Hospice at Home, a Lakeland HealthCare Affiliate, is seeking compassionate canines to provide pet therapy to hospice patients.

Emotionally, animals help lift a person’s mood. They give people something to focus on outside of themselves. Hospice at Home volunteers and their pet therapy dogs visit patients in their homes, in assisted living and long-term care facilities, providing comfort, love and unconditional support.

Dogs must have up-to-date shot records and become certified as a therapy animal through Hospice at Home.

Hospice at Home, a Lakeland HealthCare affiliate, provides quality care to people adjusting to living with a serious illness, as well as to people facing death, anticipating the death of a loved one, or healing their grief after the death of a loved one. Hospice at Home places an emphasis on the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of those who need care and those receiving support services in Berrien, Cass, Van Buren, and Allegan counties. Extending this care, Lory’s Place, a bereavement and education center that builds hope and strength for every grieving family, is available to anyone in southwest Michigan or northern Indiana.

If you think you and your dog will enjoy becoming volunteers, call (269) 429-7100 or (800) 717-3811 for more information, or go to www.hospiceathomecares.org.