Service aims to help pets pass with dignity
Jul. 10—WILKES-BARRE — Quixote has come a long way from Baja, California.
He was a friendly, feral pooch roaming the streets with his pack when a group of veterinarians and caregivers came in for a spay-and-neuter project in the area.
He took a liking to one of the veterinarians in the group, Rina Fernandez, DMV.
"He followed me around for like the whole week," she said with a laugh as Quixote sat at her feet, scanning the scene at Kirby Park on a Saturday morning. "The people I was with, we'd go hiking every morning and he'd come out, he'd join the hike. And then he would try to get into my hotel. ... By the end of the weekend, I was like, this dog wants a home," and so Fernandez got permission from the locals and brought Quixote into her family, naming him after the titular Don Quixote from Miguel de Cervtantes' famed epic novel.
That was six years ago.
Of course, Fernandez herself has also had the quite the journey, even before Quixote's serendipitous interjection into her life.
Fernandez is a Luzerne County native, having lived in Shavertown with her family until she was 13, when they relocated to Los Angeles. However, she knew long before that cross-country move that she wanted to help animals.
"Since like 4 years old," Fernandez said when asked when she knew this would be her career path. "Yeah, 4 years old. It popped into my head, I made some grand announcement — not exactly that I'd be a veterinarian — but that I'd be helping animals and stuff, and then I never looked back."
She stayed dedicated, finished her schooling at Cornell University in 2006 and then getting started in general veterinary practice, where she would stay for 15 years, until a flyer ended up on her desk advertising Lap of Love — an at-home end-of-life and euthanasia service for pets.
Fernandez said that she had been contemplating starting her own house-call service, and even worked with another service for a bit, though it wasn't what she had hoped. Then COVID came and after one particularly frustrating day, she reached out to Lap of Love and started working part-time with them in October 2020 and decided to go full-time in May of 2021.
"You know, looking back since then, there's aspects of private practice I love but this (Lap of Love) has been very helpful. Not only to so many clients, but patients don't have to struggle into the car, can be home and comfortable for their last moments, have the privacy of wherever they choose to be for this really personal time" Fernandez said, reflecting on her new job. "But it's also been helpful for me. Nobody likes to deal with with death. My father passed from COVID in October and my grandmother passed in February. So, it gives you a different perspective, you know? A perspective of just make every moment the best while you have it, so, I actually am very appreciative," she remarked.
And with the aforementioned passing of family members, Fernandez made her way back to the Wyoming Valley on June 12 of this year, currently residing in Wilkes-Barre as Lap of Love's first veterinarian in the region, serving the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area.
While each case is different, the mission remains the same: To make sure pets nearing their end are happy, comfortable, and can cross that rainbow bridge with some dignity.
A part of that — although not the primary focus — is ensuring the family is comfortable as well and can allow their pet enjoyment in their final days, as they prepare to pass on in the comfort of familiar surroundings, as opposed to being scared and uncertain at the vet's office.
Fernandez admits the job does weigh heavily, but she said, "I know at the end of the day that we did the best that we can to give them the best (remaining) time. I mean, you want (your pet) to live a life of quality and happiness and togetherness, and you want to end your life like that, too. It's definitely made me realize that that's what I want to do every day."
A brief history of Lap of Love
Lap of Love is a nationwide network of veterinarians dedicated to ensuring, "all pets deserve peaceful end-of-life experiences," according to their website. Lap of Love was founded in 2009 by Dr. Dani McVety shortly after she graduated from veterinary school while simultaneously working in emergency medicine in her hometown of Tampa, Florida. McVety had previously volunteered in human hospice and was inspired to combine her love of people with a desire to make the inevitable loss of a beloved family pet as peaceful and painless as it can be.
As word spread about Lap of Love's mission, McVety began receiving inquiries from around the country, families and veterinarians looking for similar services to navigate a most difficult time. As demand grew, McVety asked her good friend and fellow vet, Dr. Mary Gardner, to join the team to help expand Lap of Love. Gardner, with her decade of software design experience, helped to develop Lap of Love's management software.
In 2011, the company had their first vet on-board from outside of Florida, in Charlotte, N.C. Just four years later, in 2015, Lap of Love had grown large enough to start its own dedicated support center, where the team could assist families from anywhere over the phone. As the years rolled on to 2018, Lap of Love would grow to over 100 doctors across the country and would consistently end up on the Gator 100 list for fastest growing companies led by University of Florida Graduates, as well as other accolades like Innovative Practice of the Year and Best in Show from the Veterinary Innovation Council.
When March of 2020 rolled around and brought the initial pandemic shutdowns with it, Lap of Love created its Teleadvice service which assisted families via its in-depth Quality of Life conversation with its hospice veterinarians. By the end of that year, Lap of Love had assisted more than a quarter of a million pets — and their families — with peaceful, compassionate and dignified transitions of euthanasia.
Pets become family, best friends and companions. And, when the time comes to say goodbye, Lap of Love is their to help your pet pass in the comfort of familiar surroundings, and with as much dignity, peace, love, and quality of life as possible.
Services include:
—In home euthanasia
—Veterinary Hospice
—Aftercare
—Teleadvice
—Pet Loss Support
To learn more about Lap of Love or to inquire about enlisting their services, visit lapoflove.com and click on the Find a Vet link in the top right corner, or call at 855-933-5683.
