Your Mobile Veterinary Hospice Practice in Chicagoland

We highly recommend A Gentle Goodbye.

Saying goodbye to our beloved dog Minx was one of the most difficult moments our family has ever faced, but A Gentle Goodbye helped make it one filled with love, compassion, and grace. From the moment we reached out, every member of the team treated us—and Minx—with incredible empathy, care, and understanding.

Minx was completely at ease and comfortable, which meant the world to us. One moment that will stay with us forever was when Dr. Mariah Bassette gently petted her—Minx wagged her tail, calm and content, clearly feeling safe and loved. It was such a powerful reminder that she knew she was surrounded by kindness.

Thanks to the compassionate care of Dr. Bassette and Dr. Juliana Lyles, Minx passed peacefully, without pain, in a space filled with warmth and dignity. They were thoughtful, patient, and kind—true professionals with tender hearts. They honored not only Minx’s life, but also our grief, and helped guide us through a very difficult goodbye.

We are grateful for the care and support we received. A Gentle Goodbye truly lives up to its name.

The staff at A Gentle Goodbye was compassionate and professional from our initial call to the end-of-life care they provided to us and our wonderful 14 year old dog. Dr. Heather's quiet arrival and her calm demeanor helped him and us feel comfortable. His passing, in his bed and surrounded by family, was very peaceful. It was not rushed or stressful and we were grateful to say goodbye to him at our home, rather than in an unfamiliar setting. We thank A Gentle Goodbye for the valuable services they offer to families and their beloved pets.

I highly recommend A Gentle Goodbye. Dr Heather was extremely patient, thorough and reassuring as our sweet 17 year old pup crossed over.
In a very difficult, sad time both Dr Heather and the Gentle Goodbye team provided top notch comfort and care. Thankful and appreciative.

I can’t even put into words how great Dr. Kristina is. She was so kind and assisted our loved cat to go out with not only dignity, but with peace. Dr. Kristina is a true gem and I am blown away at the compassion she and everyone has had during the process. Every call I made was answered with a kind, compassionate voice and they never once made me feel like I was a burden for asking them yet another question before the appointment. I can’t recommend them enough in the event we all experience as pet owners at some point, but trust me - these are your people.

Such caring people. Every detail is thoughtfully planned out. We were very grateful for their help in saying goodbye to our beloved 18 year old Louie.

Our 15-year-old cat, Milo, was very sick. His quality of life was not good. He could no longer eat. He was having problems walking. He could not jump up into laps to cuddle. We reached out to A Gentle Goodbye and Dr. Molly came to help Milo across the Rainbow Bridge. She did not rush, and we all got to say goodbye to Milo. She listened to our stories about him patiently. He was gone very quickly. She took wonderful care of him and us. It has taken a long time for me to be able to write this review. Saying goodbye to part of our fur family was hard. I am grateful that there is a home service that allows us to have him put to sleep in his home surrounded with people that he loved. Thank you Dr. Molly.

Working with A Gentle Goodbye when it came time to say goodbye to our 14 year old dobie mix, Bella, was such a supportive experience. Not only did they treat her wonderfully, making her calm and comfortable and helping her pass peacefully, but both the office staff and the vet who came to our home were incredibly supportive of our family in what was a very stressful and emotional time. It made a heartbreaking experience a bit easier to process and we were able to be with our sweet girl all the way through in the place she loved to be. We were even able to have time with her after she passed so our other dogs could see her and know she was gone.
There aren't words enough to express how excellently everyone at A Gentle Goodbye went above and beyond in doing their jobs. I highly recommend them to anyone who is faced with making the difficult decision to help a pet pass over the rainbow bridge.

I can't speak highly enough of how amazing everyone at A Gentle Goodbye has been through a very difficult time. They were easy to get ahold of and communicate with, always available for questions, and were so kind to reach out and check on me and every message is with such care and compassion. I would recommend them to anyone without hesitation!

This is by far the hardest review I’ve ever written but I need to give credit to A Gentle Goodbye for making the hardest time in my life a little easier. From booking the appointment to picking up the remains, the entire process was flawless and I felt warmth and compassion from everyone I spoke to. They were able to come to our house with short notice and Dr. Heather was so professional, kind, understanding, and patient as I was absolutely losing it. I picked up my fur baby Cohl’s remains today and Aaron personally walked out to my car and shared his sympathy. I will forever recommend A Gentle Goodbye to anyone that is looking for a more personal and loving goodbye to their fur babies. Thank you for everything. I’ll never forget how amazing you all were to me and Cohl.

Thank you. I cannot express how much this meant to us. Every step of the process was filled with love and compassion.

