LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – As Dr. Kyra Heirich arrived at her client’s home for an appointment, she could hear soft music playing. Candles were lit and photos of a dog were adorned throughout. This, she said, is what drives her to provide compassionate, in-home pet euthanasia around Lake Tahoe.
“It was such a beautiful, peaceful setting,” Heirich said. “It was an experience of, ‘This can feel so different from the emergency room at 2 a.m. where I haven’t really met anyone, I’m just walking in to do what I need to and go on to the next patient.'”
Heirich spent years doing emergency veterinary work leading up to her move to Lake Tahoe, and after her arrival, she realized there was a lack of after-hours animal care in South Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas.
“Euthanasia is, unfortunately, a blessing and a curse of veterinary medicine. I think it’s a gift that we’re not able to have our pets and loved ones suffer,” she said. “But, the way we typically do it in a clinic setting is pretty impersonal. It’s the best we can do with the resources and the time we have.”
Heirich discovered how to utilize her skills and experience, and now, she offers a way for residents in the entire Tahoe basin and Carson Valley to honor final moments with their pets. The beauty of her services extend to allowing pet owners the freedom to choose where they want those final moments to be and how they’d like to say goodbye.
The process typically involves a two-step sedative to help the animal fall asleep slowly, and when the owners are ready, Heirich administers a final injection. Depending on their wishes for aftercare, she can either leave the pet to be handled by their owner or she can take the pet with her for cremation, allowing roughly two weeks for ashes and paw prints to be returned.
“People are usually much more at ease with their decision,” Heirich said as she touched on how many people she saw who were grieving and upset as they left the clinic. “Driving home is the last thing you should have to worry about.”
Costs for Heirich’s services run in the same ballpark as a traditional clinic, and she also offers evening and weekend availability as well as accommodations to custom requests from owners. In addition to end-of-life care, consultations regarding behavioral euthanasia are available.
While she’s grateful to be helping others through such a difficult process, in this line of work, she finds healing for herself, too.
“This is the way that this is meant to be done. I’ve had a family where we were on their balcony in the Keys with live music playing, and others where we were at the beach, or the start of a dog’s favorite hike,” she said. “There’s something really special about being able to be the person to facilitate that for people.”
Through CodaPet, a network of licensed veterinarians that connects pet owners with professionals, folks can access resources like an online pet quality-of-life assessment which provides families with a way to determine their pet’s daily routines, comfort and overall well-being.
To learn more about Dr. Kyra Heirich’s services or to book an appointment, visit https://www.drkyra.vet/.
