It’s always important to take time to celebrate accomplishments, and the start of a new year is the perfect time to do just that!
Key Accomplishments for Our Education Program
BrightHaven’s primary goal for 2016 was to expand our education program so that we could share with the community what we’ve learned over the years from our wise and wonderful animal teachers. It’s all about living well through the last breath!
We achieved a long-held dream of creating an online learning program last year. We introduced two modules in our new The BrightHaven Guide to Animal Hospice series and partnered with e-trainingfordogs.com to make this material available in an online, self-paced format.
In this series, BrightHaven co-founders Gail and Richard Pope lead you through our Menu for Healing for the best quality of life and optimal balance at every life stage, and through the most peaceful and loving dying process.
Gail and Richard tell you more about the series in this video:
Find out more & sign up for a class!
The Animal Dying Experience
BrightHaven’s Gail and Richard Pope have been present at more than 600 animal deaths and share their firsthand knowledge in The BrightHaven Guide to Animal Hospice: The Animal Dying Experience.
In this two-part course, Gail and Richard will take you through the final stages of the animal dying experience and how this very special time of life is approached and honored at BrightHaven. They also offer some practical things that can be done by the caregiver for hospice support, which is focused on the animal’s comfort and wellbeing.
This module also introduces a Quality of Dying Scale, a tool designed to help those who have chosen the natural path to death for their animal, to assess the animal’s wellbeing at any time within the dying process.
You will discover that the dying process and death are nothing to fear, which is one more important life lesson from the animals.
Find out more & sign up for this class!
Praise for BrightHaven’s Work:
“I appreciate your work so much, and I am so grateful that there are such resources after all. God bless you for this work… I know you already know how many of us need this kind of assistance in making the ending days of our beloved companions as rich as they can be.”
—Michael B.
RACE Credits for The Animal Dying Experience
We are proud to announce that The Animal Dying Experience module was recently approved by the RACE (Registry of Approved Continuing Education) board!
Why is this approval so important? Now, veterinarians and veterinary technicians who complete this module will earn CEUs (continuing education units).
The RACE board is notoriously tough on applicants and many vets and teaching facilities have had their applications dismissed.
This approval and endorsement for our work really is huge and means we can now attract the veterinary community to our education program.
The Gentle Shift
In this course, Gail and Richard paint for you a simple picture of their healing philosophy by demonstrating how they progressively learned about holistic healthcare, embraced new concepts and witnessed healing miracles. For instance, they explain what happened when, with great trepidation, they completely changed their trusted commercial diet to one based on raw meat.
Gail and Richard also share how a beautiful black cat profoundly shifted their thinking about natural death.
You learn how to care for your animal from the holistic philosophy as practiced at BrightHaven. This information will also help you to define your own approach to animal wellness and hospice care.
Praise for The Gentle Shift:
I’ve just completed Module One ‘The Gentle Shift’. What a beautiful experience it was to learn of Gail Pope and Richard Pope’s journey and of their evolving process. Such a loving, calm and heart-centred way of learning about and experiencing hospice and palliative care. Thank you as always dear Gail and Richard and I so look forward to learning more with you in the months to come. Thank you so very much for all you do and for what you are and what you share and enable us to aspire to also. With the greatest love and respect to you both and Blanca and all of your other beautiful volunteers, helpers and animal teachers.”
—Jan K.
What’s Ahead in 2017 for BrightHaven’s Education Program?
We’re currently working on a third module called Follow Your Heart: Navigating a Terminal Diagnosis. Gail was inspired to create this module in response to countless distressed animal guardians reaching out to her for a consultation after their animal has received a terminal diagnosis. They want to do what’s best for their friend, but they need help finding their way through the confusion and complexity of choices a terminal diagnosis can bring.
Gail explains, “We created this presentation in essence to try to hold your hand and to help you to navigate this path with a deeper sense of peace and clarity. There’s no one “right” approach or answer–it depends on many factors unique to each situation.”
Other 2017 plans include a companion booklet for Follow Your Heart: Navigating a Terminal Diagnosis, written in an easy-to-use reference format.
To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.
– Anatole France
