Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs are sorted by subject area. If you don’t see an answer to your question, please contact us.
We know there are many questions when caring for our loved ones. We’re honored to help.

General

  • For in-person services, we currently service Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan, and parts of Queens. Depending on your location, we may be able to help you and your pet with an additional travel fee.

    Virtual appointments are available to anyone as long as you continue a relationship with your primary vet.

    Please reach out to see what options are available.

  • We strive to make palliative care an equitable practice. If you need our help but have concerns about the cost, please reach out and let us know.

  • This is up to you. Dr. Stephanie is absolutely capable of primarily managing your pet’s health and treatment plan. However, some clients have a wonderful relationship with their primary veterinarian, and in those cases, we’re happy to join your pet’s care team as an additional resource.

    The majority of our clients maintain a relationship with a local brick-and-mortar veterinary clinic or hospital in case of a need for x-rays, surgery, dental procedures, emergency situations or in the case that Dr. Stephanie may be unavailable. We are happy to work closely with anyone on your pet's care team.

  • Yes, we would consider providing care to other species. Please reach out for consideration.

  • If you are an existing client, we can help with sick visits to the best of our ability based on scheduling. This of course includes chronic illness, which is the main focus of our service.

    For new clients, it would be difficult for us to support emergent visits without establishing a relationship. Therefore, we’d recommend being seen by your current vet or an ER or urgent care facility until we are able to schedule you for an initial consultation.

Services Available

  • We do not typically administer vaccines to pets receiving palliative care. Each case is unique, however, and some pets receiving palliative care may warrant vaccination, and in those cases, we can provide vaccines. This will be discussed during your consultation so we can choose the best care for your pet’s unique healthcare needs.

  • As an in-home palliative care service, we cannot provide any services that require full sedation or anesthesia, including surgeries or dental procedures. We can work with you to go through a checklist with your primary vet to make any sedation or anesthesia procedures go smoothly.

  • We do not have the ability to perform abdominal ultrasound at this time. If an ultrasound is indicated in the management of your pet’s condition, we can provide a referral to a trusted provider.

  • Dr. Stephanie is grateful to be Fear Free™ certified and has 10 years of experience in veterinary medicine. There is a special place in her heart for pets who may need a little extra time or medication to cope with stress. We can move at your pet’s pace and consider prescribing situational medication for vet visits to ensure minimally stressful visits and care. We also offer a Fearful Pet Package. We’d love to talk to you about making your pet’s care as stress-free as possible.

  • We are so sorry for your loss. Grief is hard and we encourage you to find support in friends and family, therapy and grief counseling. Here are some free resources:

    Navigating Loss and Understanding: Pet Parent Grief Support Resources

    The Animal Medical Center (AMC) Pet Loss Support Group and AMC Forever in our Hearts Support Circle

    Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center Pet Loss Support Group

    Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Pet Loss Support Hotline

New Patients

  • Welcome! Sign up for an initial virtual consultation on our portal. Your initial consultation includes review of all previous medical records, discussion of current health status, and a plan for care moving forward. After your consultation, you can sign up for an Intensive or Extended Palliative Care Package and/or an Acupuncture Package.

    Please note, we are unable to prescribe any medications from an initial virtual consultation. Once an in-home exam is completed (and therefore, a veterinary-client-patient relationship established), we can provide you with all recommended medications from our delivery pharmacies.

  • Prior to confirming your appointment date and time, a deposit will be collected via a text-to-pay link. Once decided upon, all further service will be prepaid via a text-to-pay link or with approval to use your saved credit card information.

  • We ask that you and/or your veterinarian forward all medical records to hello@gentlejourneyvetcare.com prior to your Initial Virtual Consultation.

  • No, your pet does not need to be present during the virtual consultation. This is a great time to talk about their health uninterrupted. If they happen to be with you, that’s great! Or we always welcome a photo of your pet so we can see the star of the show.

Packages

  • The packages were created based on other loved pets that we have guided through a quality palliative care or end-of-life experience. Most pets will require most of the services listed, and therefore, they have been packaged together to provide an efficient and cost-effective approach.

