Community Highlights: Meet Lorrie Shaw of Telos Companion Animal Services, LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorrie Shaw.

Hi Lorrie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My families often say that I’m the first person they call when they’re experiencing a crisis with their pets, That level of trust, transparency and communication is crucial for them, right behind the experience I’ve cultivated during my time in the pet care industry—especially in the areas of caring for senior and geriatric pets, and those of any age who’ve developed a life-limiting diagnosis.

Around 2013, mostly driven by how ill-equipped the pet care industry had been with support and education to match the changes that have invariably unfolded in the industry most adjacent and important to it—veterinary medicine—I saw the need to serve families better. I wanted to stay in the industry I’d been a part of for so long, but I was growing emotionally and physically weary of feeling like I was failing my families and their pets. I was experiencing empathetic distress (incorrectly referred to as ‘compassion fatigue’). I could see that pets were and still are living longer, and better, thanks to advances in vet medicine and a more robust understanding of animal behavior. There’s a better grasp of our relationship to our pets, and their emotional lives, not to mention diagnostics and treatments that weren’t on the radar before. And with longer lifespans, age-related decline comes along for the journey. I could see that pet guardians wanted and needed more.

And so instead of throwing in towel—which I’d seriously considered—I got curious, and blazed my own trail in terms of gaining education on all things animal hospice. Which at that time, no formal education existed for those in my industry. Joining the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care proved to be helpful, though I also had to cobble together other resources and education to bolster my now-burgeoning practice.
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I also trained as a death doula for humans in 2016, and the following year, I became pet loss and grief companion certified, which allows me to work in a professional capacity with families coping with the emotional toil with pets in end-of-life, as well as individuals seeking support in their journey through pet loss and grief. When the certification program to earn status as a Fear Free Certified Professional was launched, I immediately took advantage of that.
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Along the way, my practice—Telos Companion Animal Services, LLC—had developed quite a following by area pet guardians, veterinarians, dog trainers, canine massage therapists, all of whom I partner with. Over the past decade, I’ve served countless families and their pets in different capacities as they’ve navigated through the toughest periods possible. From connecting to the right resources—from products, strategies, other veterinary interdisciplinary team members including in-home euthanasia practices—to having hands on support. Working to provide education in hopes of giving families access to what they desire most if not being able to have their pet’s live forever: a better end-of-life experience with them is a priority. I’ve achieved this through an education hub I’ve designed, interactions with families, social media channels and my blog, Animals Unfolded.
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Not surprisingly, up until recently at least, there hasn’t been credentialing in animal hospice and palliative care for professionals outside of the veterinary and social work fields. The Certified Hospice & Palliative Care Advocate program was launched in 2024 by the International Association for Animal Hospice & Palliative Care, and as a longtime member of the organization, I leapt at the opportunity to participate. This, after graduating from Animal Hospice Group’s credentialing program with honors as a Certified Animal Hospice Practitioner in 2023. This training has been integral to rounding out my existing animal hospice and grief support education. I’m super excited to be in the company of other professionals like myself who care so much about something that will support families and pets the way they’ve demonstrated they want and deserve.
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Although there is a breadth of pet care services that my practice offers, my focus remains on serving families and their pets well into the future by providing support through the pet’s journey to end of life and aftercare as an Certified Hospice & Palliative Care Advocate and Certified Animal Hospice Practitioner as a member of veterinary interdisciplinary teams (IDTs) by using the concierge model. Families love this because they can tap into the different levels of support and time from me that matches their changing needs. For me, that can mean emotional and spiritual support of the pet guardians and the pet, educating families on how to carry out medication and comfort care plans, attending veterinary appointments, providing hands-on care of the pet when families need to be away with respite care and overnight stays. Part of my role is also facilitating communication between vet teams and families—one family noted that my role mirrors that of a project commissioner—and that’s very true. Since after reviewing the medical records and the family’s own assessment of their needs and the pet’s needs, I’m able to identify gaps in any caregiving, needs, and support, as well as troubleshoot areas that need attention. Sometimes that’s can be done from a non-medical standpoint, while others require the veterinary team to address. Assisting with coordinating all aspects of end-of-life care, humane euthanasia care, after care, memorialization, grief support and more is part of the services offered.

Last year, I expanded access to all animal hospice-related concierge support services except hands on care to families outside of the greater Ann Arbor area, by working with them remotely. No matter where in the country a family is located, they appreciate being able to connect with veterinary interdisciplinary team members in their area and have the support from me so that they can move through this tender time in a way that meets their needs and reflects their values.

