Lap of Love will supply you with all the necessary tools to assist a loved one and their family. Supplies include, but are not limited to: controlled drugs, a doctor bag, syringes, needles, a stretcher, blanket, chest freezer, and more. It is necessary that you personally possess a smartphone, computer, or tablet, GPS, and a working knowledge of technology. You must also have a clean, reliable, well-maintained SUV or hatchback vehicle (select sedans and trucks will also be considered) for transportation of patients and room for supplies. Most importantly, you must have compassion and empathy for pets and the people that love them.

As veterinarians, we are usually on the floor with our patients. This is no different when you’re in the home. We are almost always on the ground with a large dog or kneeling in front of a small dog or cat on their owner’s lap. Additionally, assisting clients with the aftercare arrangements of their pet is an essential part of the experience. This requires you to lift pets onto a stretcher and carry the stretcher to the car, then conduct the appropriate process for facilitating and transporting the pet for aftercare. Since the average patient is 40 to 90 pounds, our doctors can expect to regularly lift up to 50 pounds unassisted and lift between 50 and 100 pounds with assistance. Additionally, in preparing for aftercare once leaving a family's home, you can expect to occasionally lift, carry, push, or pull a pet up to 100 pounds without the assistance of another person. Our veterinarians are offered a hydraulic lift to ease in transporting a pet to their home freezer but should still be comfortable handling up to 100 pounds for brief periods without additional support. 

One of our Core Values is to “help above all else.”  For every family that schedules an appointment, our doctors visit their home to speak with them and evaluate their pet, even if it needs to be done safely from a distance. Each doctor follows their own moral compass and provides potential solutions, which could include humane euthanasia, rehoming or surrendering their pet to a shelter, or encouraging the pursuit of treatment in a clinical setting. For aggressive patients, our doctors determine whether an appointment can be safely and peacefully performed at that time, working with the family to develop a plan. If not, they can prescribe oral medications for the family to pick up and administer to their pet preceding a future appointment. Every doctor receives specific training on how to navigate these unique situations with compassion and dignity, while keeping the safety of all parties a priority.

Yes. If the client wishes for their pet to be cremated, the doctor will take the pet in their car. Proper presentation is essential when transporting a family’s beloved pet, and we provide our vets with the necessary equipment (i.e., a basket, handheld stretcher, cozy blankets, etc.) to make this as smooth as possible. Most doctors have a chest freezer (provided by Lap of Love) at home in their garage to transfer patients into. The established, reputable crematory in your area will stop by on a regular basis to take pets on the next part of the journey. Following cremation, the crematory delivers a pet’s cremains to a location agreed upon by the family. Lap of Love will assist you in building a relationship with the local crematory as well as determining a pick up schedule. More in-depth guidance surrounding aftercare is provided during your one-on-one training.

When a client with a large dog needs our services, it’s common that they also require assistance with aftercare. Our care coordinators will gently ask the client when scheduling their appointment, “will you or someone there be able to assist the doctor to the car with Max?” Over 95% of the time, families want to help. Some even insist on carrying their loved one themselves and won’t let the doctor do a thing (they feel honored to be their loved one’s pallbearers). In rare instances, an owner may be unable to assist or a pet may weigh more than 100 pounds. In these cases, we request assistance from the crematory and schedule appropriately.

True, in-home hospice care is rarely sought out by clients, as it is still a newly emerging field. At this time, approximately 2-5% of our appointments are true, in-home hospice consultations, which focus on comfort care, educating the family on how to care for their pet, and preparing them for what to expect at the end of their loved one’s life. Lap of Love remains the single largest veterinary hospice provider in the United States.

We take great pride in the amazing family and culture we have grown over the years. Lap of Love veterinarians are humble, mindful, empathetic, and compassionate. They are comfortable working independently but are also willing to offer a helping hand. They are non-judgmental and understanding.

As a member of our team, we hope you are comfortable and confident enough to introduce yourself by “Dr. First Name” to clients in order to help them feel connected and friendly with you. Families may offer you coffee, tea, and sometimes even gifts upon your arrival. They welcome you into one of the most intimate moments of their lives. Our primary goal is that when you leave their home, the client feels “like a dear friend came to help me.”

Appointments can be unpredictable considering the nature of our work and our schedules vary.  On average, a doctor will assist approximately 3 families per 11-hour shift, with some shifts being busier or slower. However, you should be prepared with the following expectations:

• During an 11-hour shift, it is possible to see 5-6 families
• During a 6-hour shift, it is possible to see 2-3 families
• During a 4-hour shift, it is possible to see 1-2 families

Appointments are scheduled at 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, and there is an evening appointment slot from 6-8 pm. This evening appointment is reserved for special circumstances and is not booked as frequently as daytime appointments.  The schedule provides an hour buffer should a family need more support during their appointment, you get caught in traffic, or if you need a little time for yourself in between helping pets. Schedules can quickly change so it’s important to remain flexible. For any same-day appointment, the support center provides a minimum of an hour’s notice.

In general, the families are prepared for our doctors to arrive within a one-hour window. We expect our doctors to communicate directly with every family to provide a more accurate arrival time. Most of our doctors take advantage of time in the car by listening to audiobooks or podcasts, rocking out to their favorite playlist, or calling loved ones. Many also relish being outside of the four walls of a clinic, and appreciate seeing the outdoors during their workday.

The service area is generally a 30-35 mile radius from the center of the market area, though occasional requests will come from families further away. Drive time will vary daily and can range from a few minutes to an hour’s drive from the center of the market area. Our policy at Lap of Love is to not turn a family away based on their location, but rather let them decide if an additional drive fee is acceptable.

We do extensive market research to understand and evaluate the current need. Each area may differ based on this research. Additionally, our Support Center is strategic in how they book appointments; if there are multiple doctors in a service area, appointments are generally booked for the closest available doctor to lessen time on the road.

It is critical for the success of the market area that local veterinarians know and trust you as the Lap of Love veterinarian. They may be familiar already with what we do, but may not refer to you if they haven’t met you. The more veterinarians that know you, the more comfortable they will feel with entrusting you with their patients and clients. We expect our doctors to be outgoing and comfortable with stopping by local clinics to introduce themselves and build a relationship with them. This will enable the clinics to feel confident in recommending your service. Lap of Love provides all internet marketing material, social media marketing, and more.

Lap of Love has been the gold standard for in-home euthanasia since 2009. By joining our team, we believe the most important thing you will gain is access to a shared (and growing) network of doctors who practice medicine with mindfulness, non-judgmentalism, and unparalleled empathy for pets and their families. 

As a Lap of Love doctor, you will have access to our proprietary medical software, Sunshine.  Sunshine allows for documentation and communication to be performed in a matter of minutes and is accessible anywhere you have Wi-fi or cell service. 

We are constantly evolving to provide the best end-of-life experience for pets, families, and veterinarians. It takes a few weeks to train and prepare a new doctor, but the support and resources our team provides is ongoing. Additionally, our network of over 300 Lap of Love doctors is an active community that constantly collaborates and supports one another.

Lastly, we have extensive benefits available to our team, whether you are full-time or part-time.  Our doctors feel supported both in- and outside of work to care for themselves and their families.