When a multitalented group of seven, from veterinarians to senior care pet sitters to spiritual counselors, sold out a one-day workshop at the Kirkland Women’s Club on a crisp fall day in 2010, it became clear that other animal lovers wanted to know more. Following the “Introduction to Animal Hospice and End of Life Home Care,”  we recognized that animal hospice awareness should become a nonprofit mission. However, we weren’t clear about how to accomplish that. So our new puppy would become a “Pet Project” until we finally landed on the looong name begging for an acronym. AHELP Project was the perfect choice.

Thanks to our community supporters and sponsors, we realized our mission to promote human hospice ideals in animal care through community awareness programs. Sponsors assisted us to get our 501c(3) status in 2012. We held Open Houses featuring practitioners whose services contributed to comfort, an animal hospice certification program, and mentorship and training for volunteers at the Seattle Veterinary Specialists-Blue Pearl Kirkland. To keep up operations and contribute to our “Help for Animal Hospice Caregivers Fund,” we held FUNdraisers at pet-friendly venues such as Northwest Cellars (Kirkland) and Norm’s Eatery and Alehouse (Fremont, Seattle).  Local artisans taught us to use hands, hearts, and minds to create memorials to remember our pets at our art therapy-inspired Creative Healing Workshops. These principles inspire us today.  

In time, AHELP became an animal hospice resource in greater Seattle, and families began reaching out for individualized caregiver support. Pet parents found solace in our Animal Caregiver Support Circles, held twice monthly in greater Seattle and led by Spiritual Counselor, Celebrant, and AHELP Co-founder Diane Dyer. Through our Comprehensive Care Home Visits, AHELP President Michelle Nichols assisted caregivers in achieving comfort for their pets and finding the best veterinary care that fit their needs. Caregiver-to-caregiver support would help them to solve homecare challenges and stand by them daily to ensure they could comfortably follow the veterinary care plan. AHELPer volunteers with skills and talents in animal massage, aromatherapy, and energy work contributed to comfort for the pets. Active listening was and still is a guiding principle of any AHELP Care Team, as our pet parent mantra is “we get it!” 

In 2024, we have come full circle and prioritized our awareness and education mission once again. We recognize that our earlier vision, “to develop a community of like-minded animal lovers who will support one another in their time of need,” will be accomplished through our coaching and awareness programs.  

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 affordable, we greatly appreciate donations to our 501 c(3) nonprofit organization. Please feel free to reach out for a 30-40 minute Complementary Comprehensive Home Consultation, in which we will help you solve your current problems, provide referrals, and get you started with animal hospice and end-of-life care.