follow your heart.
Let go of that "humanness" which dictates that we have to and they have to and this is what you must eat and this is how you must eat it and when.
(23:14):
Just going with the flow so that they don't feel it's a forced experience, whether you're actually helping them to eat.
I think it's keeping dinner time as a happy time.
Rather than something that you have to plan for or worry about.
In general life, we look forward to eating our breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
We don't worry about it.
We worry maybe about whether we're going to have enough or if we've got what we might make.
(23:39):
So taking that same feeling to feeding our animals so there's a joy.
There's an anticipation.
And if they don't eat, then it's okay, let it go.
If they eat some, that's all right.
Karen Wylie (23:52):
They don't have to eat every day.
They could take a little bit of time off and still be okay.
Gail Pope (23:57):
Absolutely!
Karen Wylie (23:58):
And that's an important piece of it too, is to not panic when it happens the first time or occasionally.
Just go with the flow, as you're describing.
But also, just to underscore, and this goes back to what you were last talking about in terms of the assisted feeding or the syringe feeding, is just like with humans there may come a time when feeding them can make a situation worse.
(24:22):
So offering them the food is always what we should be doing, and never forcing the food down.
Gail Pope (24:30):
Yes.
Karen Wylie (24:30):
And I don't know that we said those words exactly but it's important whether you're supporting a human as a caregiver or a pet.
Gail Pope (24:37):
It comes back to how hard it is to be human and to accompany a human who is ill or approaching end of life is just as difficult because we want them to eat, because eating for us is living.
As a being of any sort approaches older or the end of life, their appetite changes and it does decline.
(25:01):
I remember when my mom was reaching the last chapter of her life, I could see very clearly how her appetite… She still liked the same foods.
She still loved the same food but she didn't eat as much, she wasn't as social.
At the time, I don't think I actually realized these things.
It was only looking back afterwards.
You can see how we all very gradually, what's the expression I would use for that?
(25:27):
We just gradually wind down.
I'm sure there's a better way of saying it but everything is a little less and a little less.
It can be so beautiful and easy.
But again, with my mum, when it got to the point she was bed-bound, she was getting very close to the end of her life.
I was worried.
I was panic-stricken because she didn't want to eat.
(25:47):
I was doing everything I could to find things that she might enjoy.
I'd been doing the work with my animals for a long time but I still found myself like, "Oh my God, she's got to have something to eat." It's ridiculous but we know we are only human.
Karen Wylie (26:01):
We're only human and we do understand that food is life.
Maintaining a certain weight, maintaining tissue integrity, hydration which we haven't focused on in our discussion today but of course that's part of nourishment as well— monitoring that.
This e-book, just for anyone that has an interest in this title, this e-book includes a section on advanced and terminal illness.
(26:25):
But we intentionally didn't create a detailed guide to feeding a pet who is in serious decline or dying because we're going to be creating a resource specifically dedicated on that phase of life where we need to make different choices.
Only one more question for you, my dear.
(26:45):
If there's one— yes, I know, you're, "Get out the wine."
Gail Pope (26:50):
Can I go now?
Karen Wylie (26:52):
No, not yet.
Not yet.
If there's one thing that you hope a caregiver would remember the next time they're standing in the kitchen worrying about their pet who isn't eating the way they used to, what would you want them to remember?
What would you want them to know?
Gail Pope (27:08):
That's a really easy question, isn't it?
I haven't got a clue.
The words "Be Kind" come to mind, and I'm not quite sure why.
I guess to be kind to yourself.
Obviously, we're going to be kind to our animal.
I think if we can be kind to ourselves in the understanding that love is all that really matters and hold onto that, then everything else can flow.
(27:32):
We can let go of some of that worry and fear and anguish that, as a parent, it's hard to escape.
I'm sure we never can because we are going to worry about our children.
Karen Wylie (27:43):
Always going to worry.
I think what you were mentioning a little earlier about respect for the animal and their needs, their wants, their choices that they're making or not making.
At some point our relationship that we have with them requires us to recognize and respect where they are.
Gail Pope (28:02):
And again, honoring the other doctor in the room, Mother Nature.
Mother Nature has a way of leading us through illness, of leading us through the different phases of life and love.
Karen Wylie (28:14):
All of it.
Gail Pope (28:15):
Yes.
Karen Wylie (28:16):
Thank you, my dear, as always.
Thank you to everyone who joined us today.
