Love and care at the end in Denver

USA Today had an extremely moving article by Sharon L. Peters about a hospice program for pets.

Located in Denver, MaxFund, a no-kill shelter fosters out pets who are at the end of their lives.

Cooper, a lab/shepherd mix, went home with Tami Tanoue and Roger McKenzie. The pooch had inoperable prostate cancer.

And for two sunny months he lived the life he deserved. He settled in with the couple's other pets, adapting quickly to the various rhythms and routines of the household. His big tail was a constant-motion metronome, thrubbing against the wall whenever a human approached, flinging everything at big-dog height to the nether reaches of the room (his nickname became Slappy because of all that tail action). He took long walks around the neighborhood and snacked on grilled steak.

And then Copper died.

Tanoue and McKenzie's home is one of about 15 foster homes the shelter uses for terminally ill animals abandoned by their owners.

Copper got a final summer of happiness. He took long walks, ate boiled chicken and lay on Tanoue's feet every night while the rest of the pets clustered around. When he died it was at the place he'd known as home, with the people who loved him holding his head and telling him so.

Here's my thanks, as inconsequential as it is, to Tanoue and McKenzie and all the others in Denver.

Do any of you know of other programs like this around the country?