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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Compassionate Crossings, an at-home end-of-life pet service, offers families a variety of options of remembrance for their pet through pet cremation packages.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Compassionate Crossings, an at-home end-of-life pet service, offers families a variety of options of remembrance for their pet through pet cremation packages.
When Hope Ausley found out this fall that her 16-year-old cat, Simon, didn’t have much more time to live, she made the difficult decision to put him down.
But like many cats, Simon didn’t like getting into a car, so Ausley and her husband, Francis, took advantage of a new Hoover-based business that provides euthanasia services at pets’ homes.
They called Dr. Lindsay Floyd of Compassionate Crossings, who came out to the Ausleys’ Cahaba Heights home about 10 p.m. one night and gave Simon a peaceful transition into death in the comfort of his own home.
“We were able to hold Simon, have him in his heating pad and blanket,” Ausley said. “We sat in his favorite chair by the fireplace.”
It by far beat having Simon get agitated about having to get into a car and go to a veterinarian’s office, she said. “It was a real blessing.”
Also, Floyd was absolutely wonderful and didn’t rush the process, Ausley said. “We were able to spend time with him in the end.”
Floyd, who grew up in Hoover and moved back to Bluff Park in 2012, works as an associate veterinarian at the Lincoln Veterinarian Clinic in Talladega County. She started her Compassionate Crossings business in October as a side business to help meet a need for both pet owners and vet clinics, she said.
Putting a pet to sleep is an incredibly intense time for most pet owners, and many people like the idea of letting their pet transition into death in a calm, quiet, comfortable environment to which the pet is accustomed, instead of taking their pet to an unfamiliar office with a lot of strangers and unfamiliar animals around, Floyd said.
Also, it’s difficult to get some animals to a vet’s office, she said. Cats usually are terrified of vet clinics, and some dogs are heavy, aggressive or nonmobile, she said. Sometimes, pet owners who are disabled have difficulty getting out, she said.
Floyd said she isn’t trying to compete with vet clinics but instead provide a service for them as well. She only makes her appointments after hours (usually 6-10 p.m.) or on weekends or holidays, all times most vet clinics are closed, she said.
Also, providing in-home euthanasia service is not really a moneymaker for vets, she said. And with manpower shortages, it’s hard for vets to make time to leave the office, she said.
When she opened in October, Floyd sent letters to vet clinics in communities south of Birmingham, letting them know she was available to help, and vets surprisingly have been the source of most of her referrals, she said.
She had about 25 clients in her first two months, which was more than she expected, she said. Compassionate Crossings, while based in Hoover, also is licensed to do business in Homewood, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and other parts of Jefferson and Shelby counties, she said. As her business grows, she hopes to extend her reach into other communities, she said.
Compassionate Crossings does not provide any medical, surgical or hospice services — only euthanasia and body aftercare services, she said.
Floyd graduated from Hoover High School in 1999, got her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Auburn University in 2007, completed an internship in medicine and surgery in North Carolina and then practiced for four years in South Carolina before moving back to Hoover in 2012. She has two dogs and two cats.
Lane and Kathryn Hagan, a Mountain Brook couple, in November found themselves in need of euthanasia services and called Floyd to help.
Their 15-year-old cat, Stella, had beaten cancer in 2020 but had gotten sick again and was going downhill fast, and they didn’t want to take Stella to a vet clinic, Lane Hagan said. They wanted Stella’s final moments to be peaceful and easy, and they also wanted their kids — ages 8, 6 and 5 — to be there to say goodbye, he said.
Going through it at home was easier for everyone, Lane said. “You don’t want to go out and have an emotional experience in front of other people if you don’t have to,” he said.
Lloyd was very professional and compassionate and talked to the children in a way they could understand what was happening, he said. “It was a very pleasant experience,” Lane said. “We would definitely recommend her to anybody going through the same situation.”
For more information, visit their website compassionate-crossings.com.