If there's one thing that runs through today's conversation, it's that caregiving is a continual process of adaptation and observation.
Our pets change, their needs change, and our caregiving needs to change, too.
Nourishment is about much more than food.
(28:38):
It's about supporting the whole pet, the whole caregiver, and the relationship the two of you have.
So sometimes nourishment does come through a meal, we have established that or a favorite treat.
But sometimes it does come from a gentle touch or just sitting with them or taking them out in a special way so even if they can't walk a half a mile anymore, they can still enjoy their time out with you.
So if today's conversation resonated with you, we hope our new BrightHaven Caregiver Academy e-book, "Nourishing Through Illness (29:01):
Supporting Appetite, Comfort, and Care for Pets with Life-Changing Diagnoses" is available now at the BCA website shop at BrightPathForPets.com.
(29:21):
Inside you will find more practical guidance, a lot of reflection questions to think about how your pet's doing with food and your own relationship with your pet and how you're handling any changes you're making.
Of course, just a few caregiving insights drawn from decades of experience with aging, chronically ill, or terminally ill pets.
(29:42):
And so with that, I will say thank you for being with us, and we'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
Gail Pope (29:47):
Goodbye.
Thank you for joining us on Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.
We hope today's episode has offered you support and insight as you care for your aging or ill pets.
Remember, it's not just about the end.
It's about living well at every stage of life.
To continue your journey with us, explore more resources at BrightHaven Caregiver Academy's website— BrightPathForPets.com, where you'll find guides, assessments, and a caring community of pet parents like you.
(30:24):
Until next time, may you and your pets find comfort, connection, and peace in every moment.
Take care.
Welcome to Peace of Mind for Pet Parents, the podcast by BrightHaven Caregiver Academy.
I'm Gail Pope and I'm Karen Wylie and together we're here to support you in navigating life with your aging or ill pets.
We know how deeply you care for your beloved companions, and we're here to offer guidance, understanding, and resources for this meaningful journey.
(00:25):
Each episode we'll explore topics that address the daily challenges, emotional realities, and choices you face as a pet parent helping you and your pets find peace, comfort, and joy.
Whether it's making sense of a new diagnosis, adjusting to changing needs, or simply seeking a place to feel understood, you're not alone.
(00:47):
Thank you for being here with us.
Karen Wylie (00:50):
Hello and welcome to Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.
I'm Karen Wylie here as always with Gail Pope.
Today we're going to be talking about food and feeding our pets and our relationship with them.
Because one of the first signs of something changing with an aging or ill pet is often found at the food bowl.
(01:13):
Maybe they're eating more slowly than they used to or they're suddenly becoming picky about foods they always used to love, and they could be losing weight or skipping meals, or maybe they're starting to refuse food entirely.
So for most pet parents, feeding becomes one of the primary or is one of the primary ways that we express our love.
(01:34):
When their eating habits begin to change, then it can obviously trigger some worry and frustration, sometimes fear, sometimes feeling helpless to change it, and sometimes even guilt.
So today, we're going to talk about some of these challenges and how caregivers can navigate them with greater confidence and peace of mind because after all, that's the name of the podcast.
We're also excited because today's conversation is inspired by our newest BrightHaven Caregiver Academy e-book called "Nourishing Through Illness (01:57):
Supporting Appetite, Comfort, and Care for Pets with Life-Changing Diagnoses".
I had to make sure I was reading the words in order on the subtitle.
(02:17):
As Gail and I were creating this e-book, we realized that the conversation is, of course, much bigger than food.
We intentionally selected the word "Nourishing" rather than "Feeding", because nourishing involves so much more than calories and nutrition.
It involves comfort, our love, connection, our emotional wellbeing as well as theirs, and supporting the whole animal through whatever challenges they may be facing.
(02:48):
So Gail, as always, I'm going to give you first dibs on the first question, and that is when you hear the phrase nourishing through illness that we selected for this e-book, what does nourishment mean to you?
Gail Pope (03:02):
Good question.
I think I love, as you know I do, I love the title of the book.
The word "Nourishing" makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
For me, regardless of what we all choose to feed our animals as far as actual food goes, that's almost irrelevant because we're all very different from each other.
(03:22):
Some choose one kind of diet, some choose another.
So putting that aside, what we're nourishing when we're eating and feeding is body, mind, and spirit.
I think that's the direction that probably you want this conversation to go because it's so important.
