Home Visit Information

A Bit About Us:

We are Winnipeg’s only veterinary provider focused exclusively on end-of-life care, which we provide in the comfort of your home. We are passionate about promoting the bond between people and their animals, as well as respecting and honouring the importance of the end of life.

Our services include compassionate euthanasia and arrangement of aftercare in Winnipeg and surrounding area. Please see the map on our contact page. Areas in the purple is subject to a $50 travel fee. If you live east of Oakbank/Dugald/Lorette/Landmark, let us know as we may be able to accommodate travel to that area for an additional $75.

Our appointment times are scheduled for 45-120 minutes to allow our families as much time as they need. Each companion animal requiring a euthanasia assisted death will be provided with sedation to allow minimal handling by our veterinarian during the visit to reduce stress. Each family will be provided with memorial items for their beloved pet (pawpal paw print), as well as a folder containing information related to grieving and memorialization.

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Resources:

Our Resources Page has some great information such as pain assessment scales, quality of life scales. Dr. Liz's blog about her own journey leading up to saying goodbye to her dog Jack and how she coped with his declining health is a great first-hand experience.

If children will be present at the appointment, or if you have children that are part of your pet's life, we suggest letting them know what will happen beforehand. At the top of our Resource Page there some online links that may help you talk to your child about pet death and Dr. Liz's blog about books available for children that may help them with their own grief.

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Availability:

Appointments are available 9:30am - 3:00pm Monday-Friday and have 3 time periods, one in the morning, one mid-day and one in the afternoon: 9:30 - 10:30am, 11:30am-12:30pm and 2:30-3:00pm. (Note that Thursdays and Fridays tend to book up first and may not be available for same-day appointments. We do not typically have appointments later than 2:30/3:00pm.)

If there is a specific date or time that you'd like, please let me know. Typically we can book an appointment within a few days, however during summer months and near Christmas tend to be busier than normal. Call us at 204-813-8908 to book an appointment or link to our Online Appointment Request.

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Booking Ahead:

Due to the nature of our business, we will not book appointments more than 2 weeks in advance as your pet's health can change in that time. What we can do is gather all of your information, tentatively schedule the home visit and then confirm closer to your requested date.

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Pricing and Aftercare:

Euthanasia Home Visit Cost: The cost for an in-home euthanasia visit is $415 (plus GST). 

Aftercare: Cremation aftercare is additional, depending on your wishes. Costs below include our veterinarians taking your beloved pet with them when they leave. Ashes can be returned to your primary veterinary clinic for no-charge pickup or couriered directly to your door for $50 (within the perimeter only). You may also arrange aftercare yourself. Cremation prices are subject to GST and urns GST and PST

Communal Cremation: If you are not looking to keep your companion animal’s body or cremains (ashes), communal cremation will be performed and the cremains will be scattered on property owned and cared for by Precious Pet Cremation. This fee is $165.

Private Cremation: Families who wish to have their pet individually cremated and the cremains returned to them have the option of:

Engraving is an additional $67.50

If you have your own vessel, then we can take it with us to be filled or you can fill it yourself with ashes returned in a scatterbox/no urn option.

Aquamation: ((alkaline hydrolysis water-based private cremation) is available through Peaceful Pasture Pet Crematorium for $270 and includes a biodegradable urn that can be buried or decorated. They also have additional urns available. 

Home Burials: Please see our Home Burial PDF on our website for important safety information to ensure you can properly protect your pet, yourself and the environment.

Pricing is subject to change without notice.

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Pawprints:

Each family will be provided with one pawpal paw print which comes in a frame where you can place a photo. Additional pawpals are $20. We do offer simple ink prints for $20. If you would like a more intricate ink print for a tattoo, those do take some time and are an additional $50 and will be mailed to you.

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Payments:

After booking an appointment with us, we will forward a confirmation email and an invoice. The invoice will not be due until your appointment date. You can pay online with credit card or e-transfer or pay our veterinarian directly with credit or debit. We can provide a detailed quote upon request.

