END OF LIFE CARE

This is an article in the FW paper today about a new business that really interested me:

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1800808.html

A little bit from the article:
Believed to be the first business of its kind in Texas, Beyond the Rainbow offers complete end-of-life care for pets, including in-home hospice, funerals, cremation and burial. The company, owned by licensed funeral directors Kate Moore and Terry Branson, who spent a combined 60 years in the human funeral industry, has veterinarians, chaplains and counselors to help families deal with pet loss.

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Jones is among several vets in the Metroplex partnering with Beyond the Rainbow to provide medical assistance and pain medication for in-home hospice care. Once Beyond the Rainbow does an initial assessment, Jones or another vet will go to the pet owner’s home to determine whether the animal is ready for hospice. If so, the vet will provide medical support until the animal dies or the decision to euthanize is made.

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Do any of you know of similar services in your area? Would something like this interest you?

FWIW: the article gives an example of picking up the remains from the home, holding a small service, cremation, returning the remains, along with a snip of fur and a cast of the pet's paw for around $110.

While some may consider it to be a bit over-the-top, I am very encouraged to see a business like this. It is a recognition that our pets are more than just belongings, but are real members of real families.

I think it's great!!! I would love something like that! Ido not have human kids, so these 4 legged kids are my family.

$110 sounds extremely reasonable. I'm relativley certain I paid more than that for Mack's cremation alone a few years ago.

Wow.. Nothing like that up here, where it costs me $125 just to have my dogs cremated, and NOT get the ashes back or a cast of their paw. (I never want the ashes back, but feel the pug should have the dignity of a cremation, since otherwise they'd end up in the landfill).

Very interesting...

I wonder if cost varies based on the animal (cat vs. dog) or the size of the pet. I'll call and ask when I get some free time.

And I agree with you Maryjo - I'd prefer to have them cremated, but am not 100% sure if I want the ashes.

I think it's great idea. My vets' office will do in-home euthanasia which I think is vastly preferable to having to take an already sick/stressed animal to the doctor's office, but I don't know if they provide other end-of-life care in the home.

TxAllieGrl wrote:
And I agree with you Maryjo - I'd prefer to have them cremated, but am not 100% sure if I want the ashes.

I thought we would probably scatter Mack's ashes someplace nice, but it's been almost 3 years and John's not ready to part with them yet. We bought a fancy box with a lock and they are still there for now.

I want the ashes I think. Not sure why, but I think I will want them with me.

I have 5 boxes of ashes on a shelf in my closet. Eventually they'll be go with me for my cremation... I wish I had paw-prints.

Wow, that sounds just awesome! I wish we had something like that locally. Sometimes I feel a little self conscious taking Bailey and Tiny Tim to the vet. I know 99% of people would have euthanized both of them by now, but as long as they enjoy their food and getting love and are not in pain that can't be helped with medication, they get to stay. Having a hospice vet is really nice.

I knew a vet a few years back who only did in-home euthanasia as her practice. It was wonderful for the pets and owners but really did a number on her emotionally.

Interesting article, Allie. I thought $110 for the funeral and cremation and paw print was rather inexpensive - most definitely very affordable for most families.

Our regular vet actually does in-home euthanasia as well as house visits, so if we need hospice care, it's nice to know that he will travel to our home for that. And if the situation allows, he will most definitely come to our home for any of our pugs that need to be euthanized, so they can start their journey to the Bridge in the comfort of their home.

As for the ashes, I'd want them back. My intention is they'd be buried with me when I pass. My dad has ashes from my childhood dog and his pug, Zorro, and they will be buried with him in his coffin.

I did the hospice care myself for my Kerry Blue, but the cremation was at least $100, and that was quite a while ago. I couldn't bear to bury her (in case we moved), so her ashes are still in a lovely box in one of our bookcases.

I think I've mentioned that when I shuffle off this mortal coil and am buried, she's coming with me, along with any other departed pets. If it was good enough for the ancient Egyptians, it's good enough for me!

Sam the Cat's ashes are sitting on by our fireplace. I joined the Neptune Society, so my cremation is already taken care of with instructions to scatter my ashes at sea. I want Sam's and, if she predeceases me, Penny's to be scattered with mine. So yes, I want the ashes. Peg has Toby & Tyler & Simba & Pearl in the sundial with Bob's ashes. I swear that every now and then I hear a familiar voice yelling "Goddamit, (fill in the blank with Toby, Tyler, and/or Pearl), get off me!!!!"

Very interesting article! Thanks for sharing it with us, Allie. I wish that we had a company like that near us. I did a quick online search and there is a vet who does pet hospice in the downtown Chicago area. Pugsy's time with us is growing shorter and I need to talk to my vet to see if he does in-home euthanasia. I think that I would feel much more comfortable with it if we could do it at home (my sister had it done with one of her cats several years ago but I'm not sure who she used). I'm not sure that we would do the whole memorial service thing like this company provides but I definitely want to have all of my pugs cremated & their ashes buried with mine when I pass.