If we aren't feeling nourished, if we can't offer nourishment then there's a very big gap missing in our lives and in their lives.
(03:48):
So as you said when an animal or a human is in a state of illness, decline, aging, appetite changes.
It's not only appetite for food, it's appetite for life.
So as those changes start to occur, that's when that old saying that I love comes in, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
(04:11):
So I think that's probably what this conversation is really all about and how we can help support our animals as we see these little changes.
What delightful little things can we do or offer them?
It could be as simple as a new toy.
It could be a little baby food treat.
It could be treats in all manner of direction.
(04:31):
It could be instead of one walk a day, it could be two short walks a day.
Stopping to smell the roses a little more often perhaps.
Karen Wylie (04:39):
Absolutely.
What do you think caregivers might misunderstand most about feeding a pet that has some kind of a life-changing diagnosis?
Gail Pope (04:49):
That's a good question and I think it's something that we're all guilty of.
Again, I have to make the parallel with the world of human care and the world of animal care because we are so focused even in general illness.
If a person stops eating or gets really picky and just doesn't feel hungry, we worry.
(05:11):
We panic.
They may not even be approaching the end of life.
It's, "Haven't you eaten today?
Hasn't he eaten today?
Oh, you've got to give him a treat.
You need to do this…" and sometimes it isn't about that.
We all have those times when we are declining and I think the first step for us is to step back, take a deep breath, let go, and think, "What can I do to help him feel better?" And it's not necessarily that food for the stomach.
(05:40):
It may be food for the soul.
Karen Wylie (05:42):
Oh, I love what you're saying.
We need to go back and edit the e-book another time and include some of these new phrasings that you're using.
Gail Pope (05:51):
It's true.
You know, when you're thinking literally about something, you write it as you're thinking it.
But in a conversation like this, it's opening it up to a deeper level.
It really is.
As I said, we do focus on food for good health and then we enlarge it.
Food for good health and for happiness.
(06:12):
And let's face it, we know as humans we all eat different stuff.
Some people are very careful about it.
But I know if I've had a really good meal that I enjoy, it makes me feel happy.
But, that really isn't the answer because food may make me feel uncomfortable later on when my stomach says, "I've just had too much of that." You can't gauge it that way, can you, really?
Karen Wylie (06:35):
No.
The whole person, the whole pet remembers.
There we go.
Gail Pope (06:39):
Yes, exactly.
Karen Wylie (06:41):
Feeding changes or maybe a better way to phrase it is the changes in our pet's interest in food or consumption of food is often one of the first signs that we as caregivers take notice of.
Something that we understand that it could be worrisome and is something that may very much require that we make some changes, or we at least consider we might need to make change and to observe very carefully what continues to go on.
(07:10):
So as pets age and become ill, how does feeding become one of the first places where caregivers realize that their role has changed, that they are moving from being a pet parent enjoying day-to-day life with everything as usual to becoming a caregiver?
Gail Pope (07:30):
Well, that's right up my alley because I think all the years at the sanctuary with animals at all stages of life, or maybe not the very young generally but animals who were aging, animals who actually had an illness or a disability.
A disability or let's say an inability, I'm not sure how to express what I'm thinking, to eat can be as simple as they may need to have their plate elevated because us old folk can't bend down quite as easily.
(08:01):
So they may need the plate elevated or a different size plate or cats hate getting their whiskers caught on the side of a plate.
So those are all things that we can do to help them.
I'm just thinking, I used to have a trolley with a piece of top ledge that had food and plates and treats and all sorts on.
Then generally it started off as a place to put empty plates on the bottom but then I ended up putting blankets in it because there was always a cat or two or a dog that wanted to actually sit in the bottom or eat in the bottom.
(08:33):
But I'm just picturing myself going around the sanctuary with the trolley and having to think about each animal that was waiting.
The animals didn't generally all come to me.
They got very used to waitress service, so I would wheel.
They'd be in the bedroom or here or in the bathroom.
But being very aware of how to feed each particular one and so I used to have an array of various things that even a large can of food.
(08:59):
Although I didn't use it, I would have those on the cart because that would be a perfect way to elevate a plate.
I'd have smaller ones for cats that just needed to do that, and then higher ones maybe for a dog that couldn't bend down so much.
I could put their bowl or plate on top, and then they could access it more easily.
Then there'd be those that were eating in bed or that were lying in bed.