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Cancellations:

Should you need to cancel for whatever reason, (we prefer 24 hours in advance and 4 hours minimum prior to your appointment - see below). If you have an early morning appointment, please give us as much notice as possible. You can do so by texting or leaving a voicemail at 204-813-8909 or email to info@sunsetvetcare.ca.

A cancellation fee of $100 will be charged for appointments cancelled four (4) hours or less in advance of appointment time. Appointments cancelled within one (1) hour of appointment time will be charged an entire appointment amount of $415. Should your pet pass away before our scheduled time, give us as much notice as you can and see this page on our website for information.

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Inclement Weather

We will do everything to honour our one-hour time window. However if visibility or road conditions make travel dangerous, we will have to reschedule. We will continually monitor Manitoba 511 for road conditions and Environment Canada for weather alerts.

For our veterinarian’s safety, Please ensure your walkway/driveweay/steps are free of snow and ice.

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Outdoor Appointments:

Due to the dropping daytime temperatures, we cannot have any outdoor appointments at this time as our medication will not work effectively when the 'feels like' temperature is below +10c.

Please note we can only have outdoor appointments on private property that you own, or with permission of the owner. We cannot have any appointment in public parks, fields, or property owned by any municipality, crown land, or first-nations land without permission.

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Large-Breed Dogs:

Dogs 90lb/41kg and over will have a $50 fee for extra units of medication. We typically call the crematory for a home pickup at an additional $110 (within Winnipeg only) if we are handling aftercare as our veterinarians cannot lift a dog weighing more than 90lb by herself safely. However, as the crematory is quite busy they may not be available and we may ask that you deliver your larger dog to the crematory yourselves. Please let us know asap if your dog needs special handling. Note that if your pet is over 120 lb/55kg we would have to assess prior to booking an appt.

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Aggression and/or Anxiety:

If there is any aggression with your cat or dog, or if they get anxious and defensive with strangers, (scratching, hissing, biting, excessive barking) please let us know and we can work with your primary veterinarian for them to prescribe sedation for your pet before your visit. We will assess if we can go ahead with an appointment of this nature on a case-by-case basis. Only certain veterinarians work with aggressive/anxious pets at this time and appointments are limited to their availability. Due to safety concerns, we will not be euthanizing any pets due to aggression. Note that we will not be working with any anxious dogs over 50lb/22kg at this time. ALL PETS MUST BE UP-TO-DATE WITH THEIR RABIES VACCINE.

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Quality of Life Appointments:

If you're not sure you're ready to say goodbye, consider one of our Quality of Life Appointments.

  • A Quality of Life Visit works in conjunction with your veterinarian in determining the correct care plan for your pet. Prior to the Quality of Life visit, we would need you to fill out a pre-visit questionnaire before our appointment.

  • Our veterinarian will complete a physical examination, work through a quality-of-life scale together and have a joint discussion. She will cover what to expect during a euthanasia appointment, how to tell if your pet is suffering, and we will always make time for family concerns and questions.

  • The majority of the time will be spent helping you assess their pain level and quality of life. Please note this appointment is not a medical review and you will be referred back to your regular veterinarian for additional therapies or testing.

  •  If time allows, euthanasia may be performed at this visit, if considered appropriate. If time does not, an appointment can be scheduled at another day or time. Assessment will be scheduled for up to 60 minutes.

  •  The cost for in-home Quality of Life Assessment is $275. If euthanasia is performed at this visit, there is an additional charge of $285 for medication used. Note that you do not need to have a quality-of-life appointment to book a euthanasia appointment.

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Health & Safety:

Our veterinarians may choose wear masks as they are around many people on a daily basis. If you choose to wear a mask, the veterinarian will give you time alone to remove your mask and say goodbye. If you have any health concerns or allergies that may impact our visit, please let our team know as soon as possible so we can accommodate you to the best of our abilities.

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IN AN EMERGENCY

If you find your pet in an emergency situation, please contact Winnipeg Animal Emergency Hospital at 204-809-8914 or Bridgwater Veterinary Hospital at 204-452-0911. If your pet should sadly pass before your scheduled appointment, please link to this page that tells you how to deal with a pet death in the home.