I had to put my best friend and my hero... my dog....to sleep a couple of weeks ago after a week of trying to figure out what was wrong with her to no avail, I only wanted her to stop suffering once I realized she was not going to turn the corner after I took her home.  I also knew I wanted her to be at home with me when she passed.  I looked up several end of life services and contacted Gentle Hands and left a message for Dr. Jason Goodwin.

He contacted me back a few hours later.  From the initial call I could hear the compassion in his voice and so I set a date with him to come out the following day.  When he arrived my dog still trying to be the great guard dog she was started barking at him.  He walked straight over to her and calmed her down with his kind demeanor.  She ended up having an issue with her walking and none of the other vets she had seen knew what was wrong.

He took a treat and did a quick range of motion test on her head and told me her neck was kinked or hurt in some way.  This was on top of the other issues she was having.  He was amazing! He was gentle, kind and explained to me step by step what was going to happen, why and what I could expect.
I knew I both Magic and I were in good capable hands.  Magic passed on my couch with her head in my hands, peacefully and without pain.  I never felt pressured to hurry up as I believe Dr. Jason respected both of us and the process.  He allowed me to stay with her and when it was time he went to get a gurney out of his vehicle.  She was wrapped in a blanket and secured.  We both took her to his vehicle.  I also paid to have her remains saved so he took her to the place to have her cremated.  I cannot say enough about the professionalism, caring and kindness of Dr. Jason Goodwin.  This was the first dog I have ever had to put to sleep. I own a bed bug detection dog business and she built my business.  She was truly my partner, and best friend.  I miss her dearly and could not have asked for a better passing for her. If you have to go through the process this is the man and company to choose!

No words can describe the gift of love I was given when meeting Dr. Jason. I knew instantly, he was who I wanted with me and my beloved golden doodle, Jaxon, on the day we had to say goodbye, because he would "meet the magnitude of the moment." Throughout the last month of our collective journey, Dr. Jason was attentive, responsive, kind, warm, and sensitive. Letting go of Jax was the hardest thing I've ever had to do but thanks to Dr. Jason, I will forever remember our time as peaceful and loving. In the many difficult moments since, I find comfort in knowing, above all, we honored Jaxon and the 15 years we spent together as soulmates and best friends.

Dr Christina is the most gentle and compassionate person. Just incredible. She explained everything including to my 6 year old son and was a calming presence to our family on a dark day. I am so grateful she was able to help Dexter.

Gentle hands came with less than 24 hours notice and the first thing Dr Jason said on the phone was "I am so sorry you're calling me." The compassion and care our family received was so comforting. Thank you for being here.

Dr. Jason was able to accommodate us at less than a day’s notice. He explained everything, was very kind, respectful, empathetic but not over the top to make us more upset, everything you need at a devastating time like this. We love the paw print. Thank you Dr. Jason for your help with our Yoda.

Dr. Goodwin helped my sweet Rhoda with hospice care and her aftercare. He was kind, compassionate, supportive, and very patient dealing with a very anxious cat momma. After Rhoda died, I assumed she would be picked up and carried out in a regular pet carrier, but Dr. Goodwin left with her wrapped and covered in soft blankets and placed in a wicker basket. It was such a sweet and more compassionate departure for my sweet kitten.

If you decide to do hospice care for your pet (or any at-home vet care/aftercare), please consider hiring Gentle Hands Cherished Paws. Not only will you improve the comfort of your pet, but you also get the support you need as the care giver.

Dr. Jason, Tory and staff are amazing human beings. They are so compassionate and their love for animals is imprinted on their souls. Dr. Jason has been with me and/or my dad at least 10 times over the past 12 years to help our furry family members (both dogs and cats) cross over. He makes a very hard day as calming and comforting as it can be. He explains every step of the process along the way. If you are still trying to figure out what the path should be for you and your pet, he is also a wealth of knowledge and great help in making those decisions. I highly recommend his services.