My work is about supporting families and their choices that are in line with their wishes, beliefs and values, and given what they’re moving through, there are a lot of them. There are no right or wrong choices, only the best choices. Honoring that helps to ensure that caregivers feel seen, heard and validated in what they’re experiencing, and maintains the human-animal bond, which is the ultimate goal. And supporting vet teams in their role in all this is a priority—the work that I do as a Certified Animal Hospice Practitioner aims to mitigate many of the challenges that they face in supporting families in a meaningful way, and ensuring that the comfort care plans that the veterinarian puts in place is kept intact.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has never been easy. While I’ve always had a strong level of confidence in the increasing roles I’ve played in not only caring for pets with age-related decline & life-limiting diagnoses & supporting their families & vet teams, there have been obvious challenges. Initially, the inherent lack of awareness of the kind of professional support & hands on care that my practice provides to families & vet teams was something that slowly took time to hurdle—& not from a communication or marketing standpoint—it’s more that many feel that once these situations avail themselves, that humane euthanasia care is the only option. That also resulted in many cases being what we call in human & animal hospice as
‘late-to-care’—essentially, hospice care support not being able to be meaningful due to a pet’s steep decline from inadequate comfort care, the caregiver’s inability to meet the pet’s changing needs, & the vet practices already slim time margins to work with. That’s different now, of course, since most vet practices locally are familiar with my work & have my information at the ready to hand families when the worst news they can imagine is delivered to them.

Another unquestionable problem that I had to work through was the lack of trust that those in the veterinary community have with those who profess to want to support families in the role I do.

The truth is that there are people who profess to work in the capacity as an animal end-of-life/death doula, though they don’t have the framework, education, experience & skill needed to do so in a professional capacity. That’s dangerous & it does a disservice to everyone. As a Certified Animal Hospice Practitioner & Certified Animal Palliative Care Advocate, I’ve always had to educate families & professionals to that problem. This is serious, difficult work & not only does the pet’s well-being depend on a solid standard of care, but so does the transparency, communication, experience, knowledge, skill & ethical standards that are in line with that. I’m happy to say that many vet teams locally & others in cities across the country have had an opportunity to liaise with me, that now, I’m pulled in earlier when it’s clear services & support are needed.

We’ve been impressed with Telos Companion Animal Services, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Telos Companion Animal Services, LLC is really a one of a kind practice focused on providing support in a multitude of ways to families & pets locally & across the country as they navigate a pet’s age-related decline or terminal diagnosis at any age, though end-of-life, death (via animal hospice supported natural death or humane euthanasia care), & assisting with all aspects of after care (cremation, aquamation, burial, avoiding relinquishment of the body) as well as pet loss & grief support.

That’s all achieved through in person & virtual support, & includes overnight stays, respite care, identifying greatest needs, attending vet appointments, liaising with vet teams, helping with arrangements, connecting with resources & more with a concierge-level animal hospice & palliative care support experience that pet guardians need, via touchpoints that meet the changing needs of the pet and the family. The goal of doing so addresses the prevailing features of animal hospice and palliative care (AHPC) support: overall well being for both the pet and the caregivers; helping the pet to live as comfortable and meaningful a life for as long as possible until their death; acceptance of a new reality by the caregivers while finding meaning in the experience, all while maintaining a journey that is navigated by the caregivers with least regrets and the benefit of ongoing empathy.

After moving through an initial consultation, guardians are able to choose enrollment in one of four customized concierge animal hospice & palliative care support plans. The goal of each plan is to provide touchpoints—regular virtual appointments and in-home appointments, and in some cases access to support via text and the ability to connect directly via phone in crisis situations—that offer a tailored level of support and advocacy to families whose pets have been assessed to have a progressive or life-limiting diagnosis, or an advanced stage of age-related decline and the burden of care has demonstrated a next-level need of support. As an added bonus, families-of-record who opt in for higher level concierge support packages benefit from complementary access to the virtual learning hub, highlighting topics relevant to the specialized needs they are facing.

This supports not only the pets & families, but the vet teams by identifying lapses in communication & caregiving, which helps keep comfort care plans intact—just one of the vet team’s goals.

Many families suggest that when all is said & done, that they have had ‘the best worst day ever’ because they can look back after their pet’s death & confidently say that they had the best support to make decisions that were in line with their wishes, beliefs & values, & what their pet wanted. They have no regrets, there’s no second-guessing decisions—& they are seen, heard, acknowledged & validated. And we know that pet guardians who have a well-supported experience through their pet’s age-related decline or terminal diagnosis, death, aftercare that’s in line with their beliefs & values & the right pet loss & grief support—they are inclined to welcome a pet sooner rather than later. This encompasses my brand & it’s something to be exceptionally proud of.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Curiosity, persistence, patience, & empathy.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://lorrieshaw.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellotelosanimal/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teloscompanionanimalservicesllc?
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ppsa2mi?si=eAN9MCqSixA53lr7