(Text preferred)
.... Providing end of life care in the comfort of your pet's family home...
(Text preferred)
.... Providing end of life care in the comfort of your pet's family home...
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Services
In-Home Euthanasia
Cremation Services
Hospice Services
Service Area
Services/Price List
Contact Us
Grief Resources
Area Emergency Clinics
Other Local In-Home Service Providers
About Us
In-Home Pet Euthanasia
In-Home Euthanasia Appointment
Booking an Appointment
Making the appointment is likely the hardest decision we make for our pets. It is a decision often wrought with grief but made out of love and a desire to end suffering and a declining quality of life.
Check the service area covered to ensure that your location is within the covered area.
Information required to set up an appointment include:
- Your name, address, phone number, and email address, parking info
- Your pet's name, breed, color, age, and weight
- A brief description of illness / reason for euthanasia
- Please advise if your pet has ever had seizures
- Name of your primary vet clinic(s) so we can notify them to turn off reminders
- If your pet is aggressive or has bitten somebody in the past 2 weeks, please let me know so we can ensure we work out a strategy to keep everybody safe and make the appointment as comfortable as possible for your pet. If your pet has bitten somebody in the past 2 weeks, county rabies protocol MUST be followed.
- If you have stairs to navigate, please let me know
Appointments are booked at 9am, 11am, 1pm, and 3pm (Winter hours are 10am, noon, and 2pm). Weekend appointments are available. Appointments can book up rapidly, so it is recommended to book 1-2 days ahead.
To request an appointment:
- Text or call 916-224-5543
- Email: drsuepethospice@gmail.com
Calls received after 6pm will be returned the next day.
Preparing for the Appointment
- Choose a location for the appointment where you, your family, and your pet will be comfortable.
- Decide whether children will be present. Here is a resource article that may help. https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/sites/default/files/files/companion/HTB/Helping%20Children%20Cope%20Printable%20%282013%29.pdf
- Decide whether other pets will be present. In my experience, dogs that are close seem to experience less severe grief if they are allowed to sniff their house sibling after they have passed.
- If your pet is able to eat, they can have a favorite snack as a distraction for the sedation injection. Peanut butter on a spoon is often a favorite.
- If your pet is over 25 lbs, please have a person who is able to help carry the stretcher to the car available. If your pet is over 100 lbs, please have 2 people available to help carry.
During the Appointment
Appointments generally take between 30-60 minutes depending on a number of factors. It is my desire to make sure your pet has the most peaceful transition possible. Sedation is the first part of the process. This is usually done as an injection while your pet is having a delicious snack. Sedation times can vary due to the disease processes ongoing within your pet. A very small percentage of pets may need a secondary sedation injection. Once your pet is comfortably sedate, the final euthanasia overdose will be administered. Once your pet has passed, I will make a modeling clay paw print and provide a hair clipping if desired. If you choose to have me take your pet to the crematory, I will go out to the car to get a basket or stretcher and prepare your pet for transport, wrapped in a soft blanket.
After the Appointment
If you chose private cremation, you will be notified when your pet's ashes are available for pick up.
Cremation Services
Cremation Options
Cremation services are provided through Heaven's Gate Pet Memorial Center. http://heavensgatepmc.com/ This is a family-owned pet crematory delivering compassionate care to our pets. I trust Heaven's Gate Pet Memorial Center to take care of my personal pets.
Private Cremation
With private cremation, each pet is cremated in an individual chamber at the on site crematory. Most cremations are completed within 10 business days.
Return of ashes is available via pickup at the crematory or return by USPS with signed receipt and special cremation handling and tracking.
You will be notified when your pet's ashes are available for pickup or mailback. Ashes will be contained in a standard wooden urn (type subject to supplier availability) . If you wish to upgrade your urn, you can purchase an urn at the crematory. See the crematory link for examples of upgraded urns: http://heavensgatepmc.com
Communal Cremation
With communal cremation, multiple pets are cremated together, and their ashes will be scattered in a peaceful horse pasture. Ashes are not returned to the family.
Memorial Products
Heaven's Gate Pet Memorial Center offers upgraded clay paw prints and other memorial products at an additional charge. If you are interested in purchasing these, please let Dr. Sue know at the appointment so she can notify the crematory. The crematory will then collect payment directly. http://heavensgatepmc.com
Hospice Services
Hospice Services
I offer an in-home quality of life assessment that includes reviewing your pet's environment and providing suggestions to increase quality of life or prevent accidents. I do not have diagnostic capabilities; and, as such, it is important to maintain a relationship with your primary veterinarian. This assessment can help family members come to an agreement on timing of euthanasia to help your pet while meeting the needs of the family.
