Lap of Love had a lot happen in 2012 - here is a recap:
It all started in January - Drs. Dani McVety and Mary Gardner were asked to present the topics of Veterinary Hospice and Euthanasia at the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC) in Orlando. Their sessions were attended by technicians, practice managers and veterinarians.
We also had the coolest booth in the exhibit hall.
Veterinary Oncologist Dr. Karri Miller joined the team to offer phone consultations to pet parents around the world dealing with cancer. Learn More And Jodi Ziskin joined to offer nutritional phone consultations: Learn More
At the start of 2012 - we had 11 locations... but this year we were blessed to find 11 wonderful veterinarians to double the size of Lap of Love and help families in the following locations:
Miami, Florida - Dr. Ursula Dell
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Dr. Brad Bates
St. Louis, MO - Dr. Dawnetta Woodruff
Houston, Texas - Drs. Charles Jameson and Cheryl Maguire
Dallas, Texas - Dr. Holly Kiernicki
Boston, Massachusetts - Dr. David Rousseau
St. Augustine, Florida - Dr. Danielle Churchill
Greensboro, North Carolina - Dr. Sara Fletcher
Naples, Florida - Dr. Suzaane Brough
Atlanta, Georgia - Dr. Courtney Culbertson
Annapolis, Maryland - Dr. Melanie Cohen
Two of our veterinarians moved locations.
Dr. Juliana Lyles moved to Chicago, Illinois & Dr. Nicole Sabo moved to Connecticut.
Twelve additional veterinarians joined in existing areas such as South Florida, Tampa, Knoxville, Orlando, Charlotte and Jacksonville. We now have 40 of the most compassionate veterinarians helping families in 22 locations and 13 states. WOW!
We published 60 blog posts (including this one), 5 newsletters and some Lap of Love vets were even interviewed for news stations.
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| Photo courtesy of Sun Sentinel |
Lap of Love also had articles published in veterinary journals and other non-vet magazines - all to help increase the awareness of veterinary hospice and options available.
In November, Drs. Gardner, McVety and Lyles attended the 2nd Annual International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC) in Denver to learn about new trends in veterinary hospice and share some of their ideas with fellow veterinarians.
We added two wonderful artists to our shopping site that create personalized items to help remember our loved ones:
Tile Art by Paul Gold: See More
Art Glass by Babs: See More
A beautiful song was created for us by Zach Ziskin and a video was made for it as well: Click here to watch. But have tissues present! You can also purchase the song for your personal use. Learn More
And lastly - to help families remember their pets, we developed our Pet Memorial site where parents can upload pictures, stories and memorials for their pets plus they can send that to friends and family members so that they can light candles in memory of those pets and post a message. Learn More
In summary - it has been a year full of new colleagues and FULL of wodnerful, awesome families that love their pets just as much as we do. We have shared tears, stories, smiles, photos, memories and bonds with so many of our clients. Many people may question how we can do what we do... but I think all of our families know... we have to - there is no other way.
With warm wishes for a wonderful new year. We will think fondly of those we lost in 2012 and cherish those we still have.
Mary Gardner, DVM
www.lapoflove.com
Here are some favorite pics throughout the year:
First of all.....CONGRATULATIONS to your growth and providing more caring and compassionate vets, to help more families across the country. Amazing how much you've grown in only a year's time! I'm sure that all your clients feel like I felt at that most difficult time and making such a difficult decision. Despite the pain of the loss of a devoted family member....Lap of Love made it much easier, knowing that you weren't alone and that you made the right decision...loss with dignity for your pet. It's very comforting to know that you're there, when that dreaded decision needs to be made again with my Dalmatian Olivia! Hope that it will be MANY years from now!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Years to all the devoted vets in Lap of Love!! Claudia Rysdon - Tampa
Happy new year! 2012 seems to be a very fruitful and interesting year to you all. Hopefully 2013 will be the same or even better. BTW, the pic are wonderful!
ReplyDeletephiladelphia animal hospital