Elizabeth and Percy: Staying together at home with Cherished support

Elizabeth and her beloved dog, Percy, joined the Cherished Pets Foundation for home pet care assistance in 2022. Elizabeth first came to the Foundation when we supported her with palliative and end-of-life care for her previous dog, Lilly. This care was delivered in close collaboration between Elizabeth, our veterinary team and our Community Vet Nurse, ensuring her Buddhist beliefs around death and dying were fully respected.

Elizabeth lives with multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair. Through our Home Care Assistance program, the Foundation continues to support Elizabeth and Percy in maintaining Percy’s health and wellbeing.

Support includes a volunteer dog walker five days a week, volunteer pet transport to regular veterinary appointments, regular visits from our Human-Animal Bond Practitioners (a Community Vet Nurse and a Social Worker) and six-monthly reviews of both Percy’s care and Elizabeth’s support needs (more often when required). Cherished Pets Foundation also helps Elizabeth with medication deliveries and respite care with a consistent carer during Elizabeth’s hospitalisations.

Now 13 years old, Percy is experiencing age-related decline. Our team is supporting both Elizabeth and Percy through this stage, ensuring Percy continues to enjoy a high quality of life through regular exercise, socialisation and veterinary care.

Over the years, both Elizabeth and Percy have developed a wonderful bond with many members of the Foundation and clinic team, relationships built on trust, compassion and a shared love for Percy’s wellbeing and for keeping him together with Elizabeth where he belongs.

The companionship between them, and the care and connection provided by our volunteers, have become an essential part of Elizabeth’s daily life and wellbeing.