Quality of Life Assessment with Family
At this time, due to staffing constraints and demand for in-home euthanasia visits, our Quality of Life Assessment services are on hold and our waiting list is at capacity. Thank you for understanding. We encourage you to continue to work with your veterinarian for your pet's care and we are still here for you if you would like to make your pet's last moments as peaceful and dignified as possible in the comfort of your own home or in our Comfort Center located on Onondaga Hill in Syracuse.
Deciding when it is time to say goodbye to a beloved pet is never easy and something we all struggle with. It is very difficult to navigate through the questions and concerns when your beloved pet has a chronic and/or life-limiting disease or just complications due to natural aging. Stillwaters Veterinary Care offers compassionate support to help guide you to the decision you are most at peace with and provides you treatment care options to consider if you are not yet ready to say goodbye.
Click here for more detailed information on what to expect during a Quality of Life Assessment session
Helpful Resources
Options & Fees
Appointments are generally 60 minutes long and do not include any medical care or therapies.
| Format / Distance from Syracuse |
Quality of Life Session |
| Virtual meeting |
$130* |
| In Person / Within 50 miles |
$180* |
| In Person / Beyond 50 miles |
$280* |
* Any procedures, labwork, medications, supplies, or other services are additional and we will inform you of the costs before proceeding with them. We have many items that have been donated by other families to help other pets that are free to borrow as long as you need them.
There is a $75 add-on fee for any appointments scheduled after 5pm, on weekends, or holidays
Service Area
We serve clients in Onondaga and Oswego and parts of Seneca, Wayne, Chenango, Tompkins, Cayuga, Cortland and Madison counties. Please contact us to see if we are able to accommodate you if you are beyond our normal radius. We use Google Maps to determine the distance from our location to calculate associated fees. To check the distance for us to get to your home, click the link below and enter your address into the starting point to find the distance that will be used to determine the cost of our visit.
Are you within our service area? Click here to calculate your distance from Syracuse.
If you live farther than 50 miles, please contact us to see if it feasible for us to provide service to you based on your location.
Payment
Payment is due before or at the time of service unless previously arrangements have been made. Payments can be made by cash, Scratchpay, CareCredit, or credit card. We accept most major credit cards over the phone for pre-payment, or accept most major credit cards, Scratchpay, or cash at the time of service. At this time we are only accepting personal checks in certain situations. There is a $25 returned check fee.
Learn more about financing options & our Compassionate Crossings fund
Cancellation Fees
We understand that circumstances with your pet's health may change prior to your scheduled appointment. If you need to cancel your appointment, please call or email before 8am the day of the scheduled appointment to avoid being billed for services. If you are canceling after 8am the day of your scheduled visit there will be a $150 cancellation fee because late cancellations prevent us from providing services to other families. We may take a deposit the next time a visit is scheduled, if we received less than 24 hours notice of a previous visit cancellation.
Other Services
Hospice & Palliative Care - Loving end of life care for your pet in your own home. Learn More }
In-Home Pet Euthanasia - Say goodbye to your beloved pet in the comfort of your own home. Learn More }
Compassionate Pet Aftercare Services - Gentle and environmentally-friendly water-based cremation. Learn More }
During a Quality of Life Assessment, we meet with you and your pet from the comfort of your own home environment rather than a clinic environment that can be unfamiliar or stressful. We offer a one hour Quality of Life Assessment session either virtually (with an online face-to-face meeting) or at your home so that we can meet you and your pet in person to get an idea of what your pet's day-to-day life is like and the specific health care problems they face. We will also contact your veterinarian to get their medical records prior to the first visit so that we know as much as possible about your pet before meeting them.
During the session, we will talk about your goals and work with you to develop an end of life care plan for your pet. We might suggest therapies that have the potential to increase the comfort and quality of life for your pet and/or extend the time you have with them. We can also discuss whether your pet is a candidate to be entered into a hospice program and whether they would benefit from alternative therapies such as acupuncture, physical rehabilitation, laser therapy, and/or nutritional changes or herbal therapies. Stillwaters Veterinary Care specializes in offering in-home hospice and palliative care options for your beloved pet.
To help prepare you for a gentle goodbye for your pet, we will explain our euthanasia process which takes as much stress and fear from your pet as possible. We will provide you with guidance and resources to help you decide when the time may be right for you and your pet. We will help you pro-actively make aftercare decisions so that when the time comes to say goodbye you are able to be present and mindful through the process with reduced stress.
We are here to provide the level of support your pet and your family wants and needs.
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about our services and options.
