Pain Management and Pet Hospice
Despite being unable to express their pain verbally, our pets feel pain just like we do. Fair Winds works with families to create custom pain management plans that cater to the needs of the pet and consider the short and long-term resources available to the family.
“The longer you have pain, the better your spinal cord gets at producing danger messages in the brain, even if there is no danger in the tissue.”
– Dr. Lorimer Moseley
Clinical scientist and professor of neurosciences at the University of South Australia
Helping pets out of their physical and mental pain is our passion. We believe each pet and each family has unique needs that can only be satisfied with a customized care plan. You and your pet become a part of the Fair Winds Family when you reach out to us for help. You and your pet benefit from the expertise of a local certified hospice veterinarian, Dr. Cornelius, who, over many years, has helped thousands of senior pets in southeast Texas live their best lives.
Pain is always accompanied by emotion and meaning so that each pain is unique to the individual. The word pain is used to group together a class of combined sensory-emotional events.”
– Patrick Wall, British Neuroscientist In his book, Pain: The Science of Suffering
Depending on your pet’s needs and the family’s wishes and capabilities, care plans may vary from fairly simple to quite involved. Treatment modalities can include oral supplements, oral medications, injectable medications, weight management, therapeutic laser treatments and laser acupuncture, mobility aids, and recommendations for household modifications.
Each family will provide a financial estimate before finalizing a care plan. Our goal is to provide the best care plan we can, given the number of available resources short and long-term. The best care plans improve a pet’s quality of life AND are sustainable. Fair Winds is here to guide you and your family in decision-making.
Introducing Digitherm Technology
Digatherm ™ uses digital thermography technology to scan for potential areas of pain and inflammation by detecting extremely small temperature differences in the soft tissue space. This technology has been used in humans and animals for the early to late detection of conditions such as osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), neuropathies, thyroid disease, cancerous tumors, periodontal disease, infarctions, and infections.
Fair Winds uses Digatherm technology to scan for potential problem areas, not as a diagnostic tool in itself. Advanced tissue imaging such as sonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging can be recommended as a result of the findings of thermal imaging. Thermography offers a rapid, minimally invasive and cost-effective way of supporting the suspicion of disease and as a tool to aid in monitoring and targeting specific problem areas. It allows us an opportunity to monitor the effectiveness of oral and physical treatments over a period of time.
The process is fairly simple, all we need is a few minutes to take the images with our specially-designed thermal imaging device. We have a comfortable room to accommodate the process of taking the needed images. The process is completely safe, as nothing is being emitted from the device itself, it is only capturing the thermal spectrum of the pet, what the pet is emitting.
Featuring Multi-Radiance Therapeutic Laser Technology
Fair Winds has elevated the use of therapeutic laser technology for the management of pain in companion animals with the introduction of a family of devices that can be used in concert with or in succession of each other in order to provide the right kind of treatment for the appropriate length of time.
Therapeutic lasers use light waves of a specific wavelength to cause photobiomodulation, or the alteration of cellular and tissue physiology. This results in the promotion of growth, proliferation, migration and repair. Laser treatment can be used in conjunction with or in place of medication to manage pain, inflammation and wound healing.
- AlphaVet Veterinary Laser Therapy System:
- One of the most advanced therapeutic devices available today.
- Utilizes a combination of wavelengths to create unique and custom treatment protocols specific to each individual pet to increase tissue healing and provide rapid pain relief.
- Used for the treatment of musculoskeletal, intrathoracic (lung), oral-nasal, dermatologic and intra-abdominal conditions (kidney, pancreas).
- MR5 ACTIVet PRO:
- One of the most advanced therapeutic devices available today.
- Hand-held, cordless and portable.
- Blue light therapy – antimicrobial treatment for skin and wounds, including the most resistant bacteria.
- My Pet Laser
- Puts the power and convenience of home treatment in YOUR hands.
- Rentals and purchase available for the purpose of continuing or refining therapies in the comfort of your own home at your convenience.
- Treatment protocols for hot spots, lick granulomas, osteoarthritis, tendonitis, generalized pain, and acute injuries.
Pet Hospice
Fair Winds offers advanced methods of comfort care when your pet is nearing the end of their life. The goal is to improve or maintain your pet’s quality of life until a natural death occurs or a humane euthanasia is chosen. All efforts are towards caring, not curing. We aim to reduce total pain and minimize suffering to give you the time you need to make the right decision at the right time for your companion.
The benefits of having your pet enrolled as an outpatient in our pet hospice program include:
- The Focus on Quality of Life improvement
- Minimization of physical and mental pain and suffering
- Symptom management, hydration, hygiene
- Heightened monitoring plan
- Communication channel with extended availability for families
- Assistance with a plan for emergencies
- Creation of a home crisis kit
- Peace of mind and comfort for your and your pet
Common diseases and/or conditions we typically provide symptomatic therapy for in pet hospice:
- Mobility challenges (neurological/orthopedic)
- Osteoarthritis
- Neurologic (cognitive dysfunction, seizure disorders, neuropathies)
- Organ failure (kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, brain)
- Inflammatory (IBD, cystitis, pancreatitis)
- Endocrine (Cushing’s, thyroid)
- Autoimmune
- Cancer
- Frailness
Common treatment methods to control symptoms of chronic disease include, but are not limited to oral and injectable medications, oral supplements, subcutaneous fluid therapy, and secondary pain management.
Veterinary Services
Below are all of the veterinary services we offer at Fair Winds Pet Hospice. If you have any questions regarding our services, please feel free to Contact us.