"All we want is for him to be comfortable and happy until his time here with us is done."

We at AHELP Project want comfort for pets and their people, too.  To meet our common goals, the animal hospice and palliative care we deliver through our Comprehensive Care Home Visits can offer the same for our furry family members as our human loved ones had while in hospice. Without this comfort and care at this point in their journey, caregivers are too often forced to make difficult decisions before they and their animal friend are ready.

An interdisciplinary team that provides families' emotional and spiritual care is now a veterinary standard of care.

As the end becomes near for their pet, caregivers rely upon top-notch animal hospitals whose practices are accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA.com).  AAHA's 2016 Guidelines for End-of-Life Care call for a team that includes a hospice-oriented housecall veterinarian, a mental health professional and other spiritual supporters when appropriate. The features included in AHELP Project’s Caregiver Support Program serve to meet these standards of care.

Our AHELP Care Team includes trusted veterinarians.

AHELP seeks to share the care for these veterinarians so that they can focus on what they do best: provide physical care and comfort for your pet. Our professional mental health and spiritual care providers will support you as you support your animal family member. These providers walk beside you along your journey so you will feel confident and prepared to act upon your plan when the appropriate times come.

You are assured to get the comprehensive family care that's specified by the Practice Guidelines. 

AHELP is committed to overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of animal hospice caregiving families getting the support they need during this tender time. To realize our vision of keeping costs low, we have a trained and managed team of AHELPer volunteers who work alongside the AHELP Care Coordinator and Care Team Professionals. 

“Our society's human loved ones experience a peaceful transition through hospice care. We want to offer families the same gentle, dignified decline for their animal family members, too.” - AHELP Project Care Team

AHELP was launched with our  Inaugural Workshop in September 2010 by seven co-founders who sought to share their vision for end-of-life care with the greater Seattle community. The Workshop was a sell-out success and the co-founders realized the power of their message. Today, four of the founders remain active in AHELP's mission and vision, and our community is comprised entirely of anywhere between 15-20 active "AHELPer" volunteers who continue development of AHELP's three programs: 1) Events, 2) Animal Caregiver Support, and 3) Professional Network.

We have been a local authority on animal hospice awareness and education for over six years. AHELP was a grassroots movement in King and Snohomish counties for three years, and then we became a charitable non-profit organization in 2013. By the end of 2016, AHELPers produced and hosted 27 awareness and educational events. AHELP’s monthly Animal Caregivers Circle began offering group support in 2011 in Kirkland and since 2012 in Seattle.

Our vision is to build a community of like-minded animal lovers who may support one another in their times of need. To this end, all of our events are intended to bring friends together and invite in new ones, so they can meet people who understand what they are going through and know where to turn when they need us. Each and every one of our events is pet-friendly.

Since 2013, we have been assisting families individually via email and phone support, and since 2015 we have been seeing families and their pets where they most need people; in their homes.