page 2 - At ON THE SIXTH DAY, Dr. PatriciaBurke offers residents of Rhode Island* humane euthanasia of their ill or elderly pets in the comfort of their own home. (As I come alone & depend on owners to gently restrain for initial sedation, it's unsafe to euthanize aggressive pets at home vs. a veterinary clinic). *This business is not licensed in Mass. or Conn. Dates not available are noted on the HOME page.
Home visits & euthanasia can often be scheduled within a day, most days of the week, between 10 AM & 7 PM *see below for dogs over 75lbs
when also requesting cremation services.
If contacted early in the day, sometimes I can come the same day, but, this is not a 24-hour, or emergency service.
The fee for a home visit & euthanasia is based on drive time from Providence & pet's size, & ranges from $350- 600 (rarely more).
There are several possibilities for the care of the pet afterwards. You can deal directly with a cremation service, take to your regular veterinarian or local animal control, or bury (not easy to do properly - see After & Body Care). I can also take the pet for cremation. Cremation charges are based on the type of cremation (private or communal) and weight /size. Communal (no cremains returned) up to 150lbs ranges from $130-360 (pocket pets less). Private cremation (cremains returned in a complimentary urn) ramges from $350-540.
Owners have to provide help to move any pet over 20# to my car. The heavier the dog, & the more stairs, the more help will be needed.
Note: As human hospitals do, as pet hospitals do, I provide cool storage for 1-3 days until transfer to the cremation facility. * However, dogs over 75lbs, if also taking for cremation, I have to be able to take them directly to Final Gift, during their business hours, Monday-Friday and Saturday morning. They do offer a pickup 8 am-8 pm (added charge).
The phone number functions primarily to direct pet owners to this website, screen out robocalls & spam, and quickly alert pet owners who this service is NOT right for (live in MA & CT, want a medical /‘quality of life’ evaluation first, need immediate help). I rarely take phone calls, & never before I have the needed information & have given an estimate. (Again, this is not an on-call, or emergency service. For pets in distress, contact an emergency hospital for an appointment or advice). Unless advertised on the home page that I am unavailable, I TRY to respond to texts & emails received before 4 pm, the same day. After 4 PM, it may be the next day.
To schedule, reschedule, or cancel, the fastest reply will be
texts to 401-523-6566 or email onthesixthday@icloud.com.
I need your First, & LAST name, & your address. Let me know if it's a cat or a dog. If the pet is a dog, please give the approximate weight.
Unless I am out of town (check the home page) I try to respond in a timely fashion but "Call me ASAP" suggests an emergency--you should be contacting an emergency animal hospital for advice & help, or in some cases, animal control.
The following pages discuss deciding whether and when humane euthanasia is the kindest thing you can do for your pet,