(09:20):
They'd be, "Oh, Yes, I'm here." I'm not going to make them get out and come to eat.
So I would go to them.
I would place a napkin on their bed, as one would in a restaurant, and put their plate on there so that they could reach it in the nicest way.
So I think, again, it's looking into the human world and how we adapt to our loved ones as they get older.
(09:43):
We go with their habits and do what we need to.
Sometimes you don't want to go and sit up at the table and eat formally when you're old and tired, and you sit on the couch with your dinner on your lap.
It's that same kind of idea, isn't it?
It's just watching and feeling their needs because they haven't come for dinner doesn't mean they don't want dinner.
(10:04):
So where is he?
What's he doing?
And he may be just still in bed going, "Oh, I'd really like my dinner. Could you bring it here?"
Karen Wylie (10:13):
And you always did.
Gail Pope (10:15):
Of course.
Karen Wylie (10:15):
I remember seeing those photos of you at your trolley with all your bowls and your options and everything else.
I think I don't remember what page we put it on but we did include at least one of those in "The BrightHaven Way" book because I know that was a multiple-time daily kind of activity for you.
So our animals are always communicating with us in various ways if we are willing to observe and then begin to notice what to observe.
(10:44):
So what do you feel their feeding behavior, their eating behavior can tell us about what a pet may be experiencing?
Gail Pope (10:52):
I have to think about that a little.
Actually my mind was still on the previous conversation a little bit because as part of that, I was thinking one of the important things is time and company.
Because when an animal is in some kind of general state of decline and we're watching carefully, one of the things that we might notice is they're eating more slowly or they're eating much less.
(11:17):
Meaning we might need to perhaps instead of feeding them twice a day, we may want to add lunch.
We always have the lunch cart that went round for those and there were some who would be like, "No way. You're not having lunch." But, you have to adapt to them and part of that isn't being the waitress, it's being with them, taking time.
(11:39):
Not just, "Here's your lunch," and walking off.
Let's just sit and be together, and that way you do absorb, " Is he feeling a bit nauseous?
Why didn't he eat?
Why did he only eat half his dinner and he only ate half of it?
Oh, but look, he's out in the garden chasing a bird at the moment."
Just getting a sense on what's going on.
Is it an inner illness of some sort?
(12:01):
Again, body, mind, and spirit.
What is going on?
Not jumping to conclusions but just watching it may be that a trip to the vet for an update of blood work may be important because it's part of a picture that you're developing.
It may not be necessarily all about food.
Karen Wylie (12:20):
What my vet has emphasized in recent years is how important it is when you do have a diagnosis of some sort on a pet.
Let's say Stage 1 or 2 kidney disease, just as an example, that having blood work every few months allows your vet to view what's happening inside the body.
(12:41):
There are things that can be done earlier rather than waiting until whatever the change is shown on the external body of your pet.
That's something she's emphasized frequently with my pets and I think that becomes an important thing to have that check-in and to consider having the blood work.
Because there's just so much when it comes to feeding.
(13:04):
When our pets are younger and when they're in good health and very robust and every aspect of their life and their life with us seems perfect and no worries.
We're putting the water down.
We're putting the food bowl down.
It becomes very mechanical and 90 seconds later the bowl is empty, "Okay, good".
(13:26):
It really changes when we are aware that a pet has some kind of condition to just keep an eye on.
It could be that even after their blood work shows something and the vet makes a note of it for you and to you, there's still no change at home but at some point there could be.
That's where the observation's exactly like you're describing, Gail.
(13:47):
Did they finish the bowl or did they go away for a little while and come back and finish it?
Did they eat it quickly or do they even struggle to reach the bowl like you were talking about some of the pets that were in their beds and you were serving them, as you should.
Gail Pope (14:02):
Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you but I just, you know me, if I think of something I have to say it.
Karen Wylie (14:06):
Go for it.
Go for it.
Gail Pope (14:07):
I was just thinking, again, when you do some follow-up blood work here and there and it gives you a little more information perhaps about the thyroid or the kidneys.
It allows you to decide on maybe adding a new supplement to the food or not adding something that you were giving before.
So it allows you to work with the animal's diet, to make it a little more balanced and friendly.
(14:32):
It may be that it doesn't make any difference but sometimes it can really be helpful.
Sometimes you add a supplement thinking, "Oh my gosh, this is perfect. That's exactly what he needs," and he looks at his plate, sniffs it and goes, "Are you serious? There is no way I'm eating this." So then you have to be—
Karen Wylie (14:48):
"But it's good for you. It's good for you. Eat it."
