In-Home Comfort Care for Pets (Palliative & Hospice Services) in Hampton Roads
Bringing peace, comfort, and personalized veterinary care to pets and families facing serious illness or age-related decline—right at home, across our Hampton Roads service area.
At Hampton Roads Veterinary Hospice, we provide in-home Comfort Care for pets who are aging, seriously ill, or nearing the end of life. Whether your beloved companion has received a terminal diagnosis or is experiencing a gradual decline, our team is here to walk alongside you with compassion, clarity, and clinical expertise.
Blending the principles of palliative, hospice, and integrative medicine, our approach focuses on comfort, symptom management, and meaningful connection in the place your pet feels safest: home.
What is Comfort Care?
Comfort Care includes:
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Palliative care: Relief from pain and discomfort, symptom control, and improving quality of life for pets with chronic or progressive conditions.
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Hospice care: Compassionate, medically guided support through the final stages of life, including guidance for end-of-life decisions.
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Integrative medicine: Gentle, complementary therapies such as acupuncture, laser therapy, supplements, and nutritional support to enhance comfort and well-being.
Our care happens in your home, allowing your pet to be surrounded by familiar sights, smells, and the people they love most.
Who Is Comfort Care For?
Comfort Care is specifically for pets with life-limiting conditions, such as:
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Terminal illnesses (e.g., cancer, organ failure)
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Advanced age and mobility decline
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Chronic progressive diseases (e.g., cognitive dysfunction, arthritis)
It is not general in-home veterinary care. This is specialized support for families walking through their pet’s final chapter—with an emphasis on peace, presence, and preparation.
What to Expect During a Comfort Care Visit
Each in-home visit is tailored to your pet’s medical and emotional needs. You can expect:
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A thorough review of your pet’s medical history and current condition
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A comprehensive physical exam
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A personalized care plan to support comfort and quality of life
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Pain management strategies and symptom relief
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Honest, compassionate guidance for what lies ahead
We also offer emotional support and counseling to help you prepare for difficult decisions, including when it may be time to consider in-home euthanasia.
Our Commitment to You
When you invite Hampton Roads Veterinary Hospice into your home, you can expect:
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Gentle, professionally informed guidance tailored to your pet’s unique journey
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Clear communication about what to expect and how to prepare
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Emotional support for your family throughout the process
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An opportunity to honor your bond with your pet in a meaningful way
Five-Step Strategy for Comprehensive Comfort Care
Hampton Roads Veterinary Hospice utilizes a five-step strategy for comprehensive comfort (palliative and hospice) care. These five steps help us complete a thorough assessment of each pet and pet family’s needs, while also allowing for the flexibility of tailoring care on a case-by-case basis. The steps include:
- Evaluation of the pet owner’s needs, beliefs, and goals for the pet
- Education about your pet’s disease processes
- Development of a personalized plan for the pet and their family
- Application of palliative and hospice care techniques
- Emotional support during your pet’s care process, as well as after death
What A Comfort Care Visit Looks Like
During a Comfort Care visit, your Hampton Roads Veterinary Hospice veterinarian will take time to understand your pet’s history, current challenges, and your hopes and concerns for their care. This is a collaborative, supportive conversation guided by compassion and respect for your bond with your pet.
Your doctor will gently observe your pet in their home environment, noting their comfort levels, mobility, appetite, hydration, hygiene, and emotional well-being. We’ll also consider how your pet is engaging with your family and whether any adjustments could improve their quality of life.
Finally, we’ll walk you through the progression of your pet’s condition and answer any questions about what to expect, giving you clarity and peace of mind for the road ahead.
Hampton Roads Vet Hospice: Your Partner in Comfort Care
Armed with the knowledge and observations gained, our veterinarians will be able to let you know if palliative and hospice care is indeed a humane and reasonable option for your pet and if so begin to formulate a personalized plan, knowing that you and your family’s capabilities and beliefs play a crucial role in the success of a palliative and hospice care plan.
Our veterinarians will teach you proper nursing and comfort care techniques, educate you about medical therapies used, and about appropriate environmental modifications in the home. We will assign your pet to a level of care that will guide your expectations for follow-up visits and communications. This aspect is key to making sure that we are continuing to provide you with and educate you about the most appropriate, compassionate, and humane care possible for your beloved companion.
- Comfort & Palliative Care: Pet needs care for comfort and pain management in daily activities.
- Early Hospice (Stage I Hospice): Your pet has had a diagnosis of a terminal illness. There is a more intensive need for monitoring and management of nutrition, hydration, pain, mobility, and nursing care.
- Advanced Hospice (Stage II Hospice): The last stage of life. Your pet may be unable to get up, needing to be cleaned and turned regularly. Intensive nursing care, monitoring, and pain management are required.
If you are unsure of what the best next step is for your pet right now, visit our Pathway to Care Assessment Page.
Client Testimonials
“HR Veterinary Hospice is honestly the best veterinary decision I’ve ever made for our dogs. When our 13+ year old pug, Clementine, became overwhelmed with her ongoing medical issues, we called them in for hospice care. Within a few weeks, Clementine suffered a stroke or seizure and it was clear it was her time to go.
I was SO glad I had already had HRVH come into our home to see her a few weeks before that. We were able to call her up, and she came to our home that night, allowing us to give Clementine a peaceful, dignified, comfortable passing. The aftercare they provided was also top-notch, up to hand-delivering her cremains to us at our home by the person who oversaw her water cremation.
They were so excellent that I have now enlisted them to do in-home care for our other 12-year-old pug, Winston, who suffers from food and seasonal allergies and some old-age mobility issues. Dr. Carmack is helping us put together a plan as he ages for home-cooked food, herbs, supplements, and treatments that will keep him as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
They are a Godsend. Do not wait if you have an aging or sick pet. Call them in now for ongoing hospice care, so that when the time comes, you have a comfort level with them and they have a baseline for your pet. Our pet insurance has also, so far, covered all of our bills (including acupuncture!), and their admin, Kady, is an angel. I seriously cannot recommend their services enough. Our pugs are our only babies and they have been our children for over a decade – I do not trust them with just anyone, and I do not choose any sort of care for them lightly. Thank you,, HR Vet Hospice!”
Racheel Burns