At Home Euthanasia For the first time in Victoria, a pet loss center and a mobile veterinarian have combined their efforts to assist families needing end of life services for their beloved pet. If time is imminent, and you would like to explore the option of home euthanasia:   Please call Dr. Julia Harrison D.V.M. from East Gate Veterinary Services at 250.598.1067 Based on your consultation with Dr. Harrison, if a euthanasia is required, we will coordinate our times to be available when you need us. If you would like to review the aquamation options, they are listed on our Services page. Please do not hesitate to call me with any questions - Jocelyne at 250.984.1933 At home euthanasia is an affordable alternative to the traditional in clinic euthanasia and may even be less costly than a clinic visit/euthanasia. Not sure if this is for you? Read on . . .

Choosing the right veterinarian...

...and our mobile veterinarian of choice. Dr. Julia Harrison D.V.M. East Gate Veterinary Services (Practice limited to home visits) 250.598.1067

Note from Jocelyne Monette - Pet Loss Care Memorial Center:
'As the founder of North America's first pet memorial & cremation center in 2004, I have assisted many families through this difficult time and worked with many veterinarians on home euthanasias.  I have come to look for certain 'attributes' and skills in a vet, especially when the family counts on me to recommend someone. Home euthanasias require time, compassion and a true understanding of the human-animal bond. A certain respect and dignity is needed as a family says goodbye. Dr. Julia Harrison exhibits these on all her home visits - she has a true gift, both as a human being and a veterinarian and she understands this event will be a lasting memory for the family.

Gifting your 'best friend' with a peaceful passing

I am someone who chose at home euthanasia for my beloved felines, Chelsea in 2010 and Katie in 2012.

The last moments of your pet´s life should be comfortable and peaceful for both you and your pet. A clinic environment can be sterile and stressful for both of you. It is also difficult to grieve while in a waiting room full of people and other animals. By choosing to stay in the secure and comfortable environment of your home, family members, including other pets, have the ability to privately grieve and say goodbye.

So often I have witnessed pet parents sitting in a veterinary clinic waiting room, silently crying, with their companion laying in their arms or at their side, and they sit waiting, and waiting.... until finally they are called into a treatment room, and the door is slowly closed.  Have you ever been through this? Did you feel at peace? Was your companion anxious?  Within 20-30 minutes, your companion will have been euthanized, laying on a cold sterile table, condolences being offered by the clinic staff, and then you need to walk back out through the waiting room - all eyes on you and your family. They know... and they feel sad for you.... and all you want to do is hide in a corner and grieve. So many emotions.

At home euthanasia will not stop the pain and grief, but it will give you privacy and most precious of all, time. This day will be on your terms as you prepare to say goodbye to your companion. You will be surrounded by the support system you choose - either close family, friends or other family pets. The setting will be yours to create - soft music, candles, under a favorite tree in the backyard, in front of the fireplace, reading of a special prayer or tribute, in the morning, at night... this is a private time, for you and your pet. The unconditonal love and the bond you both shared can never be lost...only cherished - and when they have taken their final breath, you choose how long you want to stay next to them...to just be with the emotion, a roller coaster for sure. Then you might get up and get a cup of tea, you might go for a walk, you might walk room to room, lost in your thoughts and the intense feelings of grief... and then you might come back and look at them again, just to be sure, just to confirm that yes...indeed. You didn't dream this...

Whether immediately after the euthanasia, or many hours later... you will know when you are ready to let go and not because the 'clinic needs the room for another client.'

Home euthanasia - a gift for you and your 'best friend.'

Helping Children with Euthanasia

The relationship between children and their pets is unique and irreplaceable. Pet loss can be very traumatic to a child, depending on the important role the pet played in the child's life: companion, friend, admirer, playmate, defender, love object, sibling, confidante. When that bond is broken, the pain can be deep and enduring, and the trauma can result in feelings of insecurity, anxiety, anger, guilt, helplessness, distrust and fear.

Yet it doesn't have to be that way. Children can be helped to cope effectively with this very difficult life experience-provided that we consider what the pet means to the child, take into account the child's developmental understanding of death, and carefully plan how the pet's euthanasia is presented and conducted.

Download a wonderful article written by Martha M. Tousley, CNS-BC, FT, DCC -
Helping Children Cope with a Pet's Euthanasia.

I welcome the opportunity to help parents through this event - when I prepare to leave the home with the deceased pet, I invite the children to participate. The pet is gently laid in a pet casket, covered with pet blankets. I then encourage the child (children) to write a letter to their companion, put treats between their paws, and if available, go to the backyard and clip flowers to lay inside the casket.

(Pictured right- actual home pick up - notice the treats, letters and flowers - pet's face blacked out for privacy)