Providing compassionate consultations for palliative care and in-home euthanasia to the North and West Central areas of Minnesota.
Ensuring your beloved companion receives the dignity and comfort they deserve in the warmth of your home.
Peaceful Endings, Gentle Goodbyes
A Gentle Journey
Peaceful Prairie Pet Care is here to help you and your pet have the alternative of spending the last season of their life at home.
Our services include phone consultations, online and in-home palliative care options, an online pharmacy, pain management and in-home euthanasia.
About Us:
Peaceful Prairie was founded based on the goal of assisting families with a peaceful passing of their beloved four-legged companions. Dr. Krell has been assisting pet owners with in-home euthanasias for over 14 years with her previous clinical work. She understands the many benefits to a pet and their family of bringing this particular veterinary service to the home setting. For pets and families, it softens this process for pets that have chronic conditions or find difficulty traveling to the vet clinic. This allows for you and your pet to remain in a comfortable and familiar environment for the duration of the event.
If needed, a pre-visit consultation could be arranged either in-person or as a telehealth appointment. With this, we can determine if your pet could benefit from other testing, treatments, medications prior to the appointment. It may also be possible to prescribe pre-visit medications for pets that are in pain, stressed and fearful for visits with a veterinarian.
The pictures on this site were creating in loving memory of Dr. Krell's pets that have crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
What you can expect before and during the appointment:
Prior to the appointment, we will send you forms to complete including:
-
a euthanasia release,
-
a confirmation that the pet has not bitten a person within 10 days of the appointment (Minnesota law)
-
and a directive regarding your pet’s remains (aftercare).
We will have the payment process completed prior to the appointment via sending you a link by email or text. This is to make sure your sole focus will be on being with your pet during and after the visit.
The doctor will arrive at your home within 15-30 minutes of the scheduled appointment (travel times can vary depending on weather and distance for travel). In the event of an unforeseen circumstance, you will receive a phone call if Dr. Krell is running late or needs to reschedule.
Depending on your pet’s comfort level, we may give an sedation injection into a muscle (usually a hind limb) at the beginning of the process. We encourage you to offer any type of favorite treats, foods, toys or bed to be with your pet during the visit as your pet becomes more sleepy. Occasionally due to the underlying medical condition that is affecting your pet, additional sedation may be needed to help your pet become totally at ease.
Once your pet is relaxed and calm, we will proceed to place an IV catheter to allow for the smoothest transition possible. With the IV catheter in place, a final medication will be administered to stop heart function.
Our goal is to ensure that your pet is resting deeply prior to continuing with the final step, assuring that your companion is unable to sense any fear or worry. Typically, this can take a few moments though in some cases 10-15 minutes (which can be normal and likely due to underlying health conditions). In some cases, pets with poor circulation or low blood pressure may require an alternative way to administer the final medication, we will only choose this option if we feel it is necessary and let you know before beginning with this step.
What you can do before the appointment:
We strongly recommend utilizing a quiet and familiar site in your home or in your yard.
Using a favorite blanket or pet bed is a great idea to help keep them comfortable as well.
Given the delicacy of the event, we encourage any family and friends to be present that wish to be.
Please keep in mind that loud noise and startling changes can be disruptive to the pet while the medication takes effect which may prevent your pet from becoming relaxed and sedated. We advise keeping other pets and very young children from entering the area during the procedure to help ensure a peaceful and undisrupted transition.
Availability & Travel Area
Availability
Dr. Krell offers these services on a very part-time basis. Her availability is limited as she is engaged with busy family schedules, working relief positions and growing a mobile ultrasound service to area veterinary clinics.
With this said, please kindly understand that if your pet is urgently declining we recommend seeking care with your primary veterinarian or an emergency hospital in your area for euthanasia services. Our service is not available for emergency euthanasia situations.
Travel
Given our rural region, Dr. Krell is able to travel some distance to accommodate requests for in-home services. Travel up to 2 hours (about 120 miles one way) from her homebase may be possible depending on her availability. Additional fees are applied to travel over 30 miles from her base fee.
Pricing
In Home Euthanasia price will vary based on distance to your home and weight of the pet. Please do not underestimate the weight because an accurate weight is needed for the medications to adequately sedate your pet for the procedure. Under dosing may prevent your pet from relaxing and the procedure going as smoothly as possible.
