Routine Care and Vaccinations

I offer routine health care for healthy pets and appropriate care for sick patients in your home. For healthy patients we will start with a general physical exam including medical history, vital signs, and checking your pet from nose to tail to evaluate all the appropriate systems. Vaccinations are tailored to every individual pet, with separation of vaccines and/or relevant titer tests always offered as options. Screening diagnostics such as heartworm testing, fecal parasite testing and screening bloodwork are also recommended as warranted. We will discuss the importance of preventative care and other measures you can take to ensure your pet lives a long healthy, happy life.

Sick Pet Exams and therapy

If your pet is sick, I can still help. There are many times patients are treated on an outpatient basis with the appropriate medical and supportive care. If your pet is more ill than outpatient care warrants, we still have options. As a mobile practitioner, there are certain limitations to the care that I can provide in your home such as immediate lab results, x-rays (radiographs) and surgical interventions. If your pet is in need of this level of care, I will direct you to a more appropriate care facility. And if your pet is referred to another facility, I will still be a source of support and guidance along the way. I have great working relationships with my referral hospitals. You will always be in good hands.

Saying goodbye is already hard enough and it should always be done in a serene and loving environment. Car rides to and from the vet are hard on everyone: you, your beloved pet, and the whole family. And with COVID, not all animal care facilities allow you to be with your pet inside. Being in the comfort of your own home can make this whole process easier on everyone. It provides support to you, your pet, and the entire family as you face this most difficult time. You are not alone. My intention is to make the process of saying goodbye as peaceful, loving, and tranquil as possible which is paramount to everyone’s experience.

How Does it work?

Contact me to make an appointment via text, email or phone. The appointment typically includes a preemptive conversation, exam if warranted, and after care decision making. Some information regarding this is covered in more detail below.

Some pet owners seeking euthanasia services like to pay in advance or at the beginning of the appointment due to emotions. If this is your wish, just let me know and we will make it so. Payment options include cash, check, and major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover) with an option to pay online. Home euthanasia with house call fee and exam included is in the fee. Aftercare services and memorabilia are additional and pricing is listed below.

At the visit, an assessment will be determined to provide peace of mind that "it is time." The assessment varies depending on the case and circumstances. We will walk through the process together. When letting go, usually two injection are given. For the first injection, heavy sedation (with lots of pain medication) is administered prior to ease the transition. Your pet will become sleepy enough to have surgery. This injection can take 5-10 minutes to take effect. When your pet is ready, a second injection is administered upon appropriate sedation to ensure an easy and peaceful passing. Even if you did not read this, we will walk through this together.

What happens afterwards?

You have options. You can bury your pet at home. You can utilize the after-care services as part of the care I provide. Or you may arrange for your own after care services if you desire. Any options that you decide will be ok.

I offer two options for after care. One is the traditional fire cremation service provided by Agape Pet Services and the second is an environmentally sustainable water cremation service provided by Companah. They are both equally wonderful services and more information is provided below. Pricing is comparable for services requested as outlined below. There is some variation in memorial items. If a service is not specified, Dr. Lee will determine the provider based on criteria to ensure the promptest service for your pet’s aftercare.

For Agape Pet Services

Agape Pet Services provides traditional private cremation, private attended cremation, group (communal) cremations and shares resources to help you through the grieving process. I trust them even with my own pet family members. I have used their services with the care of my handsome dog Buck and they did a beautiful job. Rest assured that your pet will be handled with the utmost compassion, dignity, respect, and understanding. All private cremations are truly individually cremated, so you can know with confidence that your pet’s ashes, and only their ashes, are returned to you. If you need to hear more about this, we can discuss it in more detail or you can even contact Agape Pet Services about viewing or monitoring the entire aftercare process. Communal cremations are treated with the greatest respect and the ashes are scattered over a beautiful property in Chatham County near Siler City.

