Pet Loss At Home is a group of trained compassionate mobile veterinarians providing end-of-life care in the comfort of home. We are here for you and are a simple phone call away.
By being in the home, you and your pet will be surrounded by familiar sights and smells. Private house call service is priceless. The peaceful comforts of home help make your goodbye experience a better memory vs. Exam Room #2. Honor the bond you have with your beloved pet.
A home visit gives you plenty of time to meet the compassionate vet and talk about special stories and memories about your pet. Surround yourself with pictures, other pets who are friends, flower petals sprinkled in a heart shape, soothing music, wine, tea and familiar sounds and smells the pet is accustomed to every day of their life. Home is where the heart is.
Typical costs
Services include:
- Phone/email consults about the euthanasia decision, quality of life discussions, signs of suffering info
- Drive time
- Home visit with handouts about memorialization ideas and grief support, sedation and euthanasia clay paw prints and fur clipping keepsakes
- Home euthanasia
Expect to pay approximately:
- $300-$450 if you keep your pet’s body for home burial or provide your own transport to a pet cremation facility
- $400-$650 if your mobile vet handles gentle body transport for group mixed cremation, ashes not saved or returned.
- $600-$850 if your mobile vet handles gentle body transport for individual cremation, with ashes saved and returned to you.
Mobile vet service costs more because it takes a lot more time. Consider a doctor has a vehicle, drive time back-and-forth, fuel, traffic, extended availability, short notice, long hours, 7-days a week, and large service areas. A vet clinic does not provide this level of service.
Preparing for a home euthanasia
Set aside two large dry towels and a blanket or bed sheet that the veterinarian can keep.
If your pet is still eating, set aside some extra-tasty food like lunch meat (or even milk/tuna for cats) for hand-feeding during sedation. There are no food restrictions before or during the home visit.
Options available:
- Location: In the home or yard, at a park or beach setting? Which room, by the fireplace, floor, couch, bed?
- Atmosphere: Consider lighting candles, playing relaxing music, laying out blankets and pillows, reading a poem or prayer.
- Who will be there: Family, friends, neighbors, co-workers? College student Skype in or FaceTime?
- Keepsakes: Do you want fur clippings or a paw print impression?
- Body care: Burial (home or pet cemetary) or cremation (ashes returned or not). Transportation of body (you or the mobile veterinarian). Is there a special toy, blanket, drawing, letter, photo, or flowers that can be sent with your pet to be included in the cremation?
What happens during a home euthanasia
Pet euthanasia is a large overdose of anesthesia that is specially made for euthanasia. Your pet experiences a tired, relaxing, falling-asleep feeling.
First, a calming sedative is given. Peaceful relaxation and full unconsciousness set in over 5-15 minutes. Then, a second injection is given. Breathing stops within 30 seconds, followed by the heart slowing and stopping over 1-3 minutes.
Home visits typically last 30-60 minutes.