Gail Pope (14:52):
And then you have to be a bit more innovative as to how you are going to actually have them to take this particular supplement.
Of course, there are all sorts of tricks and trades there.
Karen Wylie (15:02):
Yes and of course then you're bringing up one of the real challenges for any of us in a caregiving situation is when we have identified something we feel they need and maybe the vet has recommended and said they need but they want nothing to do with it.
Then it's like you can get into such a power struggle with your pet.
So much for that wholistic relationship you have because you are affecting it greatly.
Gail Pope (15:28):
Oh, yes.
Karen Wylie (15:29):
So of course many caregivers become frustrated when their pets who loved a particular food yesterday are suddenly refusing it today.
So why do you see flexibility as becoming such an important part in caregiving for our pets?
Gail Pope (15:45):
Again, look at the world of humans.
We have to be flexible with our own selves as well as our family members when they get into a situation like that.
We have to literally go with the flow because if the appetite is changing, we have to change with it.
Or sometimes with our animals, we can make a little change to the diet.
(16:06):
We can maybe add a little baby food or something like that, or chicken liver powder, and their ears perk up and they go, "Oh my gosh." I think maybe the sense of smell for an animal is probably the most important thing.
If they smell something good, that is going to encourage them.
If they continue eating and go, "Ugh, I thought that was going to be wonderful but now it's not," okay, that's not going to work.
(16:27):
We just have to be magicians, as it were, and figure out what's needed.
If they're getting close to the end of life and they really don't want to eat, we have to honor that.
Of course, there are tricks and obvious things that we can change, as we do with humans.
Because the appetite doesn't generally just stop, it declines and changes here and there.
So we have to ebb and flow with it.
(16:50):
It's hard being a caregiver.
Karen Wylie (16:52):
Yes, it is because whatever worked last month or last week or even yesterday may not work today.
Gail Pope (16:58):
Exactly.
Karen Wylie (16:58):
That just really underscores, I think the importance of observing your pet and making notes.
That's of course why we have developed "The Living Quality of Life Care Assessment" tool, to guide your observations.
Because food and water are only one out of the six dimensions that we focus on in the Living tool.
(17:20):
We're also looking at love and connection and your pet's mobility, vitality and joy, the environment they're in.
And how the two of you are adapting to changes like what we're talking about today when the amount of food or the type of food that they want to eat is changing.
Gail Pope (17:37):
You just summed it up again as body, mind, and spirit.
It all comes back to that, not focusing on one particular thing but in general life itself.
Maybe a walk in the garden or I always found towards the end of life, particularly for dogs, having a stroller or something to get a little fresh air.
Mother Nature welcomes us old folk when we're declining.
(17:59):
I think cats and dogs are the same.
Getting out in nature a little bit as best you can is nourishment for the body as well as the mind and the soul.
It really offers nourishment.
Karen Wylie (18:11):
It does emphasize there, I think, how flexible we need to become because food can be one of the primary ways we express love to humans in our life as well as our pets.
Then when there's a disruption in that process, the feeding process becomes worrisome or stressful.
Finding other ways to love, to care, and to nourish the spirit becomes so much more important, as you're saying.
Gail Pope (18:38):
They absolutely do.
Karen Wylie (18:39):
Now in the ebook we have made a distinction between assisted feeding and syringe feeding.
So how do caregivers know the difference between helping and forcing a food?
Gail Pope (18:51):
I think the word "Force" actually sums it up, doesn't it?
This is actually something that I became more and more concerned about, I think, as I learned more and more as animals taught me more and more.
Because if an animal's had surgery and they're in recovery and you need to help them to eat, and sometimes with some illnesses you have to force food.
(19:13):
You do it gently and as instructed but you do have to help them to eat.
Sometimes a feeding tube may be used.
But the area of the age, the ability that we're discussing today, it's more about aiding and not forcing.
It's something that I've seen, gosh, I must have assisted fed an awful lot of animals in my time.
Karen Wylie (19:38):
700 of them, I believe.
Gail Pope (19:39):
Yes, because the thing is, you can do it in so many ways.
You can have the food and you put it on your finger, put it on a spoon and they can lick it.
Small dogs, big dogs, cats, they all have a preference for what they might like.
Sometimes, again, it comes back to smell.
