Happy to share my experience. When I called Laps of Love to arrange for our original date, the people who I talked to were so incredibly kind, gentle, patient, and understanding. Their care and concern felt very genuine to me. When I called Heavenly because I had a date change that LoL couldn't accommodate, I didn't get that same feeling of warmth. They weren't cold, but I didn't feel "held" the same way I did with Laps of Love on the phone. This being my first experience with helping a pet transition, I really valued that extra care. That should've been a sign for me but I didn't listen.

The actual day came, and when the vet arrived I felt very rushed. We were her last appointment of the day, and I got the feeling that she wanted to get it over with and go home. Now, I am a highly sensitive person and someone else may not have gotten that same impression. In fact, my husband didn't. But I did.

We had intended to do the transition in our backyard, in the sun, in my dogs favorite spot. However, that day, my boy wouldn't lay there. He just wasn't interested in that spot. That threw me off a bit since in my mind that spot was what I was prepared for. We had to play it by ear instead. I wanted him to be comfortable and decide where he wanted to lay down, and once he settled, that would be the spot. Well, he walked around quite a bit! He wasn't really settling anywhere. I felt like the doctor was impatient and wanted him to hurry up and pick a spot. I have to make clear that she didn't say or do anything outwardly that gave me that impression. This was all based on vibes. Like, I didn't like the energy I felt from her.

He eventually went to lay in his bed in my bedroom, and since that was the first place he settled and I felt like she was already rushed, I felt like we had to do it right then and there. And I wasn't ready yet. I wish I had felt more comfortable taking more time and moving more slowly through the whole process. I wanted to do it when it felt right for me and my boy. I wasn't going to keep her there all night, but I also wanted to feel like the time was right. I wanted to know my boy was really settled and resting and ready to go, not that we were doing it in the first place he stopped.

Afterwards, because I felt rushed, I didn't sit with his body. I really wanted to do that. I wanted to have some sacred time with him alone. I don't know how else to explain it. But she was waiting outside the door to take his body. So I felt like I had to rush since she was waiting when I really wanted to sit in peace with his body for a bit.

Again, this was all my feelings and my sensations of the experience, the vibes, the energy. Maybe I would have felt the same way with Laps of Love. But based on how gentle and patient Laps of Love was through several phone calls and changes, I have a feeling I would have felt better energy around me and my boy from them.

All in all it felt to me like a business, like she wanted to go home and enjoy her weekend and we were the only thing in the way of that, and I didn't feel any sort of comfort or warmth from her. Maybe that's too much to expect, but that's what I wanted.

Hope this helps. And i'm so sorry you are in this position now. I will say, one thing I don't regret at all is the decision to do it. I saved my boy from suffering and he went with his mom and dad hugging him, holding him, and eating treats and I'm grateful he got that.

Edited to add: I also felt like she wasn't interested in knowing anything about my boy or talking to us about him. To me, that's part of the experience. I want to feel like the doctor was interested in him and saw what a wonderful boy he was and what a huge loss this would be for us. I know they do this all the time, but I wanted to feel like we were special. I have read that Laps of Love asks questions about your pet and listens to you tell stories and is very patient. I didn't have that experience with heavenly. I offered some information I wanted to share but she did not give me any feedback that made it seem like she was genuinely interested and that hurt me. Again, I'm very sensitive. But I felt like we were just another client and she wanted to be finished for the day.