
How The Service Works
PalliVet is a mobile veterinary service in London providing home visits for palliative and end-of-life care
We drive to your home and provide a range of palliative and end-of-life care services, including peaceful euthanasia, for your beloved pet in the comfort of your home.
In-Home Services – which cases we see
The Palliative and End-of-Life Care Veterinary services* provided are:
– Palliative Care consultations – for pets with serious or terminal illnesses, where curative treatment is not possible, not sought, or no longer helping
– Quality-of-Life and Pre-euthanasia guidance and planning consultations – where we discuss and guide ways to improve quality of life and help guide you in the timing for euthanasia
– Supportive Care for chronic illnesses – such as arthritis and other mobility problems, advanced kidney or heart disease, and progressive cognitive decline (dementia)
– Collapsed dogs – that cannot get up or walk unaided, and you are unable to bring your dog to a clinic
– Euthanasia – where we provide a compassionate, gentle, peaceful euthanasia experience at home – we are able to arrange cremation of your pet’s body – either communal cremation or individual cremation with ashes returned
– Cremation – we are able to arrange cremation of your pet’s body – either communal cremation or individual cremation with ashes returned Cremation
* please refer to the relevant sections on our website, in particular the palliative care consultation and the euthanasia visit for a detailed description of what these home appointments cover
Area Serviced – do you cover my area?
PalliVet covers most of London, Illford and Barnet.
We do not cover outer West London or most of South London.
Check whether we cover your postcode
Fees and Payment
A fee estimate is provided at the time of your fee enquiry.
Fees are based on – consultation time, travel distance/time, additional services, and weight of pets for euthanasia and cremation.
Payment is due at the time of service.
We have a mobile card processing machine and can take card payment at the home visit.
For euthanasia appointments, we can take payment prior to the home visit if you prefer.
Appointment Notice – how much notice is needed?
Bookings may be made in advance or same-day (pending availaibility), however one to three days notice, or more when possible, is advised when booking an appointment in order to help secure an appointment and at a time that suits you.
For euthanasia appointments, we advise you contact us (for advice and scheduling availability) as soon as possible so that we may advise you of our availability in the upcoming days.
Sudden declines can happen, and symptoms get worse from one day to the next, so we try to accommodate same day euthanasia appointments, but this is pending availability and currently most days become fully booked by late morning. If your pet has ‘had a bad night’ please contact us as soon as possible from 8am if you would like a same-day appointment.
Appointment / Home Visiting Hours
We provide home visits 7 days a week.
Our business hours are 8am to 7pm weekdays, 9am to 5pm weekends.
We are closed late evening and overnight (7pm to 8am weekdays, 5pm to 9am weekends), and also during conference leave, annual leave and on occasional weekends.
Appointment Duration – how long are the appointments?
Home euthanasia visits are scheduled as 1 hour appointments.
If you would like more time for a second opinion, or a detailed consultation, or just more time for goodbyes before or after, longer appointment times (up to 2 hours) can be arranged if booked in advance.
Palliative Care consultations are 1 hour or more in duration, according to the amount of time required for the service and your needs. We currently accommodate a 1 hour in-home appointment, with additional follow-up communication if required via phone, video consultation or email.
Appointment Scheduling
Appointments are scheduled as a one-hour arrival window, i.e. a 10am appointment means that we plan to arrive between 10am and 11am. We routinely message you when on our way.
On occasions, our schedule is delayed beyond the one-hour arrival window (due to traffic delays and prior appointments requiring more time) and the arrival window may be up to 2 hours. This is particularly so with mid-to-late afternoon appointments. We update you as soon as possible if there are appointment delays.
Pre-appointment Preparations
– Pet Medical History
We normally require your pet’s recent medical history from your primary care veterinary practice prior to the home visit.
We will first request and obtain your permission for this before we contact your regular vet.
– Parking
We drive to your home in our vehicle, thus we require suitable parking near your home, and generally rely on visitor parking permits when required.
We cannot guarantee a home visit where suitable parking is not available, but will do our best to accommodate you in these circumstances.
– Preparations for euthanasia
For euthanasia appointments, preparations in advance and on the day, can be found at planning ahead and planning on the day.
Follow-up Appointments
After the first home visit, further follow-ups for your pet and their progress can be done via email, phone, a video consultation or a home revisit.