Say you dip your finger in some baby food and you offer it to them and they go, "Get a little closer." And once they smell it, it could be, "Oh, that's interesting."
(20:05):
Sometimes, particularly in older age, you rub a little on the gum.
You'll get a reaction there as, again, "Ooh, yes, where's the plate?" Because the sense of smell is so important to them.
Then the sense of taste as well can come into play.
So remembering those things but going gently, not trying to force them to take it.
(20:27):
Obviously, syringe feeding is where we come into the picture here, and I've done so much syringe feeding.
I think that's where it can be a problem because some people think, "If I'm going to syringe feed him, okay, I've filled up my syringe. Now I'm going to put it in his mouth and I'm going to squeeze it." And they force it.
You don't need to do that.
Again, you can just syringe a little bit in the side of the mouth and once they get used to it, "Oh!", they lick and swallow.
(20:53):
They'll come forward and look for more.
I know we've got all sorts of videos stored away.
There's a video I'm thinking of Daisy, when she was nearing the end of life.
Actually, we had a different trolley.
She was actually unable to walk, so she was up at waist level, so she was with everybody.
She used to just lean forward, open her mouth, and it's like she would almost be laughing and smiling.
(21:14):
We'd just very gently "syringe, syringe", just a little at a time.
She would be in absolute heaven.
She was perfectly fine with that.
We were not forcing her to eat but allowing her to choose to have the food that way.
Karen Wylie (21:26):
So funny as you're describing that.
We probably have that video on the BrightHaven YouTube channel, BrightHaven Animals.
We'll check on that and see if we have a part of that available for people to see.
Because you're reminding me of my own experiences with some cats in particular where they would actually like being syringe fed.
Just providing it a little bit at a time.
(21:48):
And with kids, "Here's the airplane coming into the hangar." And make a little game of it.
It was the same kind of thing with several of my cats.
They understood that we're just taking a little bit of a rest after each time and that would help.
This also reminds me of one of my vets that was so wonderful, Jack.
I guess I was trying to get somebody back into regular eating after a surgery, and he said, "Hansel and Gretel. Do the Hansel and Gretel method." He said he would just put little pieces of food, whether it's wet or dry.
(22:22):
Little pieces that they have to be intrigued by because they're more like, "Oh, there's one. Where's the next?"
Just kind of, get that spirit again going in them as opposed to feeling it being forced upon them.
So I always found that to be, again, part of nourishing the spirit is trying to get them back to feeling more like themselves as best you can.
(22:44):
Now in general, Gail, what have the animals themselves taught you about feeding, appetite, comfort, and choice?
Gail Pope (22:52):
Respect.
I think that's one word that comes to mind.
Balance.
I was going to say allowing them to lead the way but as with children, you can't necessarily allow them to lead it all the way.
And follow your heart, follow your heart.
Let go of that "humanness" which dictates that we have to and they have to and this is what you must eat and this is how you must eat it and when.
(23:14):
Just going with the flow so that they don't feel it's a forced experience, whether you're actually helping them to eat.
I think it's keeping dinner time as a happy time.
Rather than something that you have to plan for or worry about.
In general life, we look forward to eating our breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
We don't worry about it.
We worry maybe about whether we're going to have enough or if we've got what we might make.
(23:39):
So taking that same feeling to feeding our animals so there's a joy.
There's an anticipation.
And if they don't eat, then it's okay, let it go.
If they eat some, that's all right.
Karen Wylie (23:52):
They don't have to eat every day.
They could take a little bit of time off and still be okay.
Gail Pope (23:57):
Absolutely!
Karen Wylie (23:58):
And that's an important piece of it too, is to not panic when it happens the first time or occasionally.
Just go with the flow, as you're describing.
But also, just to underscore, and this goes back to what you were last talking about in terms of the assisted feeding or the syringe feeding, is just like with humans there may come a time when feeding them can make a situation worse.
(24:22):
So offering them the food is always what we should be doing, and never forcing the food down.
Gail Pope (24:30):
Yes.
Karen Wylie (24:30):
And I don't know that we said those words exactly but it's important whether you're supporting a human as a caregiver or a pet.
Gail Pope (24:37):
It comes back to how hard it is to be human and to accompany a human who is ill or approaching end of life is just as difficult because we want them to eat, because eating for us is living.
As a being of any sort approaches older or the end of life, their appetite changes and it does decline.