Agape Pet Services also has an extensive selection of memorialization options beyond the basic services described above. To view their additional selection of urns and other heartfelt tributes and memorabilia, please visit their website at https://agapepetservices.com

Agape Pricing and Options:

• Home euthanasia with housecall fee and exam included
  $350
• Individual Cremation with personalized urn options
  $260
  • Hand-Carved Rosewood Urn
  • Cherry Remembrance Urn
  • Cedar Memorial Urn
  • Serenity Photo Urn
  • Remembrance Urn
  • Decorative Metal Urn Blue
  • Decorative Metal Urn Tan
  • A link to all urn with photos and descriptions and engraving information can be found here.
• Certified Communal Cremation     $200
• Agape Pet Services home pickup for pets greater than 110lbs     $150
• Additional keepsake items are also available, through their website as well. https://agapepetservices.com

For Companah

Aftercare service options include either private cremation or communal cremation provided by Companah. They offer water cremation – which is a gentle, environmentally-responsible process (it’s also referred to as alkaline hydrolysis). Thankfully I have not needed to say goodbye to a personal pet since I have began working with Companah. I have trusted them with my dearest friend’s pet, Koda, and they were 100% compassionate, caring, respectful, dignified, and loving. I trust them as a company and as people. All private cremations are truly individually cremated, so you can know with confidence that your pet’s ashes, and only their ashes, are returned to you. Communal cremations are treated with the greatest respect and the ashes are lovingly released into the Pamlico River in eastern North Carolina.

Companah Pricing and Options:

• Home euthanasia with housecall fee and exam included
  $350
• Individual Cremation with personalized urn options
  $260
  • Tree of Life Hand Urn
  • Biodegradable Urn suitable for Home Burial
• Communal Cremation     $200
• Companah Pet Services home pickup for pets greater than 110lbs     $150
• Memorial Items
  • Clay Paw Print
    $25
  • Wooden Paw Print
    $25
  • Paw Print in Faux Leather Shadow Box Frame     $35
  • Additional keepsake items are also available through their website as well. Please feel free to visit the Companah website for additional memorials.

If you cannot decide which service to use or do not have preference, the determination will be made on first availability to provide services and care.

If you have any questions or concerns about any part of this process, it is my honor and privilege to help. Please email, text, or call me. We can talk until you have as much peace of mind as possible about any part of the process.

Acupuncture works with life energy called Qi, the energy flowing through and around the body. It involves the insertion of very thin needles through the skin at special points along the body, which are then left in place for a short time, to stimulate and correct the body's natural flow of Qi (energy). This may seem like a torturous procedure, but, many animals enjoy the process—and it’s quite common for a dog or cat to fall asleep or into a trance during treatment.

Acupuncture is effective when treating acute and chronic issues, internal organ disorders, immune and autoimmune disorders, hormonal problems, skin issues, allergies, pain associated with musculoskeletal system, arthritis, and animals with non-specific behavioral and stress related issues. The most common problems that acupuncture is used for are those that involve pain or neurologic/nerve dysfunction, but as acupuncture’s effects are body-wide, a great variety of other medical and behavioral issues can benefit from needles as well.

Exactly how acupuncture works is not fully known and is understood slightly differently by different medical modalities (eastern vs western medicine). In essence, needles are inserted at specific points along the body known to exert certain local or body-wide influences. From an eastern perspective, these locations are placed along one of fourteen channels (meridians) and affect the body in a variety of ways. From a western perspective, acupuncture points are generally quite enriched with nerve endings, and needle stimulation has been shown to alter nerve function, with both local and body-wide effects. The goal is to either sustain this optimal, balanced flow with preventive treatments or to restore the body’s natural balance that has been disturbed by illness or other disorder.

Please contact Blue Pearl (formerly Veterinary Specialty Hospital) in Cary at 919-233-4911.

(This is where I take my pets when they are ill and I want to be a “Mom” and not a doctor.) We have an excellent working relationship and you will be in good hands. All of their locations provide excellent care. For more information on their services and locations, please visit their website at https://bluepearlvet.com.

Additional Trusted Emergency Locations

Specialty and 24/7 Emergency Facilities

• Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital of Holly Springs:  919-973-5620
• Quartet Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital:  919-605-6300
• North Carolina State University Teaching Hospital Small Animal Emergency Service:  919-513-6911
• Animal Emergency Hospital & Urgent Care:  919-781-5145
• Quail Corners Animal Hospital:  919-876-0739
• Wake Veterinary Hospital & Urgent Care:  919-266-9852

Urgent Care Facilities

• Truss Vet:  919-981-9881
• Animal Emergency Hospital & Urgent Care:  919-781-5145
• Urgent Vet:  984-261-2323

Please note there is a shortage of ER doctors and support staff. Unfortunately, this means expecting long wait times and potentially at-capacity hospitals who may direct you elsewhere. Therefore, please call ahead to ensure your pet can be seen.