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Animal Hospice Group - Gail Pope

Gail Pope

Animal Hospice Group Founder, Pictured here with Joey

Founder Profile

Gail Pope is the President and Founder of BrightHaven Center for Animal Rescue, Hospice, and Holistic Education (www.brighthaven.org) in California, and for over 30 years she has helped senior and special needs animals on a journey of holistic healing, through hospice care, and Transition.

BrightHaven is a pioneer and leader in the ever-expanding field of animal hospice and palliative care. Gail’s experience with hospice-supported natural dying (she’s been present at over 600 animal deaths) is distinct and well-known. Her work in the world of animal healthcare and hospice is widely acclaimed.

Gail has an international consulting practice and is contacted by many vets and animal caregivers regarding BrightHaven’s natural methods and protocols. Gail is also the author of six books available on Amazon – all addressing various aspects of animal hospice and caring for older animals. BrightHaven’s comprehensive education program includes online self-paced courses about animal hospice.

Gail has been involved with the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC), the industry’s leading organization, for many years. She served on one of their early Board of Directors and more recently was an Advisory Board Member from April 2017 through December 2020. Her module entitled “Understanding the Animal Dying Experience” is part of the IAAHPC Animal Hospice and Palliative Care certification program.

Her book Soar My Butterfly: The Animal Dying Experience is required homework for this Program. She also co-authored a chapter on animal hospice with IAAHPC’s Amir Shanan, DVM, for his book called Hospice and Palliative Care for Companion Animals: Principles and Practice.

Gail currently serves on the board of directors of SARA (Shelter Animal Reiki Association) and as a faculty member of Holistic Actions! for Companion Animals.

Certifications, Education, Associations & Honors

  • Dr. Charles Loops, Dr. Christina Chambreau – Beginning homeopathy courses and certification.
  • Animal Reiki Source – Ongoing training in Reiki; Levels 1, 2, and 3 and teacher training completed.
  • The Animal Acupressure Academy – Ongoing training in craniosacral, therapy, QiGong, Tui Na, Acupressure, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Taoist Alchemy.
  • Harrow County Grammar School for Girls, Harrow, England.
  • International Association of Animal Hospice & Palliative Care.
    • Board Member: January 2009 – December 2010.
    • Advisory Board Member: April 2017 – December 2020.
  • Jefferson Award for Public Service – July 2013: BrightHaven Co-Founders Gail and Richard Pope received the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service, in acknowledgment of their devoted service to the extremely vulnerable population of senior, disabled, and chronically ill animals!

Publications

(Available on Amazon - click here)

  • Follow Your Heart: Navigating a Terminal Diagnosis – helps you walk this often-challenging path with a deeper sense of peace, confidence and clarity
  • Soar, My Butterfly: The Animal Dying Experience – A simple guide to the signs and symptoms you may encounter during the final stages of the natural dying process (Updated version of Into the Light)
  • The BrightHaven Guide to Animal Hospice – Learn how to care for your animal companions in their Golden Years and through the end of life (Updated version of As Time Goes By and Peace, Hope & Hospice)
  • Peace, Hope & Hospice – Care for animal companions through their golden years and through the end of life
  • Into the Light – Understand and care for pets through the process of dying and death 
  • As Time Goes By – For caregivers who are helping loved animal companions to grow older gracefully in the best health possible

Activities

  • Holistic Actions! for Companion Animals Faculty Member: May 2017 to present
  • Shelter Animal Reiki Association Faculty Member: April 2017 to present

Conferences & Lectures of Note

  • "Hospice with Animals with Gail Pope" - Shelter Animal Reiki Association (SARA) Online Conference on February 2-4, 2023.
  • “What Animals Taught Us About Animal Hospice & Natural Dying” – Holistic Actions! Caring for Companion Animals Empower Hour on December 7, 2020, Co-presented with Carol Hulse, BrightHaven Education Program Specialist.
  • “What About Quality of Dying? (Natural Death)” – October 2017 International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care Conference Co-presented with Carol Hulse, BrightHaven Education Program Specialist.
  • An informational and resources booth - October 2017 International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care Conference.
  • “Hospice and Natural Death For Our Pets: An Expert Interview” – Adam Clark, LCSW, AASW, Psychology Today.
  • Connections – Animal Reiki Source Conference. 2017. Ratna Ling Northern California.
  • Dancing to the End of the Song. Presented at The BrightHaven Animal Sanctuary. November 2015. Co-Presented with Tom Wilson.
  • As Time Goes By – Caring for your Animals the BrightHaven way. March 2015. Presented at The BrightHaven Animal Sanctuary.
  • The Animal Dying Experience - San Diego October 2015. The International Association of Animal Hospice & Palliative Care.
  • A Case for the Natural Approach – September 2014. Indianapolis: The International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care Conference.
  • The Art of Dying - 3rd Annual Conference, Denver Colorado November 2012.
  • The Gentle Shift – A Story of Animal Leadership – August 2009 The International Veterinary Hospice Symposium. Coordinated by The Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets and the Assisi International Animal Institute. Co-presented with Richard Pope.
  • The Gentle Shift. The Ananda Foundation East-West Bookstore, Seattle. November 2007.
  • Keep Your Pet Healthy The Natural Way – The BrightHaven Philosophy of Natural Animal Care. February 2003. Coo-presented with Susanna Anthony.

Online Training & Course Work

  • BrightHaven Holistic Animal Hospice: Navigating a Terminal Diagnosis – What is one of the most difficult things for any animal lover or pet parent to hear? It’s being told by the vet that your animal’s illness is terminal. What do I do now? How can I best support my animal loved one? What is the best way forward for our family? Learn how you can walk this often-challenging path with a deeper sense of peace, confidence, and clarity. (Co-presented with Carol Hulse, BrightHaven Education Program Specialist.
  • BrightHaven Holistic Animal Hospice: Fundamentals – BrightHaven is a leader in the emerging field of animal hospice and also renowned for holistic healthcare. This course helps pet parents and animal lovers learn about animal hospice in general – and holistic animal hospice care in particular – to help their loved ones live the best life possible each and every day! (Co-presented with Carol Hulse, BrightHaven Education Program Specialist.
  • BrightHaven Guide to Animal Hospice: The Animal Dying Experience – BrightHaven Founders Gail and Richard Pope, who have been present at more than 600 animal deaths, takes you through the final stages of the animal dying experience and how this very special time of life is approached and honored at BrightHaven. You will discover that the dying process and death are nothing to fear, which is one more important life lesson from the animals.
  • BrightHaven Guide to Animal Hospice: The Gentle Shift (from conventional to holistic mindset) – BrightHaven Founders Gail and Richard Pope paint for you a simple picture of their healing philosophy by demonstrating how they progressively embraced new concepts and witnessed healing miracles. For instance, they explain what happened when, with great trepidation, they completely changed their trusted commercial diet to one based on raw meat. Gail and Richard also share how a beautiful black cat profoundly shifted their thinking about natural death.

“Animal hospice care is my passion, my life. Helping people and animals help each other, guided by love, is my mission.”

~ Gail Pope, AHG Founder

Animal Hospice Group - Gail Pope with kitty
Animal Hospice Group - Richard with Lily

Copyright © In Joy Photography. All rights reserved.

Animal Hospice Group - Gail feeding Odette the Goose

Copyright © In Joy Photography. All rights reserved.

Animal Hospice Group - Bright Haven's Santuary
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