Meet Dr. Christie Cornelius of Last Wishes in Central

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Christie Cornelius.

Dr. Cornelius, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in a small city in Iowa, the oldest of 3 children. I was always an empath, a scientist, and an animal lover. Makes an ideal veterinarian, I suppose? I obtained my B.S. in Biology at Loras College in Dubuque, IA, went on to a Master’s Program in Zoology at Texas Tech University, and graduated from Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2004. After eight years of private and emergency small animal practice, I started my company, Last Wishes, in 2012.

I started my company because I love love love geriatric pets. I love making the old ones feel better. Even if feeling better means providing a lovely final ending to a masterfully lived life. I relieve suffering and provide comfort to each pet and each family I see. I am asked almost every day – “how do you do what you do?” It is simple. I do what I love. I love what I do. It’s an honor to be invited into a client’s home. They trust us to be a part of an extremely delicate and emotional moment in their lives – the loss of a loved one.

Last Wishes provides compassionate comfort care to geriatric cats and dogs in the Greater Houston area. We provide hospice, palliative care, pain management, and physical medicine services to pets diagnosed with chronic or life-limiting illnesses. We perform mobile and clinic services. Our patients have commonly been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, cancer, organ failure, and neurologic disease. We treat the pet and the family at the same time. One does not go without the other. Our unique program includes bereavement support, quality of life assessment, and preparation for loss. Hospice is 24/7 before, during, and after. Most of our business comes from word-of-mouth or as a veterinary referral.

After taking out a small bank loan and trading in my sedan for an SUV, I started Last Wishes in November 2012. I was still working a full time job at a day practice when I took my first appointment for Last Wishes on my lunch break. I didn’t quit my day job until the start of 2014, so for a year I made house calls outside of normal business hours, which made for some very long days. My office was my home.

Last Wishes is in its 5th year now. We are a team of 4 DVMs, 4 veterinary nurses, a pet bereavement counselor, and 3 client support staff. My associate, Dr. Julia Spade, and I will become the first two licensed veterinarians to obtain certification in Veterinary Hospice and Palliative Care in the state of Texas through the International Association for Animal Hospice & Palliative Care. In February 2017, Last Wishes opened the first Comfort Care Center for Pets in Houston. In addition to home visits, we now perform pain, hospice, and palliative care consultations, veterinary acupuncture, laser therapy, and comfortable sedation-euthanasia in our center. There are no steel tables there!

I established The Last Wishes Fund (501c) in 2016 to provide financial resources to families who need assistance providing end-of-life care to their beloved pets. Every pet deserves a peaceful, pain-free passing in the comfort of home. Our community has been able to help war veterans, senior citizens, disabled individuals, and families who have just hit hard times. Helping these humans and their ailing pets is the best feeling in the world, and we are so grateful for the donations that come from others who care.

Toward the end of 2016, I also co-founded a new type of aftercare service, a sister business, Earthman Last Wishes Pet Aquamation. Aquamation, a.k.a. water-based or flameless cremation, is a more environmentally friendly way to honor a pet’s memory. The process is quiet, gentle, sterile, and produces zero emissions. Our private services allow us to return a pet’s ashes to a client as a beautiful memorial. Over 90% of our families have been choosing the gentler water-based over traditional flame cremation since we introduced it in March 2017. Earthman Last Wishes is the first private aquamation service in the state of Texas.

Coming in the summer of 2017 is the completion of a pet memorial garden in Cypress, TX for those families who choose our communal aquamation services and do not wish to have their pet’s ashes returned to them. The ashes are spread and some mixed into communal stepping stones that are marked and mapped so the family can visit and spend time with their loved one.

The last 5 years has been wonderful and busy and wonderfully busy! It has been challenging at times, but I am so lucky to be surrounded by the best team and support system, including my better half, Paulette. Hospice and palliative care for pets is still in its early stages, but I am hopeful it will become more the norm for our terminally-ill and mobility-challenged pets in the future. We have a long way to go!

Has it been a smooth road?
Money is always a struggle! I own two small service-based businesses. I pay everyone before myself. It’s hard to convince the bank you’re worthy of a loan when all you have is an idea.

Sometimes it’s hard to talk about death. Especially the impending death of a pet. I wish more families called us for help, but I know it’s hard.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The future of veterinary medicine is home health care. We’ve hit the upper limits as to what’s possible in veterinary medicine – the technology, the science….it may advance, but the ability for an average family to afford the advances forces us to regroup and rethink the way we care for our pets. Home care is sometimes better for a pet or a family, even if it means the pet not receiving the most advanced treatment options.

Contact Info:

• Address: Last Wishes
  3036 Antoine Dr.
  Houston, TX 77092
• Website: lastwishes.com
• Phone: 713-452-0474
• Email: wecare@lastwishes.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/petslastwishes

Image Credit:
Kevin Falcon Photography, Petography Unleashed

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