This place truly blew me away with how wonderful and empathetic they are and how smooth their services went. We knew it was time for our boy and we were dangerously close to the end. We were scared, so sad, and wanted to ensure he said his final goodbye on our terms in the comfort of our home. The receptionists responded quickly and were genuine and kind. Dr. Molly promptly came to our home and handled our dog with so much care. She talked us through every step of the way and gave us time and space to process the situation as it was happening. During one of the most difficult moment of our lives, she guided us with compassion and so much empathy. We received a personalized eulogy that captured our pup perfectly and we are so grateful. When we have to endure this moment again in the future, we will absolutely be going through A Gentle Goodbye. Thank you to the entire team, you are wonderful and so appreciated.

Kind and compassionate. Very responsive. I have had them come to my home three times to help my pets transition and each time I felt enveloped in caring. Caring for my poor babies and for me too.

So far they have been excellent, compassionate, kind and very responsive. They have gone out of their way to make sure our beloved dog is comfortable and has what she needs. Dr. Venn was thorough at our initial appointment and answered all of our questions and did her best to put us at ease. Dr. Lyles was even willing to drive to our house to bring medications when the pharmacy wasn't expediting our dog's medication. Nobody likes to go through these kinds of things, but when you need it, you want a team that has passion for what they do and cares about your pets as much as you do. Thank you so much.

We lost our sweet girl of 13 years and she was our first cat we ever had - so she was very special to us. When CKD rapidly start to take our girl, we had to make the hardest decision to let her go. It was our first ever experience putting to sleep a pet so it was very hard on us. Gentle Goodbye was the best decision we could have made for her and us. They were beyond kind and gentle with the process from the beginning to end. Though it was such a distressing time - we could have not been happier that we made that call to gentle goodbye. Our sweet Diamond crossed the rainbow bridge in her home, comfortable and at peace. 🌈🐈

A friend recommended A Gentle Goodbye, and I'm beyond grateful for this first-class and compassionate service, so I want to pay it forward by writing this review to hopefully help other people who are searching for this type of service for their furry family member (hugs if this describes you, dear reader!)

A Gentle Goodbye was so caring and supportive throughout the entire journey, from the initial call to picking up my sweet boy's ashes. I'm so grateful for Dr. Molly's compassion and expertise. Obviously it was a heartbreaking situation, but she made the transition go as smoothly as possible ("smooth" is a word I never thought I would use when writing about a goodbye like that).

The keepsakes I chose to include are perfect and will always be cherished.

Thank you so much to Dr. Juliana and the entire team for providing this service!

If you are reading this you are in the unfortunate position of searching for the right ending for your beloved pet. It's a horrible time of emotions and grief and it's hard to know what the right choice is. If you live on the Northshore or nearby, and A Gentle Goodbye will service your area, look no more. I exhausted all of the internet options available, and I can promise you that NONE of them came close to the quality of service, promptness, and genuine compassion, as the team at A Gentle Goodbye. (Michaela is definitely an angel.) They went above and beyond what I ever expected and I believe would have come to give me a hug if only I'd ask. Their compassion and empathy were so welcomed when I needed it the most. They will do all that is possible to make this as easy as possible. Good luck, and know that your pet will feel loved with a Gentle Goodbye.

A Gentle Goodbye made one of the toughest days for our family so much better. Difficult to put into words how helpful and kind they were. From the first call, to the house visit, they were professional, empathetic and understanding. They walked us through each step and made sure that our dog's comfort was the main priority all while showing genuine concern for our family. I wish I could give them 10 stars. Extremely, highly recommended.

I can not say enough about Gentle Goodbye Veterinary Hospice. We were having such a hard time saying goodbye to our baby Emma. She hated car rides and would get extremely nervous going to the vet. Being able to say goodbye in our own home and with Emma being calm and comfortable was priceless to us. They were so professional, compassionate and kind. They took such good care of her. I am so glad we contacted them. I can't thank you enough.

A Gentle Goodbye has been wonderful. We decided it was time to put my beloved Charlie down. Dr. Molly was so great in explaining everything to us and asking questions about Charlie. She allowed us to take our time and made sure my younger cat, Baker, was there too. Dr. Molly wrote a beautiful eulogy, Dr. Juliana and team have been checking in on us. Aaron called today that I could pick up Charlie. I appreciate everyone’s thoughtfulness through this entire process. Thank you Gentle Goodbye team for taking care of Charlie and our family during this difficult time.

It is incredibly difficult to make the decision to let a fur baby go, and I cannot thank "A Gentle Goodbye" enough for being such a caring and compassionate team to help us through such a painful time. From the initial intake call with Kailani, to working with Dr. Juliana, and having my Bonnie's ashes hand delivered to our home by Aaron -- this team took every measure in ensuring that Bonnie could cross the Rainbow Bridge in the most gentle, humane, and dignified way possible. Even after Dr. Juliana helped us say our goodbyes, Dr. Juliana followed up with me the next day (a Saturday!) to check in with me, and give me a copy of the eulogy that Dr had written. I cannot express how meaningful these gestures were, knowing that this group took care of us every step of the way. I am truly grateful to have found this team.