Serving El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park, Shingle Springs, Rescue, Diamond Springs, El Dorado, Lotus, Coloma and most* of Placerville, Camino, Pilot Hill and Folsom. Call/text.
Passing with Dignity
Please click on the tabs below
Over 250 Five Star Reviews and 400 Likes/Faves!
------------------------ Cat Footnote --------------------------
Cats tend to be very "stoic" and often times their owners wait too long to euthanize their pet. By that time they have usually become very skinny, hypersensitive, and require a high level of expertise to help them pass peacefully. As a UC Davis "Fellow" (highly trained in internal medicine) and veterinarian with over 35 years of clinical experience, Dr Sara has this expertise. You can personally discuss your kitty's condition with Dr Sara when she gives you a brief call (included in the euthanasia price) prior to your appointment.
OPEN: 8am - 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Closed: Wednesday and Thursday.
Sunday - emergencies only.
Call/text: 530-306-5823 seven days a week (text preferred) to book an appoint-ment as we do check our messages multiple times a day.
Included cedar urn
"I'm really glad that we spoke with Dr. Sara. She answered all of our questions in a professional and caring manner. Not only was she very knowledgeable, but she explained things to us in terms we could understand over the phone."
Thank you for considering Passing With Dignity to assist you and your pet during these difficult times. Dr. Sara has developed a 2-part system tailored to meet your specific needs. Your cost is determined by 1) the weight of your pet, and 2) any optional after care or extended travel services that you desire. See Sections A, B & C (below). You will find that Dr Sara's prices are some of the most reasonable in the area as a private (non-corporate) veterinarian.
C. Phone Consults and At Home Consults
If you would like to discuss your pet's 1) quality of life, or 2) need help in determining the timing for the possible euthanasia of your pet, or 3) need a second opinion on a current diagnosis, many folks find a personal consult with Dr Sara very helpful. Phone consults are available at 8:15am and 4:15pm, for up to 45 minutes, on her normal workdays. The cost is $75. At home consults are available at 10am, 1pm and 3pm for $400 (within her service area) for up to one hour. Note: Should you decide to proceed ahead with an "at home euthanasia" immediately following your "at home consult", Dr Sara will credit 1/2 of the at home consult cost ($200) towards the cost of the at home euthanasia.
Many folks schedule a phone consult or an at home consult with Dr Sara "prior" to booking an at home euthanasia. A personal consult with Dr Sara can address many of the questions you have regarding your pet. Please click on the Appointments tab and text/call us with the requested information to book your phone or at home consult. Note: Veterinarians (doctors) cannot prescribe medications for a pet unless they have physically examined the pet within the last year. As such, if you need medications prescribed it is best to visit your local veterinarian or schedule an "at home consult" with Dr Sara.
IMPORTANT: Prior to booking an at home euthanasia appointment for an aggressive, reactive, nervous or fractious pet (i.e. growls, hisses, has bitten someone, etc) a phone consult with Dr Sara is required to determine "if" your pet is a candidate for a safe at home euthanasia. Please let us know if your pet does not do well with strangers, injections, or at veterinary appointments. If so, we can discuss appropriate safety measures with you. If the doctor arrives at your home and finds your pet to be reactive, nervous, factious, has bitten someone, or is aggressive and you have not conducted a phone consult with Dr Sara, she will leave (pre-euthanasia) and you will forfeit your reservation fee and 100% of your appointment fees. Please click on the Appointments tab and text/call us with the requested information to schedule your consult.
1. At Home Euthanasia Pricing:
- Dog <50 lbs: $375.00 Please provide us with the
- Dog 50-99 lbs: $400.00 accurate weight of your pet
- Dog 100-124 lbs: $425.00 for medication dosage.
- Dog +125 lbs: Call/text
- Cat (any weight): $400.00 See Cat Footnote (bottom).
Note: Compare to Lap of Love at $530 - $630 plus extended travel fees and over 99
lbs fees. We're local. You SAVE :-).
