Lap of Love Pet Hospice: Services, Telehospice Options, and What Families Can Expect at Home

When your pet is aging or living with a serious diagnosis, the hardest part is often the uncertainty. You might be watching small changes add up—less interest in food, slower walks, a new restlessness at night—and wondering what it means and what to do next. Many families want to keep things calm and familiar for as long as possible, and that is where in home pet hospice can help: it brings comfort-focused care into the place your pet feels safest, while also giving you a clearer plan for the days ahead.

Lap of Love is one of the best-known providers of end-of-life veterinary support, with services designed around the reality that pets and people grieve differently when they are in a clinic environment. Their model centers on home-based care—supporting quality of life, preparing families for what changes to expect, and, when the time comes, making a peaceful goodbye possible at home.

What Lap of Love offers and how families typically use it

Families tend to arrive at Lap of Love from different starting points. Some are still early in the decision process and simply need a calm, medically grounded conversation about quality of life. Others have already been told there is no curative path and want support keeping their pet comfortable. And some know that euthanasia is near and want help planning it in a way that feels gentle and controlled.

Lap of Love describes a set of related services that can be used together or separately: veterinary hospice, Lap of Love telehospice, in-home euthanasia, aftercare (including cremation options), and pet loss support.

The practical takeaway is that you do not have to know “the right answer” before you reach out. Many families begin with a consult and build a plan from there—one that may include symptom support now and a clear, less stressful pathway for later.

What an in-home hospice visit often includes

Veterinary hospice is not about extending life at any cost. It is about preserving comfort, function, and connection, while being honest about the direction of an illness. Lap of Love defines veterinary hospice as medically supervised, family-focused care aimed at maintaining comfort and quality of life until either a natural death occurs or the family elects euthanasia.

A hospice visit at home often feels different from a clinic appointment because the veterinarian can see what your pet’s day actually looks like. Are there slippery floors? Is the food bowl in a spot that requires stairs? Is the litter box difficult to step into? The plan can become immediately practical—small environmental adjustments, mobility supports, and symptom strategies that reduce stress for everyone, including you.

It is also important to understand what hospice is not. Lap of Love notes that hospice appointments are scheduled as needed and are not the same as routine daily or weekly home nursing, and they typically do not include diagnostics such as blood work.

Instead, hospice care is usually built around education and symptom management. Lap of Love lists examples such as guidance on the end-stage disease process, pain recognition and treatment, nutrition support, incontinence management, environmental recommendations, and mobility support.

If you are coordinating with your primary veterinarian, hospice can also serve as a bridge: a specialized end-of-life perspective that complements the medical history and relationship you already have. Many families find this combination reassuring—your regular vet knows the full story, and hospice helps translate that story into a comfort-first plan.

How telehospice works and when it can be the right first step

For families who need guidance quickly—or who are not sure they are ready for an in-home visit—Lap of Love telehospice is often the lowest-friction way to start. Telehospice is designed as a focused conversation that helps you clarify what you are seeing and what your next best step might be.

Lap of Love explains that a telehospice session is typically about 30 minutes and takes place by phone or Zoom with a Lap of Love doctor. The purpose is to talk through quality-of-life concerns, comfort options, and planning, so you leave the call feeling more confident about what comes next.

Telehospice can be especially useful if you are wrestling with questions that feel urgent but ambiguous, such as whether a change warrants an emergency visit, what home adjustments might help, how to evaluate quality of life day to day, or how to plan for euthanasia in a way that is not rushed. Lap of Love explicitly frames telehospice as a place to work through those decision points. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

One important boundary is worth stating plainly. Lap of Love includes a disclaimer that, without an in-person physical exam, telehospice cannot diagnose, treat, or prevent disease, and is intended to provide general guidance.

That limitation does not make telehospice less valuable. It simply means you can treat it as a planning consult: a way to organize your thoughts, understand what “comfort care” can realistically look like, and decide whether an in-home hospice visit—or a clinic visit—is the next appropriate move.

What families can expect from in-home euthanasia

Even when euthanasia is the kindest choice, it is still emotionally complex. Many families describe feeling torn between not wanting to “wait too long” and not wanting to “do it too soon.” What tends to help is having a plan that feels medically grounded and personally aligned with your pet’s temperament and your family’s values.

Lap of Love’s in-home approach emphasizes a calm presence and clear communication. They describe arriving at your home for the appointment in a way intended to feel less clinical, and they encourage questions so families understand what will happen.

They also note that aftercare options and how and when your pet’s ashes will be ready are typically discussed at the beginning of the appointment. This is one of those details that matters more than people expect: when you are grieving, practical uncertainty can compound emotional pain. Knowing the process ahead of time often provides a small but meaningful sense of steadiness.

If you are unsure how to prepare your home for the appointment, think in simple, comfort-first terms. Choose a quiet space with enough room for everyone who wants to be present. Consider soft lighting. Have a blanket or bed your pet already loves. If there are other pets in the home, decide in advance whether you want them nearby or in a separate room, and do what feels least stressful for them and for you.

Aftercare and memorial choices: planning gently, not urgently

For many families, the phrase funeral planning sounds like it belongs to human loss, not pet loss. But the emotional reality is similar: after your pet dies, there is still a set of decisions to make, and making them in advance can reduce stress later. Lap of Love has an aftercare service line that includes cremation and other memorial options.