Service Area
Communities Served
Standard Service Area
The standard service area is generally within 15 miles of Folsom and includes the following communities:
- Folsom
- Rescue
- Coloma
- Placerville (except Swansboro)
- Shingle Springs
- Cameron Park
- Eldorado Hills
- Rancho Murieta
- Rancho Cordova
- Orangevale
- Fair Oaks
- Citrus Heights
- Carmichael
- Granite Bay
- Loomis
- Roseville (95661)
- Rocklin (95677)
- Sacramento (except Downtown Sacramento)
- Rio Linda
Extended Service Area (add $50.00)
- Lincoln
- Auburn
- Newcastle
- Penryn
- Roseville (95678)
- Rocklin (95765)
- Elk Grove
- Wilton
- Placerville (Swansboro)
- West Sacramento
Outside of the Services Area
- Downtown Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Meadow Vista, Colfax, Cool, Georgetown, Camino, Pollock Pines, Somerset, Galt
Grief Resources
Sacramento SPCA Pet Loss Support Group
https://www.sspca.org/general-information/pet-loss-support-group
A message on grief from Jackson Galaxy
Stephanie Rogers - Embracing Your Grief
https://embracingyourgrief.com/
Stephanie Rogers is a certified Grief Counselor and Thanatologist with specializations in Child and Adolescent Grief and Animal Companion Loss Recovery. She has been a practicing Grief Counselor, Support Group Facilitator, Death Midwife, and End-of-Life Speaker and Educator since 2004. Since 2017, Stephanie has worked almost exclusively in the world of veterinary medicine as an Animal Companion Loss Recovery Specialist, providing one-on-one and group grief support to those who have lost, either by death, disappearance, or displacement, a non-human family member. She provides individual, couples, and family/group grief counseling for all types of loss, including Disenfranchised, Traumatic, Cumulative, Collective, Complicated, and Anticipatory Grief.
Clients of Dr. Sue Pet Hospice can use coupon code CARECOMPANION to receive 10% off any single session.
Books on Grieving Pet Loss
For Adults:
* When Your Pet Dies: A Guide to Mourning, Remembering and Healing by Alan D. Wolfelt
* Grieving the Death of a Pet by Dr. Betty Carmack
* Pet Loss: A Thoughtful Guide for Adults and Children by Herbert Nieburg and Arlene Fischer
* A Snowflake in My Hand by Samantha Mooney
* Coping With Sorrow On the Loss of Your Pet by Moira Anderson
* Joy in a Wooly Coat by Julie Adams Church
* Coping With The Loss of a Pet by Christina M. Lemieux, Ph.D.
Especially for Children:
* Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant
* Cat Heaven by Cynthia Rylant
* The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst
* When a Pet Dies by Fred Rogers
* I'll Always Love You by Hans Wilhelm
*Water Bugs and Dragonflies: Explaining Death to Young Children by Doris Stickney and Robyn Henderson Nordstrom
*For Every Dog an Angel by Christine Davis
*Don’t Say Good Bye Just Say See You by Patricia Ann Brill and Curt Walstead
*The Heaven of Animals by Nancy Tillman
*The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia
*Lifetimes: A Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen
Older Children:
*The Last Will and Testament of an Extremely Distinguished Dog by Eugene O’Neill
*Remembering Baymore by Dr. Peter Gollub and Marion Erard
Other Local In-Home Service Providers
Dr. Laura Summers - 916-960-9566
Sacramento Valley Veterinary Services. www.sacvalleyvet.com Regular service area is up to 45 minutes away from Wilton, CA. This includes all of Sacramento county, parts of El Dorado and northern San Joaquin counties.
Dr. Sarah Whitely - 916-582-1821
Faithful Friend, www.faithfulfriend.pet Regular service area includes Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Granite Bay, Citrus Heights, Folsom, Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Loomis, Antelope, Sacramento, West Sacramento. Additional fee for other outlying areas including: Yuba City, Marysville, Auburn, Davis, Woodland, Elk Grove, and El Dorado Hills.
Dr. Kelly Chandler - 530-906-2490
Love Always Veterinary Care, www.lovealwaysvet.com Auburn and surrounding areas including but not limited to: Auburn, Colfax, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Foresthill, Georgetown, Newcastle, Penryn, Loomis, Granite Bay, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Lincoln, Rocklin, Roseville, Citrus Heights, Orangevale and Antelope
Dr. Evelyn Ivey - 916-250-3239
Peace for Pets www.peaceforpets.net Regular Service Area (no travel fee) Auburn, Citrus Heights, Folsom, Granite Bay, Loomis, Newcastle, Orangevale, Penryn, Rocklin, Roseville.
Dr. Karina Flynn - 916-437-4722
Peaceful Pets, www.peacefulpets.vet Sacramento, West Sacramento, Elk Grove
Dr. Caroline Kiert - 916-518-0521
Dr. Caroline Compassionate Care, , doccaroline.com Sacramento, West Sacramento, Elk Grove