Euthanasia veterinarians provide a peaceful death

When Merlin, a Labrador/Doberman mix, was nearing the end of his life last summer, the family that had loved him for 14 years resolved that he would draw his final breath at home.

When the time came, Marie Commiskey's son and two daughters, who had grown up with Merlin, gathered at her Littleton, Colo., home — one flew in from Seattle— to bid farewell. They went on a picnic (Merlin got to have hotdogs, his favorite), then they returned home, lit candles, settled next to the old dog, and Merlin went peacefully, surrounded by love. "This, for us, was the only way to do it," says Commiskey, a portrait photographer.

The at-home euthanasia was performed by veterinarian Ann Brandenburg-Schroeder, whose Denver area practice, Beside Still Water, is devoted exclusively to providing that service. Brandenburg-Schroeder, who started the practice in 2000, was among the first of a new type of veterinarian specialists — home euthanasia vets — that in recent years has begun taking root in different areas of the country.

They travel to the pet's home at whatever time they're asked and administer the injection according to preferences stated by the owner — sometimes with friends and family gathered around, sometimes under a favorite tree, sometimes alone with the pet because the owner doesn't want to be in the room during the final seconds.

Less anxiety for pets, owners

Some of the pet owners who opt for this approach have pets that hate going to the vet's office, and this is a way to spare them that anxiety in their last moments. But many, Brandenburg-Schroeder says, simply want the animal to die in familiar surroundings. "Most of us would like to die at home," she says. "Animals are no different."

There are, in some cities, other ways to arrange for a veterinarian to perform a euthanasia at home. Mobile vets who drive self-contained medical units to clients' homes to provide routine veterinary care are, in many cases, finding that home euthanasia now represents a significant portion of their business.

And a small number of conventional veterinary clinics will agree to send a vet to perform a home euthanasia — but it can be difficult to schedule them to arrive at the time that the pet and the owner need it, particularly if some calamity or downturn in the animal's condition makes immediate attention necessary.

Because euthanasia vets do only euthanasia, they are generally available on quite short notice. Their numbers are few — perhaps no more than a few score across the country.