PALLIUM ANIMAL HOSPICE
In-home senior comfort care and hospice support for aging and medically complex pets.
We support quality of life—before crisis, before uncertainty, and without pressure. Pallium Animal Hospice provides veterinarian-led, in-home senior comfort care for aging and medically complex pets. Our approach focuses on comfort, clarity, and thoughtful guidance for families navigating this stage of their pet’s life.
What Hospice Means at Pallium
Hospice is not limited to the final days of life.
It is a structured, comfort-focused approach to caring for aging pets and those living with chronic or medically complex conditions. Many families begin hospice care while their pet is still enjoying good days—so we can protect those days.
Our role is to:
• Support comfort and function
• Monitor medication safety
• Provide honest prognostic guidance
• Reduce crisis-driven decisions
• Help families move forward without pressure
Hospice care may continue for months. When the time comes, it includes guidance and support around end-of-life decisions grounded in prior planning and careful assessment.
Care Delivered in the Home
Pets are most comfortable in familiar surroundings.
In-home visits allow us to evaluate mobility, comfort, behavior, appetite, and daily routines in the environment where your pet lives. This provides a clearer understanding of quality of life and reduces the stress of travel for pets who may already be fragile.
When appropriate, Pallium may recommend limited, goal-directed diagnostics in the home—including laboratory testing, blood pressure measurement, or ultrasound-guided physical evaluation—to ensure comfort medications are being used safely and responsibly.
Veterinarian-Led Hospice Care
Pallium Animal Hospice is led by Dr. Jennifer Ringenberg, DVM, an emergency-trained veterinarian with extensive experience caring for medically complex and geriatric patients.
Hospice care at Pallium emphasizes:
• Early involvement
• Honest communication
• Ethical decision-making
• Alignment with patient and family goals
• Collaboration with your primary
veterinarian when appropriate
Our goal is not to replace your veterinary team, but to extend care into the home during this stage of life.
The Human Side of Hospice
Caring for an aging pet is both a medical and emotional experience.
Pallium integrates dedicated human support with a Family Support Specialist, equipped with formal training in counseling psychology and processing grief--an experience often neglected, even dismissed, in our society.
Families may choose to receive support during anticipatory grief, decision-making, and after a pet has passed.
This guidance is optional and non-clinical, offered as coaching and supportive conversation rather than psychotherapy.
Hospice care honors not only the life of the pet—but the bond they have with the loved ones they spent their lives with.