Hospice Cat Brings Comfort And Peace To Dying Veterans

[Shoshanna]

Hospice Cat Brings Comfort And Peace To Dying Veterans

hospicecat

admin | May 4, 2016 | Cats, News



One of the staff members at VA Hospice in Salem, VA, has absolutely no training at all, but he is one of the most caring and effective staff members there. Loved by all.





His name is Tom, and he is a cat. Dorothy Rizzo, the Palliative care coordinator at the hospice rescued Tom from a shelter about four years ago. Thinking it might help the veterans feel more at home in their final days. But Tom became much more than that, becoming a source of happiness and peace for people sometimes in their darkest times. Helping to make their transition smoother and more peaceful.





Tom seemed to know his role from the moment he got there. Dorothy told Veterans Affairs news. “There’s something about the presence of an animal that has a calming effect. Watching the cat or petting him takes you out of the sad moment you’re in.”



He was there when Edwin Gehlert, a WWII Veteran, took his final breaths.


Tom jumped right up there on to Edwin’s bed and placed his paw in the Army Veteran’s open hand. “That cat took him right to heaven,” said Elizabeth Gehlert, the Veteran’s wife of 68 years. “It was a beautiful passing and that cat is the one who made it happen.”



Edwin’s daughter, Pamela Thompson, described Tom as her lifeline on that painful day. “I kept telling daddy to let go, to go towards the light,” she said. “When Tom put his paw in daddy’s hand, it was like God was telling me he had ahold of my dad and that everything was OK. That’s how I felt. I felt a peace come over me.”





Tom just seems to know who he needs to spend time with. He just knows.





“Having a cat in the room will take your mind off what’s going on,” Laura Hart, a physician assistant at the hospital, said. “He’ll do something silly – he’ll jump in the air or something and everyone will laugh. It breaks the tension.”



Tom’s furry, comforting presence is also a big help to family members who need to return home after visiting with a loved one all day. “When they leave for the day and the cat’s still on the Veteran’s bed, it gives them some comfort,” Hart explained. “They don’t feel so bad about leaving. They’re sort of like, ‘OK, Tom’s here. It’s OK if I leave now.’ It makes them feel better.”


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