before, during, and after goodbye.
End-of-life doula care and grief support for companion animals, their families, and the veterinary teams who care for them.
Two kinds of questions. One steady presence.
For families
How do I know when it’s time? What do I tell my kids? Will my other pets be okay? How do I carry this and still show up for the days we have left? Whether there’s a houseful of people in this with you or it’s just you and your animal, the questions are the same — and so is the support.
Support for families →For veterinary teams
If you work in a clinic, the questions are different but no less heavy. How do I hold this family, and the next one, and the one after that? How do I do this well when there’s no time? How can I not take this home with me at the end of the day?
Support for veterinary teams →There comes a point when the questions change from “how do we treat this?” to “how do we say goodbye?”
None of these have tidy answers, and all of them can be accompanied by support.
What support looks like
Before
Quality of life conversations, decision-making support, and planning what the goodbye will look like — so it isn’t decided for you in a hurry.
During
Presence at the appointment, whether you need someone beside you or someone there when you can’t be. Your pet is not alone, and neither are you.
After
Grief companionship in the weeks and months that follow. Space for a grief that the world often expects you to be over by now.
I’m Jodene Mills
A companion animal end-of-life doula and pet loss grief support practitioner. My work is to walk alongside families before, during, and after a goodbye, and to support the veterinary teams who carry these moments long after their workday is done.
Calgary and area, in person. Available virtually anywhere.
Want to learn more? Start with a free conversation.
15–20 minutes, no pressure, nothing to prepare. If you’re facing an appointment in the next few days, say so — I’ll move things around where I can.
Book a conversation