2. Additional:
- Same-day or Sunday emergency (if available): Call/text
- Extended travel: 16-20 miles and <25 minutes
or <30 minutes (e.g. remote portions of Camino,
Pilot Hill, Placerville and Folsom): $50 to $75
- Aggressive, nervous, fractious pet: See Section C
- Booking/cancellation/change fee: See bottom of
Appointments tab
* IMPORTANT: As we serve the Sierra foothills, if you live on a gravel/dirt/rutted road or a snow/ice/mud covered road please let Dr. Sara know in advance as she normally drives a rather low-clearance 2 wheel drive car. She does have access to a 4 wheel drive vehicle if known in advance. If she encounters a gravel/dirt/rutted road or snow/ice/mud covered road in her 2 wheel drive car, she will return to the office and you will forfeit your full appointment fees and extended travel costs (if any). Please do not risk her safety or your finances. Just let us know!
A. At Home Pet Euthanasia Services
Below please find Dr Sara's at home euthanasia services and pricing. All prices include full sedation, euthanasia, travel up to 15 miles (< 20 minutes) and fur clipping. Pricing is based upon the pet's weight as that determines the amount of high-quality medications used for your pet's peaceful passing. Please see Section B (below) to add cremation services, paw prints, and urn engraving. To set-up a euthanasia appointment please click on the Appointments tab to request/reserve your preferred appointment date and time. It is best to schedule your appointment a few days in advance. But, we fully understand that emergencies do happen. We will try to accommodate you, if possible. Additional fees may apply.
B. Cremation, Paw Print, Home Burial and Pick up Services
It is important to consider "in advance" how you would like to take care of your pet’s remains post euthanasia. There are generally three options: private cremation, communal cremation or home burial. Note: For home burials and post-euthanasia pet release requests please see Section B(4) below. For deceased pet pick up and cremation services please see Section B(5) below.
1. Private cremation: Your pet is individually cremated. Their cremains are carefully gathered and placed into a very nice cedar urn. Or, you can upgrade to a cedar photo urn with a personalized picture slot for $50. Either urn will be returned to your home via UPS Signature Services (not USPS) usually within 2-3 weeks of euthanasia. BIG benefit: Post-euthanasia "we" will transport your pet for cremation after their peaceful passing on a very nice pet stretcher with blanket. There is no waiting for a secondary crematorium to pick-up your deceased pet hours or days later... Plus, UPS shipping back to you is included in our price. Others charge $40-$75 more for return shipping. It's all included with us. Please select "Private Cremation" when booking your appointmt. Note: Pet transport ($95 Value), standard cedar urn ($65 Value), UPS home delivery ($40-$75 Value), and private cremation are all included in our price (see below). Concierge service for you and your pet.
- Private cremation < 50 lbs: $275.00
- Private cremation 50-99 lbs: $325.00
- Private cremation 100-124 lbs: $400.00
- Private cremation +125 lbs: Call/text
Note: Compare to Lap Of Love at $380 - $460.
Photo slot cedar urn upgrade: $50.00 ------->
Engraving is available on the top of either cedar urn. The
cost is $75 for up to two lines of text each being 25
characters or less (including spaces and punctuation).
Roxy - Love of our Life!
7/12/09 - 6/10/25
2. Communal cremation: Your pet is cremated with other pets. Their ashes are respectfully spread by the crematorium's trusted staff on their private lands. This is a very acceptable and cost effective alternative to home burial. Benefit: Post-euthanasia "we" will transport your pet for cremation after their peaceful passing. There is no waiting for a distant crematorium to pick-up your deceased pet hours or days later... Please select "Communal Cremation" when booking your appointment. Note: Pet transport ($95 Value) and communal cremation are included in the figures below. Communal cremation is the better and safer alternative to home burial (see Section B(4) below).
- Communal cremation < 50 lbs: $150.00
- Communal cremation 50-99 lbs: $175.00
- Communal cremation 100-124lbs: $200.00
- Communal cremation +125 lbs: Call/text
Note: Compare to Lap Of Love at $260 - $360.