  • For each package, you have up to three or six months to use all the included services. You are welcome to use them within a week or a month, depending on what your pet needs and our availability.

    Unfortunately, we cannot provide a refund for services not completed, as the pricing is adjusted to accommodate all services as a cost-effective package.

  • A few examples of diseases your pet may be experiencing that would benefit from an Intensive Palliative Care Package include, but are not limited to, pets with:

    TPLO, TTA or lateral suture knee surgery; cholecystectomy surgery; ventral slot or hemilaminectomy surgery; kidney disease (dogs); recent cancer diagnosis; terminal cancer diagnosis; 3–6 month chemotherapy/radiation protocols; esophagostomy feeding tubes; recent diabetes mellitus diagnosis; high grade/aggressive cancer diagnosis.

    If you’re wondering what package may best fit you and your pet’s needs, please reach out and we would be happy to help.

  • A few examples of diseases your pet may be experiencing that would require an Exteaded Palliative Care Package include, but are not limited to, pets with:

    kidney or bladder disease (cats); inflammatory bowel disease; 6–12+ month chemotherapy/radiation protocols; controlled diabetes; chronic arthritis; low grade cancer diagnosis.

    If you’re wondering what package may best fit you and your pet’s needs, please reach out and we would be happy to help.

  • All payment is taken before the start of each package. We accept credit card or cash and you are welcome to pay via payment link or in-person.

  • You are welcome to renew a Palliative Care Package at any time, just let any member of our team know. Alternatively, you can add on services to an existing package or as needed.

  • Palliative Care Packages include services listed. Lab work, blood tests, medications, acupuncture and laser therapies are at an additional cost that will be communicated to you clearly.

    Good news, if you’re signed up for a Palliative Care Package, you receive acupuncture and laser therapies at a 5% discount.

Palliative Care

  • Palliative care is specialized and comprehensive medical care for pets experiencing serious or terminal illness. A focus of palliative care is to provide relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness with a goal to maximize quality of life, both for the pet and the caregiver.

    Palliative care will provide an extra layer of support for your pet, often working with a full team, such as, your primary veterinarian, veterinary specialist, petsitter, and/or groomer. Palliative care can be implemented at any age and at any stage of a disease.

  • Yes! Palliative care can apply to a pet you have made the decision to keep comfortable at home, foregoing any further surgeries, invasive treatments, or hospitalizations. Our goal is to optimize quality of life and minimize pain, however that may look for you and your pet.

    We can also provide care for very invasive surgeries or hospitalizations that require quite a bit of support afterwards. For example, hemilaminectomies, ventral slot surgeries, sepsis, post-operative abdominal or orthopedic surgeries, progressive neurologic diseases including degenerative or pug myelopathies, and progressive osteoarthritis.

  • Absolutely. A hallmark of palliative care is providing pain management for your pet. This can include supplements, medication, weight management, acupuncture, and other options that may work for your pet. The field of pain management continues to evolve and expand, giving us many options to try until we find one that works. If you worry that your pet’s pain is not being well managed, we’d be happy to help.

Fearful Pet Package

  • The Fearful Pet Package consists of three visits from Dr. Stephanie with the goal of completing a full physical exam. During these visits, Dr. Stephanie works to meet your pet at their comfort level. These visits can include treats or affection, prescriptions for any medications that need to be prescribed for future vet visits, handling, playing, or just coexisting without direct contact.

    By allowing your pet to set the pace, we can build trust with them and prevent negative associations with medical handling and the vet.

  • This package is great for puppies, friendly pets, and fearful pets. Making sure that your pet is comfortable around the veterinarian and with medical handling can set them up for a lifetime of success. If your pet is already fearful, we want to help regain confidence around medical handling and exams.

    If your pet gets stressed or is new to veterinary visits, this is a great way to set them up for positive memories of veterinary care.

  • After Dr. Stephanie sees your pet the first time in-person, we can prescribe medications to be used at future visits. She can also estimate their weight and refill prescriptions or provide new ones.

