Fear Free
When pets feel safe, better care is possible. Our Fear Free approach focuses on reducing stress, using gentle handling, calming techniques, and thoughtful environments so we can better understand your pet’s health and provide the care they truly deserve.
What Is a Fear Free Certified Hospital?
A Fear Free Certified Hospital is designed to help pets feel safe from the moment they arrive. At 1st Pet, that means creating a calmer environment with things like soothing music, calming pheromones, gentle handling techniques, and a team trained to understand how pets communicate through their body language.
Our 1st Pet veterinary team is trained to recognize even subtle signs when a pet is feeling unsure or overwhelmed. When we see those signs, we slow down, adjust our approach, offer treats and positive reinforcement, and giving pets time to settle in. In some cases, we may also recommend calming support before the visit to make the experience easier for your pet.
This thoughtful, whole-hospital approach helps pets feel more comfortable and secure, while allowing our team to perform careful, accurate medical exams and provide the best possible care.
What Does Fear Free Mean?
Fear Free is a science-based philosophy of animal care designed to prevent and reduce fear, anxiety, and stress in pets. It focuses on understanding animal body language, creating calm environments, and using gentle, respectful handling so pets feel safe during care. By prioritizing a pet’s emotional wellbeing alongside their physical health, Fear Free helps make veterinary care safer, kinder, and more positive for both pets and their families.
Why Fear Free Matters for Your Dog & Cat
For your pet, Fear Free means a veterinary visit that feels safer and more supportive. Instead of pushing pets through frightening moments, our 1st Pet veterinary team pays close attention to your pet’s body language and adjusts the visit to help them feel more secure.
When pets feel safer, their breathing, heart rate, and behavior stay closer to normal. This helps our team better understand what is truly happening with their health and provide more accurate care.
Just as important, positive experiences help protect your pet’s future. Pets remember frightening experiences, and repeated stress can make each veterinary visit harder than the last. By building trust and working at your pet’s pace, Fear Free care helps make future visits easier and safer for your pet.
Aftercare Options
After euthanasia, you have several choices for your pet’s remains:
- Communal Cremation: Your pet is compassionately cremated alongside others, with ashes lovingly interred in a communal resting place. Ashes are not returned to you following Communal Cremation.
- Individual Cremation: Your pet’s remains are cremated with care privately, and their ashes are returned to you in a beautiful urn, generally within 1-3 weeks.
Private Burial: If there is a spot of land where you would like to bury your pet, you are welcome to take the body with you for burial. Be sure to check your city’s regulations for more information on private pet burial.
Pet Loss Support Services
Pet loss, severe illness, and difficult decisions are some of the most heartbreaking experiences for animal lovers. Our compassionate Veterinary Social Work Team is here to support 1st Pet clients through the emotional, social, and psychological challenges of pet care.
Our services include:
- Grief and Bereavement Support – Helping clients navigate the loss of a beloved pet through education, validation, and virtual pet loss support groups where clients can share their pet loss experience, process grief, and receive support from others.
- Emotional Support During Difficult Decisions – Providing space and compassion for clients facing emergencies, quality of life concerns, chronic illness, or rehoming decisions for their companion animal.
- Linking Clients to Community Resources – Connecting clients with financial assistance programs, pet-friendly housing or food banks, and/or referrals for mental health services.
Our social workers are on-site several days a week, offering support during euthanasia decisions, challenging diagnoses, and other emotionally difficult moments. They are also available by phone to provide support and guidance during these difficult times.
Additional Resources for Coping With Pet Grief:
Client Testimonials
Hundreds of Arizona Pets Thrive with 1stPet Veterinary Centers
“When we lost Murphy to cancer, one of the techs called me and said ‘I always loved working with Murphy, I was sorry to hear that they passed.’ They cry along with me because they’ve cared for us and our pets for so long. They can see our heartbreak and they grieve with us.”
– Kay Pence, 1st Pet Client
“I am incredibly grateful for you, 1st Pet and this wonderful group as it really helped me to understand that I wasn’t alone in how devastated I felt. I definitely needed more help than my husband could offer me since we processed this loss very differently. What a treasure you are to give so much of yourself to all of us, by providing understanding, guidance and kindness in this incredibly difficult process. You are one in a million and 1st Pet is so lucky to have you. What an invaluable group 1st Pet offers its customers when needed. We have been going to them for a very long time with all of our pups.
Thank you for your grief support for without you I would have had nowhere else to turn. Friends and family don’t always understand this level of grief over an animal. Frank was so much more to me than that. I don’t know that I even realized it myself until I lost him. I sure hope there is a rainbow bridge and we can one day be with all of our treasured pups.”
– Juanita Ostrowski, 1st Pet Client
Fear Free FAQs
The Fear Free form helps our 1st Pet veterinary team understand your pet’s personality, past veterinary experiences, and possible triggers for fear or anxiety. This allows us to plan the visit in advance so we can reduce stress, adjust our approach, and create a safer, calmer experience for both your pet and our veterinary team.
FAS stands for Fear, Anxiety, and Stress. It is a scale our 1st Pet veterinary team uses to understand how your pet is feeling during a visit. By observing body language and behavior, our team can adjust handling techniques, slow down when needed, and help keep your pet as safe and comfortable as possible.
A pre-visit prescription (PVP) is medication given at home before the appointment to help reduce anxiety. These medications do not “knock pets out.” Instead, they help pets relax so the visit is safer, less stressful, and allows the veterinarian to perform a more accurate exam.
Holding pets down when they are afraid can increase fear and make future visits more difficult. When pets are highly stressed, their heart rate, breathing, and behavior can also change, which can make it harder to evaluate their health accurately. Fear Free techniques help pets feel safer so we can provide better, more thoughtful care.
Not always. Many pets do very well with gentle handling, treats, and a calm environment. For pets that experience higher levels of stress, pre-visit medication can make the appointment much easier and more positive. Our goal is always to use the least amount of intervention needed to help your pet feel comfortable.
Over time, many pets can also learn to feel more relaxed during veterinary visits. This takes teamwork between pet owners and our 1st Pet veterinary team. Until your pet reaches that point, it is very important to follow the visit plan and give any recommended medications so we can create the safest and least stressful experience possible.
A few simple steps at home can help your pet have a smoother visit. If it is medically appropriate, give a lighter meal beforehand so your pet arrives a little hungry and more interested in treats. Our 1st Pet veterinary team provides treats, but if your pet is a picky eater or has food allergies, bringing their favorite treats from home can work best. You can also bring a familiar item like a blanket, towel, or toy that smells like home to help your pet relax.
Make sure your pet is comfortable with their carrier, crate, or seatbelt harness, and give them a chance to go to the bathroom before coming inside. If our 1st Pet veterinary team recommended pre-visit prescription, please give it exactly as prescribed. It can make a big difference in your pet’s comfort and safety during the visit.
A Qualified, Compassionate Care Team
Many pet parents find the topic of end-of-life care overwhelming and difficult to discuss. At 1st Pet we believe in partnering with our clients during these hard moments to help you make the best choices for your family and your cherished pet. Our experienced, compassionate veterinarians and social work staff will do everything possible to ensure your pet is comfortable and at peace in their final moments, and to help you cope with this difficult loss.