This is still so upsetting for me after Teddy being so sick and having to make that decision this summer. Our vet's office offered to come to our home or meet us somewhere (park, etc), but I wanted to take Teddy to the vet's office. I guess that I held out a speck of hope until the very end that something could be done or something would change. I was also afraid that we would be so upset that it would upset Lola and Baby Girl if we let Teddy pass at our home. I think that even though Lola knew something was going on, she didn't have to witness his lifeless body at the final moments. I have Teddy's ashes in a box with some of his other momentos.

I think that every situation is unique and the more services that a vet and crematory can offer the more that a family can let their furry family member RIP.

It is still hard for me also since losing Pugsly and Taz wasn't that long ago. However, trying to be prepared for when one of your babies time comes will make a huge difference. When you are upset and stressed, you often can't think very well. I know that when we lost Pugsly, it was a surprise even though he had been sick. I just thought he would be getting some sedatives which would calm him so his breathing would get better so when they said he was barely holding on, it hit me hard. There was a huge mixup with the cremation company and the ER. So, I ended up dealing with another cremation company who was fantastic. They went out of their way to make things easier for me. They also have 24 hour service so when Taz passed away, they were picking him up within 1 1/2 hours of my calling them. I don't want to sound morbid, but some vet's and Er's only have pick up once a week for the bodies. For me, having my boys picked up and taken care of immediately was something I needed. It is still so hard to think about it, but I was more prepared for when Taz left us. I have both of their ashes in matching urns with pictures around and their collars hanging. If I knew we would be living in the same house forever, I probably would have buried them. However, since we seem to move every 3 yrs or so, I wanted to keep them and plan to have them buried in the casket when either Tim or I passes away.

This is very interesting. I don't know of a service like this in my area. I know there is a pet cemetary near here but I don't know what all they do (if anything). I for sure would pay the money. I think $110 sounds very reasonable. But, I would want to bring the ashes home with me. I have my cat's ashes. It's in a nice box with a little certificate. I like the paw print idea too.

GracieNEmma wrote:This is very interesting. I don't know of a service like this in my area. I know there is a pet cemetary near here but I don't know what all they do (if anything). I for sure would pay the money. I think $110 sounds very reasonable. But, I would want to bring the ashes home with me. I have my cat's ashes. It's in a nice box with a little certificate. I like the paw print idea too.

Not to be morbid, but it is something I would check into since you just never know what might happen. Not that it hurts any less, but knowing what to do in the time of an emergency and great sadness does help ease the burden of things.

oh wow..very interesting! I think that is a wonderful idea and it is reasonably priced as well. *thumbs up!*

There must be a huge difference of cost between companies and areas. When I was at the emergency vet with Chester, I picked up a pamphlet from a company that offered end of life care in my area. It was $485 for a group cremation and $685 for a private cremation, plus all the other services.

Wow that is a lot, Kendie! We paid $110 for Pugsy's cremation. It was not completely "private", but her remains were partitioned off from others. It was a little over $200 for the completely private cremation. Given that this was a company that came highly recommended from another pug owner and they have been in the cremation industry doing both human & pet cremations for over 20 years, I trusted that they knew what they were doing & that she was indeed separated from others. Her remains were returned to us in a box inside of a pretty blue velvet bag that has "until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge" embroidered on it. We also received a certificate and the ER made a nice imprint of her paw with her name on it for us in scupley clay that we baked (to harden) when we got home.

I was sad when I went back and saw that I originally replied to this just four days before she passed away.

That is the same for me. The price is very resonable and I think it's a wonderful option.

Aussie Witch wrote:I have 5 boxes of ashes on a shelf in my closet. Eventually they'll be go with me for my cremation... I wish I had paw-prints.

I think that it all sounds very good.

My Ty will be cremated and I plan to keep his ashes and have them put with me when I am cremated. At my age I might be the first to go...............

How I wish there had been something available when our beloved family pug, Korky was uthanized. We did take him home and bured him in a very special box with his bed and blanket. Now my son has moved to a different home and we had to leave Korky behind. (oh my my eyes are full of tears and this happened in 1993)

At that time there were no pug forums or anywhere for me to go for sympathy and understanding. No Rainbow Bridge.
It would have helped me so very much. I cried for weeks and my fellow co-workers and many of my friends just could not understand what I was going through. Even my immediate family, although also devasted, recovered much faster than I.

Thanks for reading my lament.

GingerSnap wrote:I think it's great idea. My vets' office will do in-home euthanasia which I think is vastly preferable to having to take an already sick/stressed animal to the doctor's office, but I don't know if they provide other end-of-life care in the home.

I just got an email from Sophie's holistic vet (she's a vet that has branched off into her own holistic vet practice) and they are offering expanded home services, including euthanasia and pain management.