Home Goodbye Avis 12

It's not always possible to anticipate when the time has come, but that can happen quite suddenly and having to wait too long can be dreadfully stressful for pets and owners. It was a huge relief to be able to get not just a same day appointment but one within a couple of hours. Dr Robert was very kind, careful and sympathetic, not in any way rushed. It was a desperately sad day but he and the Home Goodbye service helped immeasurably. Thank you.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Paul from Home Goodbye, who organised my beloved Tok Hoi’s euthanasia in July. Paul’s kindness and compassion made such a painful moment more bearable, and the flower he sent afterward was such a warm and thoughtful gesture. I am truly grateful for the gentle care shown to both Tok Hoi and me during this farewell.

I was contacted by Hannah after booking. She was very sweet, kind and patient as I was just crying down the phone and she booked the vet. We had Theo come to us to put Hugo to sleep. Hugo had declined quite quickly leading up to this hard decision but Theo was wonderful. He greeted Hugo when he arrived and spoke to him and us which was really sweet and caring. He talked us through everything and explained what to expect. He was very gentle and kind with Hugo and gave us all respect and space. I can't fault Theo in any way. But, something that really upset me was that I got a text message and hour before Theo arrived from a crematorium. It was the cremation bill for £275. This was totally unexpected and the worst time ever to do this and SO upsetting I can't even put into words. It was not explained by The Kindest Goodbye that there was this additional cost and I wasn't expecting it plus of course, it's a lot of money. I had already paid £547 to The Kindest Goodbye, I thought that covered everything. The price was actually just for Hugo's weight, he was about 40 KG so £319,an extra £90 for out of normal hours fee and because Theo had to travel out of area for £48 which is fair. The invoice includes £70 for transport to the crematorium. It did not mention anywhere on the website, even in aftercare, that there was an additional fee on top of their service fee. I wasn't told to expect a text nor that there would be any extra fees. I wasn't given a choice if crematorium either. I emailed The KG who sent an apologetic text but I don't think they realised how devastating this was, especially at that time. I wasn't told by the cremation when I would get the ashes back or how. 3 days after Hugo passed I hadn't heard from the crematorium so I sent them a text because I would have just cried if I called. The texted back and said they were away but back on Monday. They wanted to if we wanted Hugo's ashes posting and if so they would let me know the price. Another unexpected cost. Overall the service is excellent but the website is not clear, at all and the cost rose from £409 which was the service and out of hours price to £723. Plus postage. If you use this service please make sure you ask them about the whole cost and don't trust the website to cover it all. The KG said they were sorry and would pass my comments on to the manager. That's nice but they should be changing information on their website so this doesn't happen again. I do recommend the KG, it's just the badly timed unexpected request for more money, before Hugo had even died.

Home Goodbye were helpful, sympathetic and understanding in arranging an appointment at short notice for my little dog.

But sadly, the process was not smooth and my little boy did not die peacefully.

He came round from the initial sedative in a distressed panic as the vet was about to give him the lethal injection.

It was so sad to see my beloved little boy die frightened and upset.

That moment will always stay with me.

Response to Home Goodbye's reply:

Sid had had a dreadful experience at the vet the day before we contacted Home Goodbye. We didn’t want him to go through any more unnecessary trauma so we decided it would be kinder to let him go peacefully at home with all those who loved him dearly.

We had determined to go ahead with Sid’s euthanasia that evening, having spoken to Paul before the visit with our concerns of whether we should give him more time to recover from his ordeal the previous day as he had just begun to pick up; but we were very conscious of Sid’s age and condition so it was not necessary to be further reassured later that evening that it was the right time for Sid.

As soon as Liz walked in Sid was aware of her presence. Liz talked nervously throughout, almost as if she was too conscious of the sympathy side rather than getting on with the job at hand.

After the initial sedative, rather than administer the lethal dose straight into the leg where she eventually did it anyway, Liz tried to get to Sid’s arms to administer the drug, even though she had already commented they were damaged and bruised from the treatment received at a local vet the previous day. We did not understand why she hadn’t used the leg straightaway.

Sadly, it was then that Sid did not just ‘stir’; some part of him was still conscious because he screamed out and lashed out to bite. Liz commented at the time that perhaps she hadn’t given him enough of the sedative which was administered while Sid was in a dog-bed on the floor. We were told the sedative would put Sid right out so he could then be moved to my lap for the lethal dose without him being aware of what was happening.

I am surprised Liz said that nothing unexpected happened as she seemed as shocked as we were by Sid’s reaction and mentioned that she may not have administered enough of the initial sedative; and when Paul rang me as a result of our reviews, he told me that the animals previously euthanized had not woken up in a start before.

I appreciate these situations are not easy for anyone, including the administering vet; and that each circumstance is very different. We just felt it could have been better handled.

Paul has reassured me that Sid would not have been in any pain; but Sid was a very astute, perceptive little dog and it was very upsetting to see him react so violently the way he did when he should have been peacefully asleep at that point.

When you want to ensure a peaceful and kind passing for your much loved cat, I highly recommend Annie and Patrick at Home Goodbye. Not only did Annie quickly become an ally during the difficult decision, showing compassion and care, Patrick continued the process with the same compassion and care, allowing me to focus on my cat and not on the process. He made the transition very smooth and peaceful. Then today I got a lovely bouquet with a personalised note that really was touching. They are among the best.

There was much sadness in saying goodbye to a little cat loved by 3 generations of our family for 17 years. But the trauma of the actual experience was considerably reduced by the efficient yet wonderfully sympathetic treatment we received from vet Paul and on the phone from Annie. From the moment I phoned Annie to the moment a week later I received a box of flowers with a lovely message from Paul and Annie, I was given so much empathy and comfort. They have provided a peerless service and I thank them both.

Home-Goodbye showed us the understanding we needed when it was time for our white cat, George, to be put to sleep. He'd been to the vet a dozen times in the last 18 months and I wanted a calm, peaceful end for him. He got that, thanks to Home-Goodbye.

Knowing I had to have my baby boy put to sleep was terrifying and I didn’t want to cause him anymore stress by taking him into the vets … I had searched for at home euthanasia and came across home goodbye , once I had made contact I was certain it was the way forward Annie was my first port of contact and she is truly amazing …. Honestly her warmth compassion and support got me through the most difficult few days , she was always available for advice and to talk through all my options , she really was the light on my darkest days !! We then met jack who was also kind and compassionate and made sure we understood the hole process and had all the information we needed, he was very patent with us on that unfortunate evening and I will always be thankful for the care that was taken throughout such a heartbreaking time. Thank you team

A few months ago, I had to make the difficult decision to have my little dog PTS. I It was only ever going to be in the comfort of his own home. Paul and Annie were so patient, kind and compassionate throughout. Would highly recommended. Thank you to you both.

A loving passing
I would from the bottom of my heart say that home goodbye we’re absolutely fantastic I could not have wished my ruby to have gone over that rainbow bridge better than what they did peaceful loving and I would highly recommend them Paul was wonderful an angel in disguise and Claire was simply the best empathetic and knows how we feel thank you home goodbye we as a family we’re all there with her to the end.

An extremely hard time and decision to make, made that much more bearable with Annie and Paul. Their kindness and thoughtfulness was second to none from beginning to end and I felt very comfortable with them. I would highly recommend them to anyone….thank you from the bottom of my heart x

We recently had to say goodbye to our lovely dog Daisy. She hated going to the vets so we knew we wanted her to go at home when the time came. Paul and Annie were so kind and caring from start to end and nothing was too much trouble and it made a hard day more bearable.