A. At Home Pet Euthanasia Services
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.
Menu of Services & Pricing
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Serving El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park, Shingle Springs, Rescue, Placerville, Camino, Diamond Springs, El Dorado, Lotus and Coloma. Call for extended areas (e.g. Folsom).
Passing with Dignity
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).
Cremation Services
Phone Consultations
"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."
------------------------ 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, their veins have collapsed, and they can be reactive to the initial sedation injection (i.e. hiss, run, and/or bite). This includes even the most docile cats. Based upon the above, for cats, the initial sedation injection must be given inside your home. This requires that everyone wears a medical grade mask as we visit multiple homes per day. Note: As part of the cat euthanasia price, Dr Sara will call you the day before your cat's euthanasia appointment to briefly discuss the euthanasia process and safety measures with you.
C. Phone Consults and At Home Consults
If you would like to discuss your pet's quality of life, or help in determining the timing for the possible euthanasia of your pet, or if your pet is reactive, nervous, fractious (i.e. growls or hisses) or might be aggressive towards the Doctor, a phone or at home consult with Dr Sara is required prior to booking an appointment. Phone consults are available at 8:15am and 4:15pm, for up to 45 minutes, on her normal work days. The cost is $65. At home consults are available at 10am, 1pm and 3pm for $400 (within her service area) for up to one hour. Please click on the Appointments tab and text/call us with the requested information (Items 1-15) to book your phone or at home consult.
IMPORTANT: Prior to booking a euthanasia appointment for an aggressive, reactive, nervous or fractious pet (i.e. growls) 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 or is aggressive, the Doctor 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. Appointment: Includes sedation, euthanasia, travel (up to 15 miles, <25 mins), and fur clipping (if desired):
- Dog <50 lbs: $350.00 Please provide us with the
- Dog 50-99 lbs: $375.00 accurate weight of your pet
- Dog 100-124 lbs: $425.00 as this determines the amount
- Dog 125-149 lbs: $475.00 medications used for their
- Dog +150 lbs: Call peaceful passing. Thank you!
- Cat (any weight): $375.00 See Cat Footnote (bottom).
2. Additional:
- Extended travel: 16-20 miles and <30 minutes: $50
- Same day/Sunday/Holiday emergency (if available): Call
- Booking/cancellation/change fee: See bottom of
Appointments tab
IMPORTANT: If you live on a grave/dirt/rutted 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 (no extra charge). If she encounters a gravel/dirt/rutted road in her 2 wheel drive car, or if the road is impassable (e.g. snow/ice/mud), she will return to the office and you will forfeit your reservation and full appointment fees .
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 please see Section B(3) below.
IMPORTANT: For Dr Sara's private or communal cremation services listed below, unlike most mobile veterinarians who leave your decreased pet on your premises for multiple hours or days until the crematorium's pick-up service arrives, after your pet has peacefully passed Dr Sara will transport your pet for cremation after their passing. As such, their dignity is preserved. You do not need to worry about, or have to coordinate, the timing of a 3rd party pick-up service hours or days later.
1. Private cremation: Your pet is individually cremated. Their remains are carefully gathered and placed into a beautiful cedar photo urn and returned to your home via UPS signature services (shipping included) usually within 2-3 weeks of euthanasia. Included shipping saves you the time and effort usually required to schedule and pick up your pet at a distant crematorium. Please prearrange for private cremation with Dr. Sara as we will transport your pet for cremation after their peaceful passing. Note: Pet transport ($95 Value), Cedar photo urn ($125 Value), UPS home delivery ($40 Value), and private cremation are included in the figures below. All of the above would usually add up to over $500 at a private crematorium.
- Private cremation < 50 lbs: $250.00
- Private cremation 50-99 lbs: $325.00
- Private cremation 100-124 lbs: $425.00
- Private cremation +125lbs: Call
Engraving is available on the top of the 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!
1/12/08 - 11/12/23
2. Communal cremation: Your pet is cremated with other pets. Their remains are respectfully spread by our partner's trusted staff on their private lands. This is a very acceptable and cost effective alternative to home burial. Please pre-arrange for communal cremation with Dr. Sara as we will transport your pet for cremation after their peaceful passing. Note: Pet transport ($95 Value) and communal cremation are included in the figures below. Communal cremation does not return your pet's remains to you.
- Communal cremation < 50 lbs: $125.00
- Communal cremation 50-99 lbs: $150.00
- Communal cremation 100-124 lbs: $200.00
- Communal cremation +125lbs: Call
3. Home burial. While the process we use to help your pet pass peacefully is very gentle for the pet, the euthanasia medication 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 (nor recommends) euthanasia services for home burials. Penalties for secondary poising of wildlife (e.g. the pet is dug up by wildlife or another pet) 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. These penalties increase to $250,000, $500,000, and two years in prison for a second offense." Click here to read article (see page 4). FYI - Per County guidance, all decreased pets must be buried at least 4 feet deep and 200 feet from any ground water source (e.g. well, creek, lake, pond, river, dry creek, etc) unless cremated. In this County, digging a hole 4 feet deep is almost impossible without a backhoe, particularly 200 feet from any ground water source. The penalties and health risks associated with home burials are simple not worth it - particularly when a neighbor reports you.
Note: As an alternative to home burial, the cremation services we offer (see 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 them spread on the crematorium's property with other pets (i.e. communal cremation). As such, we highly recommend private or communal cremation over home burial for your safety as well as the safety of others. BTW - Most HOA's do not allow home burials.
4. Optional - Paw/nose print services: If your pet is cremated via communal or private cremation you can purchase a hand-crafted ceramic (clay) paw print or ink-based paper paw print or nose print. Your pet's actual paw is professionally imprinted into a ceramic disk or onto paper (i.e. for tattoos) with their name, hand-painted with your preferred color, glazed and twice kiln fired for durability (i.e. unlike with home paw print kits which tend to break or crack within a few weeks/months). Stand included. Please let us know in advance how many paw prints and what type (i.e. ceramic or paper) you would like so that we can prearrange for this service with the crematorium. They are very nice!
- Ceramic (clay) paw print: $125.00
- Painted, glazed and twice kiln fired.
- Colors: Black, brown, clear (white), green, navy,
pink, purple, red and teal. Select one color.
- Ink-based paper paw print or nose print: $65.00
- Perfect for creating a tattoo.
5. Deceased pet cremation services. We do not offer decreased pet "drop-off" services. However, if your pet has passed naturally, we can "pick-up" your pet and have it cremated (e.g. private or communal cremation) for you. The cost is based upon the appointment price listed above (see Section A), plus a $100 emergency pick-up fee (if available), and the desired cremation service listed herein (see Section B). To request a decreased pet pick-up appointment please click on the Appointments tab and text us answers to items 1-15. Once that information is received, we will get back to you during our regular business hours (if not sooner) to schedule your decreased pet pick-up. We are so sorry for your loss...