Happy Endings: Not Just A Fairytale

What you’ll walk away with

What changes in your exam room after this course

• Take a new look at death and dying — the last chapter of life, hospice care, natural death, and euthanasia — and see how veterinary medicine is filling a void in care
• Understand the concepts and paradigm shifts behind animal hospice: the object of care, goals at end-of-life, decision making, and competing medical and ethical principles
• Make end-of-life an experience — bucket lists, emotional support for families, and practical help for children
• Find ideas and methods to avoid compassion fatigue in caregivers
• Build skills for confident, compassionate and effective communication, including the tough conversations and discussions with children

Meet your speakers

Meet Our Speakers

Introvet® is thrilled to welcome Dr. Fiona McCord and Colleen Ellis

Fiona McCord

BVM&S, MS, JD

Dr. Fiona McCord is a veterinarian and attorney who has practiced in the Dallas area for the last 35 years. In 2014, she finally decided what she wanted to be when she grew up and launched Compassionate Care Pet Services to fill what she saw as a gap in the care available to pets and their families during the final stages of a pet’s life.

As a premiere end-of-life provider in DFW, Dr. McCord seeks to improve the experience of pets and people during the last stage of a pet’s life, their death, and the grief that follows. Her practice has evolved as demand for services has increased. Compassionate Care has offered end-of-life consultations, in-home quality-of-life and hospice visits, assisted natural death, in-home euthanasia, anticipatory grief support, a priority client program, concierge after care, and a pet loss support group. Regardless of the stage and scope of practice, the goal of CCPS will always be the provision of comprehensive care for pet owners during the final days of their pet’s life and beyond.

Dr. McCord holds a veterinary degree, law degree, and Masters in Veterinary Cardiovascular Physiology. She is certified in Pet Loss Counseling by the APLB, Pet Loss and Grief Companioning, and is an AHPC certified veterinarian. She is a member of IAAHPC, AVMA, CCVMA, APLB, and HABA. But when asked about her educational background, she will tell you that though the degrees may sound impressive, the best teacher has been her life experience and the hundreds of clients with whom she has shared the last moments of a beloved pet’s life.

Coleen Ellis

CT, CPLP

In 2004, the death of her dog, Mico, guided Coleen Ellis to start Pet Angel Memorial Center. In 2009 Coleen founded Two Hearts Pet Loss Center, assisting others in providing meaningful pet death care services, and serving as an educational resource in the pet grief discipline. Coleen is Certified in Thanatology, is a Certified Pet Loss Professional, and teaches Pet Loss & Grief Certification courses. In the fall of 2011, Coleen released her first book Pet Parents: A Journey Through Unconditional Love and Grief. In 2014, she helped found The Pet Loss Center, and remains a consultant and advisor.

Coleen is a well-recognized leader in the world of pet end of life care, and has been called “United States most well-known pet funeral director” and “The Pet Loss Pioneer” by major publications. She is a founder and past co-chair of the Pet Loss Professionals Alliance, past president and current Executive Director of the IAAHPC, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for her alma mater, Fort Hays State University where she was the 2018 Alumni Achievement Award recipient.