Dr. Jason was so calming, caring & gentle with our sweet boy, Riley. From the moment he arrived, to the time he left, he made such a difficult time into a very peaceful decision. We are so thankful to have found such a wonderful company like yours! Also, a big thank you to Jacob, for bringing our boy home to us. A+++ rating/experience!!!

Christina was great with my skidich cat.
She set me at ease with what be happening in the time to come. Being an old Combat Veteran, my little friend has been a big help to me for over 10 years
and this is all very hard for me.
But I feel better knoing that some one who cars will be helping my cat and me out. Thank You

I want to thank Gentle Hands Cherished Paws for being so gentle and understanding when I made the decision no pet owner wants to make. Christina was gentle, kind, and compassionate when she helped Jasmine pass over the rainbow. Jasmine was my light, my best friend, most of all my girl. Thank you for taking such good care of her.

Jason is very professional. He states early on how the euthanize procedure will happen. He answers any questions you may have and lets you take your time to say goodbye to your pet. He is compassionate and makes you feel comfortable with his years of veterinary knowledge. We are very glad we chose Gentle Hands Cherished Paws to guide us through our final moments with our loving cat Maya.

Although I did not end up using Dr. Jason's service due to scheduling challenges, I was very impressed with his kindness! He even called back to make sure I had found the help I was looking for. That's the kind of  compassion you need when your looking for help.

We are so thankful for the kindness and compassion shown by Gentle Hands Cherished Paws. I spoke with Dr. Jason last week to discuss a consultation for our beloved Sir Bon Bon who had longstanding gut motility and constipation issues. Since adoption in April 2021 we have tried switching his diet, changing brands, high fiber vs low fiber, and putting him on stool softeners and meds. He had several vet visits and a hospital at the local ER hospital for deobstipation. Our Bon Bon appeared to be having more frequent flares and appeared to be in pain. He started eating less, became more lethargic, and hid more from us. I have never had to make this type of call before on any of my furry friends in the past so I didn’t know quite what to expect. Dr. Jason was so kind to listen and set up an appointment for a consultation the following day. The vet that came out to the house the next day (I’m so sorry, I wish I could recall her name) was so kind, so compassionate and had thoroughly reviewed Bon Bon’s records upon arrival. We were able to ask questions about his long-standing quality of life and an exam confirmed our worst fears. He was severely obstipated. With her guidance, we decided that since he was on the upper dosing max for all the meds and had had so many prior procedures before for a clean out that we would say goodbye to our beloved friend. She explained everything so well, was so gentle with Bon Bon, and allowed us time to give him kisses and hugs. Your kindness and compassion during the whole time were just amazing and comforting to us in a very difficult time for us. We truly can’t express in words just how thankful we feel. From the bottom of our hearts thank you. The Whitby Family

I will be eternally grateful to Dr Christina for her care, kindness, compassion, gentleness, and support during the euthanasia of my beloved Zoey. The injection of sleeping medication and then pentobarbital was quick. Zoey was very peaceful and calm after days of pain and suffering. I am so grateful that Zoey's final moments were in the comfort of her home and sleeping pain free on my lap. Gentle Hands Cherished Paws are simply the best.

We have had to put 7 animals down so far in my lifetime and by far Dr. Jason’s process was the best. In my past experiences the sedation part prior to the injection of the pentobarbital is very quick. Dr. Jason’s sedation medication was just enough to allow her to go to sleep slowly which gave us plenty of time to say goodbye to her and comfort her while she was moving through this journey. It wasn’t rushed. Also, Dr. Jason was very compassionate and very patient through the whole process.