(25:01):
I remember when my mom was reaching the last chapter of her life, I could see very clearly how her appetite… She still liked the same foods.
She still loved the same food but she didn't eat as much, she wasn't as social.
At the time, I don't think I actually realized these things.
It was only looking back afterwards.
You can see how we all very gradually, what's the expression I would use for that?
(25:27):
We just gradually wind down.
I'm sure there's a better way of saying it but everything is a little less and a little less.
It can be so beautiful and easy.
But again, with my mum, when it got to the point she was bed-bound, she was getting very close to the end of her life.
I was worried.
I was panic-stricken because she didn't want to eat.
(25:47):
I was doing everything I could to find things that she might enjoy.
I'd been doing the work with my animals for a long time but I still found myself like, "Oh my God, she's got to have something to eat." It's ridiculous but we know we are only human.
Karen Wylie (26:01):
We're only human and we do understand that food is life.
Maintaining a certain weight, maintaining tissue integrity, hydration which we haven't focused on in our discussion today but of course that's part of nourishment as well— monitoring that.
This e-book, just for anyone that has an interest in this title, this e-book includes a section on advanced and terminal illness.
(26:25):
But we intentionally didn't create a detailed guide to feeding a pet who is in serious decline or dying because we're going to be creating a resource specifically dedicated on that phase of life where we need to make different choices.
Only one more question for you, my dear.
(26:45):
If there's one— yes, I know, you're, "Get out the wine."
Gail Pope (26:50):
Can I go now?
Karen Wylie (26:52):
No, not yet.
Not yet.
If there's one thing that you hope a caregiver would remember the next time they're standing in the kitchen worrying about their pet who isn't eating the way they used to, what would you want them to remember?
What would you want them to know?
Gail Pope (27:08):
That's a really easy question, isn't it?
I haven't got a clue.
The words "Be Kind" come to mind, and I'm not quite sure why.
I guess to be kind to yourself.
Obviously, we're going to be kind to our animal.
I think if we can be kind to ourselves in the understanding that love is all that really matters and hold onto that, then everything else can flow.
(27:32):
We can let go of some of that worry and fear and anguish that, as a parent, it's hard to escape.
I'm sure we never can because we are going to worry about our children.
Karen Wylie (27:43):
Always going to worry.
I think what you were mentioning a little earlier about respect for the animal and their needs, their wants, their choices that they're making or not making.
At some point our relationship that we have with them requires us to recognize and respect where they are.
Gail Pope (28:02):
And again, honoring the other doctor in the room, Mother Nature.
Mother Nature has a way of leading us through illness, of leading us through the different phases of life and love.
Karen Wylie (28:14):
All of it.
Gail Pope (28:15):
Yes.
Karen Wylie (28:16):
Thank you, my dear, as always.
Thank you to everyone who joined us today.
If there's one thing that runs through today's conversation, it's that caregiving is a continual process of adaptation and observation.
Our pets change, their needs change, and our caregiving needs to change, too.
Nourishment is about much more than food.
(28:38):
It's about supporting the whole pet, the whole caregiver, and the relationship the two of you have.
So sometimes nourishment does come through a meal, we have established that or a favorite treat.
But sometimes it does come from a gentle touch or just sitting with them or taking them out in a special way so even if they can't walk a half a mile anymore, they can still enjoy their time out with you.
So if today's conversation resonated with you, we hope our new BrightHaven Caregiver Academy e-book, "Nourishing Through Illness (29:01):
Supporting Appetite, Comfort, and Care for Pets with Life-Changing Diagnoses" is available now at the BCA website shop at BrightPathForPets.com.
(29:21):
Inside you will find more practical guidance, a lot of reflection questions to think about how your pet's doing with food and your own relationship with your pet and how you're handling any changes you're making.
Of course, just a few caregiving insights drawn from decades of experience with aging, chronically ill, or terminally ill pets.
(29:42):
And so with that, I will say thank you for being with us, and we'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
Gail Pope (29:47):
Goodbye.
Thank you for joining us on Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.
We hope today's episode has offered you support and insight as you care for your aging or ill pets.
Remember, it's not just about the end.
It's about living well at every stage of life.
To continue your journey with us, explore more resources at BrightHaven Caregiver Academy's website— BrightPathForPets.com, where you'll find guides, assessments, and a caring community of pet parents like you.
(30:24):
Until next time, may you and your pets find comfort, connection, and peace in every moment.
Take care.
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