We are advocates for maintaining your pet’s quality of life as well as possible, for as long as possible, but when we can not provide them with an adequate quality of life, euthanasia offers us the option of allowing them to peacefully pass away, without further suffering. When they are suffering or are likely to begin to suffer as a disease progresses, it can be the last gift we can offer them, even though it may be the toughest decisions we’ll ever make as pet owners and animal lovers.

Once the decision has been made to euthanize a pet, there are a few other tough questions that need to be asked and decisions to make. The first is whether you plan to bury them, or if you’d prefer to have them cremated. If you choose cremation, you’ll also have to decide whether or not you’d like their cremains (ashes) returned.

Request an Appointment

When scheduling an euthanasia appointment, we will ask these tough questions in order to get you an accurate estimate for services. If you’d prefer to pay by credit card, we will email you an invoice with a “pay now” link that will allow you to enter your payment information securely online. We do not carry card readers and cannot accept credit card payments at time of service, therefore we require pre-payment if electing to pay by card. If you would prefer to pay by cash, please have exact change as we do not always carry change, and can not guarantee our ability to make change. Personal checks can be made out to Better Goodbyes.

When we arrive for the appointment, we will have one form that requires a signature from an adult taking responsibility for the patient that grants us permission to perform the procedure as well as initials confirming your options for cremation or burial. If you’re paying with cash, we will collect payment at that time as well.

Once the paperwork has been completed and any questions or concerns from anyone present have been answered/addressed, we will begin by giving the patient a small but powerful sedative as an injection into a muscle, usually along the lower back or in the back leg. This medication cocktail takes ~2-8 minutes, depending on the pet, to relax them, taking away any anxiety as it does, and placing them in to a light to moderate level of anesthesia, where they will just be peacefully sleeping.

Once they are comfortable and having happy dreams, and everyone present is ready-as we’ll ever be, we proceed with a second injection that is an intentional overdose of an anesthetic. This medication quickly and comfortably relaxes them so deeply that their brain, heart and respiratory function slow to a stop. The second injection is usually given into a vein, but may be administered elsewhere, especially in small and/or debilitated animals. Depending on how it is administered, it takes between a few seconds and a few minutes to cause the pet to pass away. As the medication takes affect, we will often notice subtle changes in their breathing rate-it may speed up momentarily, it may slow down, but we’ll notice their breaths get shallower, then stop.

If you plan to bury them, we will confirm they have passed and excuse ourselves-allowing you to begin the grieving process. If you elect cremation, we will give you as much time as you need before taking them with us. We do have a gurney that allows us to move animals up to ~150 lbs, but we may need assistance, especially for large dogs or if there are barriers such as furniture, tight corners or stairs in the path to our vehicle.

For those that elect private cremation, cremains (ashes) are usually returned within ~2 weeks, but can occasionally take longer. We will contact you as soon as the cremains are returned and will either arrange a time for you to pick them up, or to have them delivered (additional fees may apply for delivery).