  • That’s okay. We will never risk the safety of our team or put your pet in unsafe situations. Dr. Stephanie is a Fear Free™ certified veterinarian and knows how to work with your pet in ways that reduce fear, anxiety, and stress. We let your pet guide the interactions we have with them and use techniques that help them feel confident about interactions with a vet.

  • Yes! After your first in-person visit, we can prescribe medications that help with anxiety for future visits.

  • No. If together we determine that your pet is comfortable with in-home visits, then future packages are not required. Every pet works at their own pace, and our goal is to help them feel confident about their care.

  • Ideally, we will be able to complete all the required care within the visits included in this package; however, we need to be prepared that in some cases it can take additional visits. Each pet is different and we will work with you to determine what is best for your pet.

Acupuncture

  • Acupuncture can be used to treat any diagnosis. Using a combination of Eastern and Western diagnoses, a treatment plan can be made for your pet. Common disease processes treated with acupuncture include neurologic disease such as intervertebral disc disease (slipped disc) and myelopathies (degenerative disease) and osteoarthritis, but can also be used to treat anything from vomiting to seizures.

  • Yes! The needle placement can be done in a short period (1-2 minutes), then your pet is free to adjust their position, sit, lie down, or walk around. If they choose to shake, rub or pull out needles, stimulation of the site is still valuable for treatment.

    We do typically recommend preparing a long-lasting treat such as a chew or frozen Kong, to give us the best chance at successful needle placement.

  • Response to treatment is expected in as few as three treatments in dogs and two treatments in cats. We typically recommend a 3-session package to start, aiming for one session a week, then depending on their response to the treatment, scheduling maintenance sessions every few weeks or months.

  • Acupuncture most commonly involves dry needling, or the placement of very small-sized needles through the skin. This can hurt as they go in, but the discomfort is minimal and fleeting. After an acupuncture session, some pets experience excessive relaxation, aka “jello legs,” as they recover, but this often resolves within 24 hours. If done appropriately, acupuncture has minimal to no known side effects.

    The ingestion or breaking of acupuncture needles has been documented with negligible side effects.

In-home Euthanasia

  • Our in-home euthanasia services are reserved for existing patients, which means we will have an established relationship and understanding of your pet. For pets who need it, we are able to sedate them via oral or injectable medication to reduce their stress prior to beginning the process of euthanasia.

  • You can find more information on our What to Expect blog.

    Briefly, euthanasia is typically a two-step process. The first injection is a potent cocktail of medications including pain medication and sedatives given into a muscle with a small needle. This prevents the need for significant restraint. Once given, we wait calmly for your pet to fall into a deep sleep. The second injection is given once your pet is fully asleep with no response to stimulation. It is given into a vein and will stop their heart. The first injection takes 2-5 minutes to take effect and the second takes effect within 15-30 seconds. Overall the process is very peaceful.

    During or after euthanasia, we may see urination or defecation, twitching of muscle spasms that appear like a breath. However, they are just reflexes and your pet has passed with no sensation. We also remind you that their eyes may not close after passing.

  • Our In-home Euthanasia Package includes private cremation, which includes the return of your pet’s ashes, a single ink or nose paw print, and a hair clipping. Private cremation is completed with Final Gift Pet Memorial Center in Middle Village, NY and ashes are typically delivered back to your home within 3 business days.

    Additional options including customized urns and memorial items, full body hair clippings, and dental keepsakes are available at an additional cost.

  • Although we’d be honored to help your pet pass peacefully in the comfort of your home, we have to prioritize our existing patients and their needs.

    Please feel free to reach out to Paws at Peace or Home Hearts Vet if you are pursuing in-home euthanasia exclusively.

  • The cost of in-home euthanasia varies by the weight of your pet and the services and memorial products you choose.

    The cost of in-home euthanasia is:

    • under 35 lbs. is $477

    • up to 90 lbs. it is $535

    • up to 150 lbs. it is $597

    NYC law requires an 8.38% sales tax be applied to cremation and cremation items.

    The cost of private cremation is $290.

We’re here to help.

Unsure, looking for something specific, or still have a question?

Book a virtual consultation to discuss how palliative care and/or acupuncture can improve your pet’s quality of life.

Contact us