Summer 2025

Veterinarian Carrie Nagel provides at-home euthanasia when the time is right to send a beloved pet on their “Peaceful Journey Home.” L osing a pet is never easy. Throughout her 17 years in emergency medicine, veterinar- ian Carrie Nagel saw families say heart-wrench- ing goodbyes in sterile exam rooms. “I always thought that it would be wonderful to offer clients the less stressful and much more peaceful way to say goodbye in the familiarity of home,” she says. In 2022, Nagel launched Peaceful Journey Home. She offers at-home euthanasia services, cremation options and keepsake paw prints that help families remember treasured cats and dogs. Nagel charges no travel fees for Monterey County-area clients. She occasionally partners with anonymous donors to help households with limited budgets access care. Peaceful Journey Home’s cancellation and resGLeduling poliGies oJJer ZEluEble ¾e\ibility if families notice improvements after a pet’s decline. Nagel also encourages clients to consult with their veterinarian and review an online pet quality-of-life scale when deciding whether to proceed with euthanasia. If they do, she aims to make the process less diJfiGult “I have the privilege of entering people’s lives at one of their worst moments of grief and loss,” Nagel says. “I do what I can to make it an experience that hopefully hurts a little less, and one that makes them feel they did what they could and did what was best for their cherished friend.” For more information, call 831/264-8727 or visit www.carrienageldvm.com. Local Veter inar ian Suppor ts Families Saying Goodbye B Y R ENE E B R I NCK S SHORT CUTS NEIGHBORS 84 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 5 Photo: Kelli Uldall