Fred's Story: From Bedside to Backyard
VALDESE—Science has proven that interacting with pets can result in lowering stress in humans and decreasing blood pressure and anxiety. Pet owners form deep emotional bonds with their pets, often feeling as close to them as human family members.
Many of AMOREM’s patients and their caregivers value the relationships with their pets and see them as therapeutic, improving their quality of life. Pets often sit bed side, or in the bed, with the patient while they take their last breath.
Most recently, Fred, a pet dog of one of AMOREM’s patients, did just that for his person—but Fred’s story doesn’t end there.
Before Fred’s person passed away, she was worried about what would happen to Fred, as there was no one to take him into care after she passed.
Mary Beucler, one of AMOREM’s medical social workers, assured the patient that she would do her best to find Fred a loving home to live out his days after her passing.
That’s when the search began.
“My first step was going to our marketing department to put a plea out to the public on our social media to help find Fred a home,” Beucler said.
A simple post on AMOREM’s Facebook page on August 4th read: FRED NEEDS A NEW HOME! Meet Fred, the sweet companion of an AMOREM hospice patient. He is 12 years old and has a special diet. Fred will need a new home soon. If you have room in your heart and home for this sweet dog, please contact Mary Beucler.
The post, that also included two photos of Fred, nearly went viral, generating 15x more views in comparison to AMOREM’s typical content with more than 100 shares.
While Fred was getting likes and shares from thousands of individuals, he was still providing comfort, love and companionship to his person, who was approaching the end of her life.
After six days, and multiple posts and shares on Facebook, Carol Damron gave Beucler a call. Damron didn’t see Fred’s Facebook post, but her neighbor had told her about him.
“I have always had dogs,” Damron said. “My dog had been hit by a car in June, a few months after my husband had died. My friends knew I was looking for a dog.”
Damron, who is 75, said she didn’t want to start over with a puppy so adopting a senior dog like Fred was ideal.
Damron went to the patient’s home and the patient’s guardian brought Fred out to meet Damron.
“I’m in a wheelchair,” Damron said. “They put him in my lap for a little while and he was just the right size.”
The next day, after the meeting, Fred’s person passed away with Fred by her side. That same day Damron picked Fred up and took him to his new home.
“He certainly had his grief period,” Damron said. But fast forward to today, Fred is living his best life.
“We are doing fantastic,” Damron said. “He’s learning to be a dog. He has his own yard and he investigates the entire yard every day. We go on four walks a day and he has met all of the other dogs in the neighborhood.”
And evidently, you can teach old dogs new tricks. “I taught him to step up on the footrest of my wheelchair so that I can put his leash on him. He’s my buddy in crime.”
Damron advises those who are interested in adopting a pet to think twice, as it’s a commitment. “It’s like people who adopt a baby. You don’t adopt a baby for a day or year… it’s for their life. I adopted him for as long as he has. And you will go through a grief period when they pass but you make each other’s lives so much richer and it’s worth it.”
Damron said she experienced a grief period after the loss of her husband and when her other dog was hit by a car.
“I wanted to spread my love, but I didn’t have anyone to give it to,” she said. “You’re not complete if you’re not giving out love and this is my way to give out love.”
In addition to assisting patients and families find new homes for their beloved pets, AMOREM also has a pet assistance fund. These funds can be used to help purchase food, assist with vet bills and more. To make a donation to AMOREM’s Pet Assistance fund, please visit www.amoremsupport.org/donate.
AMOREM has served as the region’s local nonprofit hospice provider for more than four decades, previously as Burke Hospice and Palliative Care and Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, and since 2021, as AMOREM. Its commitment to high-quality care is reflected in its five-star rating, the highest possible rating, on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Care Compare website. To learn more about AMOREM’s services, visit www.amoremsupport.org.
By Kerri L. McFalls