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Meet Dr. Laurel Chew: Founder of Hold My Paws
Rachel @woofya.com
October 03, 2025
At Woofya, we’re proud to work alongside veterinary professionals who are reshaping the future of pet care. This month, we’re excited to spotlight Dr. Laurel Chew: founder and head veterinarian of Hold My Paws, a Melbourne-based in-home palliative care and euthanasia service, and an insightful voice on the Woofya Customer Advisory Group.
Introducing Dr. Laurel Chew
Dr. Laurel Chew – founder of Hold My Paws
Dr. Laurel Chew founded Hold My Paws after experiencing the loss of her own beloved dog. The ability to say goodbye at home — in comfortable and familiar surroundings, surrounded by love and family — became a turning point in her career. It showed her just how meaningful and healing that final moment could be, for both pets and their people.
Today, Hold My Paws provides compassionate, personalised end-of-life care for families across most of Melbourne. Services include in-home quality of life assessments, palliative support, and peaceful euthanasia, all delivered with empathy, dignity, and clinical excellence.
“I wanted to give other pets that same gentle passing, and their families the same lasting memory of love and peace,” says Laurel.
Before launching Hold My Paws, Laurel spent over a decade as a veterinary surgeon, working in hospitals across Australia. That experience helped shape her understanding of a key challenge many clinics face: what happens after the consult.
“As vets, we do our best to prepare clients for what to expect at home — but it’s not easy. Information gets forgotten. Follow-ups fall through. We’re relying on phone calls and text messages.”
Whether it's palliative care or post-surgical recovery, the challenge is the same: ensuring the pet continues to receive the care they need after they leave the clinic. And this is where tools like Woofya are transforming the experience for both clinics and pet owners.
Laurel provided input during the early stages of Woofya to help shape new solutions for better post-consult care. From the Quality of Life Tracker — which helps vets and owners make informed end-of-life decisions — to post-surgical home care plans, Woofya is bridging the gap between clinic and home.
“The Woofya tools support the kind of care I’ve always aimed to provide: calm, compassionate, and consistent — especially in the sensitive time of palliative and Symptom control, and end-of-life care.”
“Having a way to track pain level, symptoms, medications, and daily wellbeing helps owners feel supported and ensures pets receive the gentlest care possible in their final stages.”
By making compliance and tracking simple, Woofya allows vets and owners to focus on what matters most: creating comfort and dignity. Whether it’s adjusting pain relief, monitoring appetite, or noting small changes in behaviour, Woofya’s digital plans bring structure and reassurance to an emotionally difficult journey.
Let’s Build the Future of Veterinary Care — Together
As part of the Woofya community, Dr. Chew is one of many voices helping shape smarter, more supportive veterinary care across Australia.
Are you a vet, clinic owner, or part of a passionate veterinary team? We’d love to hear from you. Share your experience with us, tell us what support you need, and help shape the future of vet care in Australia.
📩 Reach out to us at [email protected].
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