Please take advantage of our 30-40 minute complimentary phone call with AHELP director and Care Coordinator, Michelle Nichols. Many families find that discussing their three greatest concerns and caregiving issues can set them on their way to a smoother hospice and palliative care journey. 

When caregivers' and pets' needs are more involved, most families find much satisfaction and comfort in our Comprehensive Care Home Visits. Suggested fees for AHELP services range from $265-345 and include the veterinarian's service fees, which cannot be discounted. There is a $20 travel fee within a 5-mile radius of downtown Bellevue, with increments of $5 for each 5 miles.

Please see below for more on our "Help for Animal Hospice Caregivers Fund."

Your AHELP Care Coordinator is Michelle Nichols, MS. Your AHELPer volunteer will be chosen based upon location and the best match with you and your pet's needs (eg: massage therapy, energy work, or veterinary background). Please meet our AHELPer volunteers on the "Our Community of  AHELPers" page

The Comprehensive Care Home Visit includes:

• Your entire AHELP Care Team: AHELP Care Coordinator, veterinarian, and your AHELPer volunteer
• Veterinary Quality of Life Assessment, with all AHELP Care Team members to ensure the best understanding
• Up to 2 hours of additional in-person emotional support with an AHELP Care Coordinator and AHELPer volunteer
• Services by an AHELPer best suited to your needs: massage therapy, energy work, or family services
• Over 30 pages of materials designed to assist you in constructing of an End-of-Life Care Plan (see Follow-up Home Visits below)
• Ongoing care coordination to enhance communication between you, all your veterinarians and AHELP Professional Network Members
• Unlimited direct support of a trained and supervised AHELPer volunteer who is a massage therapy or energy work professional dedicated to your family's care 
• Unlimited email and phone support
• Spiritual counseling by phone
• 2 hours of grief and bereavement phone support  

Follow-up Home Visits are an additional $150 and either follow a Comprehensive Care Home Visit or a veterinary clinic appointment where we're in attendance. Follow-ups do not include veterinary care. Veterinary follow-up appointments are arranged directly with veterinarians' practices and all records are shared with members of the AHELP Care Team.

The goal of the Follow-up Home Visit is to develop a complete End-of-Life Care Plan. Included:

• AHELP Care Coordinator Michelle Nichols will meet you at your home OR following a Comprehensive Care Home Visit, we'll meet you at your veterinarian's appointment.
• If possible, the AHELPer volunteer will offer skills and talents that can benefit your animal companion's well-being.
• Review of history and home problem-solving.
• 2 hours of grief support
• Additional education on natural death, if desired.
• Detailed planning assistance.
• Distribution of written plan.
• Additional spiritual counseling.
• Our creative therapy in can be offered in conjunction, or in a future appointment, depending upon interest. You may choose from adult coloring or decorating a paper mache memory box that you can complete after our visit. 

Our phone and email consultations can help you problem solve urgent concerns and offer you referrals to our trusted Professional Network providers. The most commonly requested needs are from caregivers looking for an urgent euthanasia, a special needs pet sitter, or companionship for caregivers whose animals are in the final stages of dying and are under the supervision of a veterinarian.

Phone consults are offered in 30-minute increments at $60/hour, and may be arranged separately or after a Comprehensive Care or Follow-up Home Visit.

*HELP FOR ANIMAL HOSPICE CAREGIVERS FUND*

Thanks to the nature of our nonprofit and donations from our community, our "Help for Animal Hospice Caregivers Fund" can contribute to the fees to cover emotional, spiritual, and decision-making support for family caregivers. When recommended by a veterinarian, the Fund can also cover certain services that contribute to comfort by our Professional Network Members. We're happy to talk to you about these services in our 30-40 minute initial phone consultation.

We look forward to hearing from you and being "a Help" to you, your family, and your animal companion. 

How will I get over the loss of my best friend? We in AHELP have come to know that you don’t get OVER a loss; you get THROUGH your loss…

We commonly hear, "what can I do to feel better?" In this post we offer a few practical tips that can be "a Help" to you and your family during the hospice period and after their passing.

A ceremony at your companion's favorite spot can be a valuable in helping you get closure after their passing. Michelle Nichols and her daughter Zoe sprinkle Sora's cremains at the beach she had loved. (Photo: Chris Nichols)

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