3. Paw print services: If your pet is cremated via private or communal cremation you can purchase a hand-crafted ceramic paw print and/or an ink-based paper paw or nose print. Your pet's actual paw or nose print is professionally captured on paper via black ink. It's perfect for framing or creating a tattoo. For a ceramic paw print, your pet's name and paw print is hand-painted in your preferred color (see below), glazed, and twice kiln fired for durability. Note: Old fashion "clay" paw prints and "kits" usually crack or break within months. Not so... with "ceramic" paw prints. When booking your appointment, please let us know how many prints and what type (i.e. ceramic or paper) you would like to order.
Very nice ceramic paw print with stand: $125.00 ------->
- Painted, glazed and twice kiln fired.
- Paw print colors: Black, brown, clear (white), green,
pink, purple, red, navy blue and teal. Select one color.
Ink-based (black) paper paw or nose print: $65.00
- Perfect for framing or creating a tattoo.
4. Home burials and post-euthanasia pet release requests. While the process we use to help your pet pass peacefully is very gentle for the pet, the euthanasia medications used by all veterinarians is toxic to the environment and wildlife, can last for years in the soil, and can leach into your ground water. As such, Dr Sara does not provide at home euthanasia services for home burials or post-euthanasia pet release requests (see Alternative below). Penalties for secondary poisoning of wildlife (e.g. the pet is dug up by wildlife or another pet - even after you have sold your home and moved) can "run as high as $100,000 for an individual (i.e. YOU), $200,000 for an organization (i.e. US), plus one year in prison." Click here to read article (see page 4). Also, click here to read a recent article entitled "10 Problems You May Face After Burying A Pet In Your Backyard". Note: Based upon the above, Dr Sara cannot release a pet back to you for home burial or post-euthanasia for transport to another crematorium, mortuary, or for a remote plot burial. It's for your own protection. This is why we offer reasonably priced cremation services. Trust us!
As an alternative to home burial, the cremation services we offer (see B1 & B2 above) render the euthanasia medications inert. This allows you to safely spread (or bury) your pet's ashes on your own property (i.e. private cremation) or have their ashes spread on the crematorium's property (i.e. communal cremation) with other pets. Cremation is the safe alternative!
5. Deceased pet pick up and cremation services. In general, we only provide pet cremation services when done "in conjunction" with our at home pet euthanasia veterinary services as we are there to transport your pet for cremation after their peaceful passing. However, 1) if your pet has passed "naturally", 2) is difficult for you to move or transport to a distant pet crematorium, and 3) you don't have the time to wait there all day for your pet's cremation, we can "pick up" your pet and have it cremated for you. Plus, your pet will be returned to you via UPS Signature Services (all included) saving you a lot of time and driving. Please see below for more information. Note: We do not offer deceased pet "drop-off" services as we are 100% mobile.
To request a deceased pet pick-up appointment and cremation please click on the Appointments tab and TEXT us answers to appointment request questions. Once that information is received, we will get back to you during our regular business hours (if not sooner) to schedule your deceased pet pick up appointment. The deceased pet pick up appointment cost is $300 (< 99 lbs) or $400 (> 99 lbs), including same-day emergency pet pick-up, travel to/from your home, preparing and storing your pet in our coolers to keep their dignity (prior to cremation), coordinating their private or communal cremation with the crematorium, and return shipping back to you (with private cremation), plus the cost of the desired "cremation service" listed in Section B1 or B2 (above). For example, a deceased pet pick-up appointment for a 75 lb pet with communal cremation would be $300 (emergency decreased pet pick-up appointment cost) plus $175 (communal cremation cost) = $475. Call/text for availability.
IMPORTANT: As soon as possible after your pet's passing, please place a pee pad under your pet, wrap them in a blanket or a sheet, and place them in a cool and safe location. This is important as your pet will start to stiffen, will most likely leak various body fluids (particularly during transport), and may begin to produce unpleasant odors. Call/text us quickly for a pick up appointment as we cannot pick up/transport a pet that has passed >12 hours ago.