Veterinary hospice and palliative care provides a welfare-centered framework for managing seriously ill or dying companion animals, prioritizing comfort, quality of life, and dignified death over life extension at all costs.
Veterinary hospice and palliative care represent a welfare philosophy that prioritizes an animal's experience of their remaining life over the extension of biological survival. The welfare-centered question is not "what can we do?" but "what should we do for this individual?" This shift in framing has profound implications: it validates comfort-focused care without curative intent, supports home death for animals who experience hospital stress, and positions euthanasia as a welfare tool rather than a failure. Owner education about quality of life indicators — good and bad days, appetite, pain responses, social engagement — empowers informed decision-making before crisis. The integration of bereavement support for owners acknowledges that companion animal loss is genuine grief deserving compassionate response.