Euthanasia: Starting at $600. Pricing is based on patient size and distance of travel (see below). Please submit an appointment request form - we can provide a more detailed estimate for end of life care.
Cremation: We work directly with a privately owned crematorium for all cremation needs. Please see their website: Forever In Our Hearts Pet Cremation. We may also be able to provide a transport service for an additional fee (see below).
Additional Fees:
-
Evening or Weekend Requests: If a request is made for an evening or weekend, an estimate for the cost will be provided - starting at $150. This is strictly limited to Dr. Krell’s availability and we can make no guarantee that we can accommodate this request.
-
Weight: If your pet weighs in the following ranges, please note there is an additional cost.
-
50-75 lbs = $125-175
-
75.1-100lbs = $175-225
-
100.1 lbs- 125 lbs = $225-275
-
Over 125.1lb = limited availability, will provide quote.
-
**Please be as accurate as you can with the pet’s weight, underestimating will result in a higher cost than estimated.**
-
-
Transportation of Remains:
-
If cremation is elected, we can transport the pet for cremation services an additional $50 applies.
-
Picking up of pet urns can be done at the Crematorium directly in Audubon, shipped to you directly (for a fee determined by Forever In Your Hearts) or could be arranged for pick up with Dr. Krell.
-
If your pet weighs over 45 lbs, Dr. Krell will require assistance with moving the pet to her vehicle after the procedure is done and if cremation is requested.
-
-
Mileage:
-
Mileage is charged at $3.00 per mile one way over 30 miles from Dr. Krell's home near Sebeka, MN.
-
Pre-Visit Consultations:
-
Pets that have a history of being fearful, reactive or aggressive towards strangers or veterinary professionals must have a pre-visit consult. Pre-visit medications will need to be prescribed to ensure your pet’s comfort and the veterinarian’s safety during the in person visit. If an appointment cannot be completed due to the animal being hard to restrain or handle by the client, a limited evaluation fee will be assessed and the appointment may be rescheduled at a later time to help plan for a gentle approach for the service to be implemented.
-
For requests that involve an aggressive, reactive, fearful or protective pet, these appointment requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. If it seems in the best interest for the pet and the doctor, Dr. Krell may have to decline an appointment if it seems the pet is not amenable to an at home visit and recommend you proceed to set up an appointment with your primary veterinarian.
-
-
TeleMedicine Consultation Appointments: 30 minutes……. $85
-
In Person Appointments: 60 minutes………$200, additional fee for travel applied for appointments over 30 miles from homebase
-
Bloodwork, fecal and urine testing may be recommended and completed if your pet is compliant with light restraint and sample collection. This would be additional based on the tests recommended.
-
Common Questions
When should we consider euthanasia?
We recommend tracking your pet’s daily activities to start noticing trends that show declining Quality of Life. Journals or notes on a calendar are useful to track the changes over time. We also advise clients to use the following websites to help walk you through this process:
What preparations are needed for the visit?
Simply provide a clean, quiet space for us to work. We will bring all necessary supplies and equipment. If your pet is anxious or requires some pre-visit medication, please be sure your pet receives the medications as prescribed.
No other prior preparation is required from your side, as we handle everything with care and professionalism.
Should I be present for the euthanasia?
We encourage clients to do what “their heart tells them”. Watching your pet pass away can be very difficult however not all people are comfortable seeing this occur. Your pet will become very quiet and sleep very deeply, however in many cases pets do not close their eyes, can breathe deeply as the mind and heart “shut off”, may void stool or urine, and may twitch or gasp during their passing. Some owners stay for the sedation and step away from the room when the pet is unconscious. There is no right answer other than what your intuition guides you towards.
Is it okay for my children to be present for the euthanasia?
We feel that this is a personal decision based on your child’s maturity and understanding along side with your own personal beliefs. Though, for very young children that are quite active - this could be a disruption for your pet as they are sedated and it may be easier for your pet to relax if everyone in the space is calm.
How do I manage my grief after my pet is gone?
Losing a pet can be a profound and devastating loss. Intense emotions can be expected. We recommend seeking guidance with a therapist directly or through online support or a telesupport group
Here are some websites that have Pet Loss Resources:
-
Cornell Pet Loss Support HotLine (607) 218-7457
Get in Touch
We are here to support you and your beloved companion. Serving the North and West Central regions of Minnesota with compassionate in-home euthanasia and palliative care. Reach out to discuss how we can provide the peace you and your pet deserve.