They describe private cremation as an option in which your pet is cremated privately at a licensed crematory, and they note that local details about returning ashes can vary by provider location. If you are considering cremation, the most helpful question is usually not “What should I choose?” but “What will bring comfort to our family afterward?” That answer can be different for different households.

If you are thinking about how to keep your pet close, pet urns for ashes are the most common next step. Funeral.com’s Pet Cremation Urns for Ashes collection includes a wide range of styles and sizes—useful if you want something understated, photo-friendly, engravable, or more decorative. You can also explore specialized options like Engravable Pet Urns for Ashes when personalization matters.

Some families do not want a single “main urn” decision to carry all the emotional weight. In that case, keepsake urns can be a gentler solution: a small vessel designed to hold a portion of remains so multiple people can keep a connection. Funeral.com offers Pet Keepsake Cremation Urns for Ashes for this purpose, and the broader Keepsake Cremation Urns for Ashes collection can also be helpful when families want a coordinated set.

If you want a memorial that looks like artwork rather than a container, pet cremation urns in figurine form can be especially comforting. Funeral.com’s Pet Figurine Cremation Urns for Ashes collection is designed for families who want the memorial to feel like a representation of their pet’s personality, not just a functional vessel.

And for people who want a daily, wearable reminder, cremation jewelry can be the right fit. Funeral.com’s Pet Cremation Jewelry and Cremation Necklaces collections align well with families exploring cremation necklaces as a private, close-to-the-heart form of remembrance. If you want a practical overview first, the Funeral.com Journal has guides like Pet Cremation Jewelry: Turning Dog or Cat Ashes Into Wearable Memorial Keepsakes and Cremation Jewelry 101.

Finally, many families ask about keeping ashes at home and what is respectful or safe. If you are considering that choice, the Funeral.com Journal’s Keeping Ashes at Home guide can help you think through placement, safety, and emotional fit. If your family is considering scattering or water burial, resources like Water Burial and Burial at Sea and Biodegradable Water Urns for Ashes provide a calmer explanation of what is involved. These articles also connect naturally to the broader question families often carry in grief: what to do with ashes, which Funeral.com addresses in What to Do With Cremation Ashes.

Questions to ask before scheduling: fit matters

Choosing a provider is not only about availability. It is about fit—your pet’s temperament, your family’s pace, your comfort with medical information, and your expectations about communication. The most useful questions are often the simplest ones, because they reveal whether the process will feel supported and clear.

• How do you recommend we start—telehospice, an in-home hospice visit, or coordinating with our primary veterinarian first?
• What does your hospice plan typically include for symptom support, mobility, and nutrition—and what would still be handled by our regular clinic?
• If we schedule in-home euthanasia, what does the appointment flow usually look like, and when will aftercare decisions be discussed?
• What aftercare options are available locally, and how are ashes returned if we choose cremation?
• What are typical scheduling windows, and how do you handle urgent changes in comfort or function?
• How do you support families emotionally before and after the loss?

If you want an additional layer of medical ethics and framing, the American Animal Hospital Association end-of-life guidance emphasizes collaborative decision-making between caregivers and the hospice team, and it treats euthanasia and hospice-supported natural death as medically and ethically acceptable options when approached with effective palliation and support.

Grief support is part of care, not an extra

Many people are surprised by how isolating pet loss can feel. Friends may not understand the depth of the bond. Daily routines suddenly collapse. And the house can feel too quiet. Support is not about “getting over it.” It is about having a place where your grief makes sense.

Lap of Love offers virtual pet loss support groups, describing them as free, coach-led sessions held via Zoom, and they also list specialty groups and additional support options. For some families, that structure becomes an anchor—especially in the first weeks when emotions come in waves and practical tasks still have to be handled.

If your family is also making memorial choices, it can help to remember that the “right” choice is the one that you can live with gently over time. Some families want a single, prominent memorial at home. Others want something private, like cremation necklaces. Others want a keepsake that can travel with them. There is no universal rule, only what fits your household’s way of loving and remembering.

Why cremation planning feels familiar to so many families right now

Even though this article is about pet hospice, it sits inside a broader cultural shift: cremation has become the most common form of disposition in the United States. The National Funeral Directors Association reports a projected U.S. cremation rate of 63.4% for 2025, with continued growth projected in the decades ahead. The Cremation Association of North America reports a 2024 U.S. cremation rate of 61.8%.

That shift changes the questions families ask after loss. Instead of “Where is the gravesite?” the questions more often become “How do we honor them?” and “What do we do with the ashes?” In pet loss, the emotional texture can be even more intimate—because the bond is woven into everyday routines. That is why it can help to treat aftercare planning as part of hospice planning. It is not morbid. It is protective. It allows you to make decisions while you can still think clearly, rather than under pressure.

Choosing a path that feels calm and loving

Pet hospice is not a single decision; it is a series of small, compassionate decisions that reduce suffering and increase clarity. Sometimes that means adjusting the home environment and managing symptoms for weeks or months. Sometimes it means recognizing a turning point and planning a peaceful goodbye. Sometimes it means choosing telehospice first so you can hear a steady voice and organize your thoughts before you act.

Wherever you are in the process, the goal is the same: to protect your pet’s comfort and to help your family feel supported, informed, and less alone.