End of Life Care is not a Failure

Mary Gardner, DVM, Co-Founder and CIO of Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice & In-Home Euthanasia. After graduating from the University of Miami, she began working as a trainer for an enterprise-wide order management software. After learning the intricacies of the software and the variety of ways different businesses used it, she moved into a Business Architect role where she led the design of new software initiatives. Her innate talent for understanding logistics in a client-centric organization developed a unique skill set for a veterinarian. After 10 years in software, she found herself longing for something different and more meaningful. The path she selected was to become a veterinarian. She completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2008 from the University of Florida. She worked in general medicine at a veterinary clinic in south Florida for two years before discovering her niche in end-of-life care. Gardner is a published author for many articles and a textbook, speaks all around the world on geriatrics and end of life care and was voted 2020 VMX Small Animal Speaker of the year.

Coleen Ellis founded Pet Angel Memorial Center, Inc, the United States’ first stand-alone pets-only funeral home.  Now a well recognized thought-leader on the subject of pet death-care by organizations such as the National Funeral Directors Association and the International Cemetery, Crematory and Funeral Association, her work within the pet death care industry has begun to span the country as others who share in her passion for pets and their respectful treatment in death desire to open their own care centers. In response to consulting demand, Coleen founded Two Hearts Pet Loss Center, to guide those people who also wish to provide death care services in their communities, as well to be an educational resource in the pet grief discipline. Most recently, Coleen was awarded the first Death and Grief Studies Certification specializing in Pet Loss Companioning by Dr Alan Wolfelt, at his Center For Loss in Ft Collins, Colorado.