Thank you very much for helping us take care of Tommy, very special thanks to Dr. Christina, such a gentle and compassionate woman…so glad she provided her service….we both are so grateful to you

I am so thankful for Dr. Jason and his care when it came time for my sweet old dog to transition to her next life earlier this week. He responded promptly to my message requesting services, and it was immediately apparent from his tone and thoroughness on the phone that he was the right person to help. He arrived on time and took great care of my girl throughout the euthanasia process and after. Through his time at my home, he was gentle in his tone and physical care of my dog, and explained all the steps to his process. At each stage, he was careful to make sure I was ready to move forward, and at the end he gently and respectfully wrapped my girl in blankets to be carried away. I could not recommend his services highly enough, for such a sad time I was glad we were in his care.

We are extremely grateful for the care, kindness and compassion that Dr. Christina Crouthers demonstrated recently when we had to euthanize Turbo, our beloved family pet of 17+ years.

Christina made two visits to our home before the euthanization to diagnose and attempt to treat our pet before determining, via a blood draw and subsequent evaluation, that he was entering into terminal kidney failure. This was a dramatically different (better!) experience than I am confident we all would have had if we had gone to an emergency pet hospital.

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Even though all care was provided during the Christmas holidays, Christina was always prompt with her response to our inquiries and complete in her explanation of all findings. She was even in contact on at least two occasions with the veterinary clinic that had been Turbo’s provider for many years, obtaining medical records and soliciting information from them. For all of this, we are most grateful.

Dr. Jason has a huge heart filled with compassion. He is very personable and down to earth. Dr. Jason answered all our questions and thoroughly explained the euthanasia process and aftercare choices from start to finish. Although heartbroken, our family felt at peace every step of the way thanks to Dr. Jason. I would highly recommend his services and would definitely use Dr. Jason again. Thank you for making this very difficult process a peaceful transition for our beloved Shadow and ourselves.

We cannot express our gratitude enough for Dr. Jason and the services he provided to our family over the weekend. We had two elderly dogs that we said goodbye to. All our adult children were here, and he was kind and caring during the whole process. He answered every question with kindness, and we could tell his heart hurt with ours, even though we knew we were doing the right thing. It was such a peaceful and calm moment for our dogs, and I am so thankful we could take care of them in their final moments in their own home, on their beds, without fear.

I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Jason and his team if you are ever faced with this difficult decision, it is by far the most peaceful way to say goodbye to your pets!

I experienced a very hard decision that I had to make to put my 16 year dog Lucky down. Lucky was a very compassionate dog and had lived a very long life, but still it is not easy to put your best friend down even if you know he is suffering with multiple health issues. What I did know was that I could not take him somewhere to have him put down. Because Lucky was a family friend to my sisters, nieces, great nephews and niece. I wanted them to be able to come not only for support for me but for Lucky too.

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So I contacted Gentle hands and Dr. Goodwin came about 6 months ago to assess Lucky’s health. We decided we would just let him go through the aging process. Well I contacted them again a couple of weeks ago and yet another med was prescribed. After a couple of weeks I decided it was time to let my little friend go. So I called Dr. Goodwin again and set the date. I had never been through this before, but Dr. Goodwin’s gentleness and explaining the steps helped me to know Lucky was in good hands. While I cried through the process it was seamless and my family and I could say nothing but good things about Dr.Goodwin. His is such a gentle soul with much compassion. If you find yourself reading this review, contact them as they are the very Best !

We are a heart broken family who said goodbye to our 16 year old Maltese Lucky today. We are so grateful for Dr. Jason, who was so kind and respectful. As a momma bear I really appreciated how he also included my kiddos in the conversation and worried about our other 2 fur kids. We will always recommend Dr. Jason to anyone who has to travel the road we did today. Thank you, Dr. Jason!!

Lucky, it hasn’t even been 24 hours of you being gone. An we miss you SO MUCH!!

I used Gentle Hands for my grandcat while he was in my care. The doctor was so gentle and actually thought Smokey had a little more time. When it was the right time, Smokey went to his final sleep in a home where he was comfortable and loved w/ot the stress of going to an office. I will never do it another way and now my friend’s dog is ready as well and will be referring her to this organization. Thank you so much for you gentle love and care.