Price Transparency
We recognise that despite our free offerings, some of our prices may seem a bit higher than your primary veterinary provider's. This is why we find it important to be open with you.
Autumn Animals is not, and will never be, a company that serves the shareholders first. A sizeable chunk of the profit is reinvested in the community, environment and the development of our employees.
On average a veterinary consult in London (in clinic) costs between £40-£75 for a 10-20 minute consult. A veterinarian earns a gross salary of about £24.56 per hour and a veterinary nurse £22.76 per hour* (yes, we know, shockingly low and that's before taxes and deductions!).
In that hour, they see 3-6 patients and have limited time to really get to know you and your animal. Add to that, your animal is likely very stressed to be in the clinic and shows distorted symptoms, a raised blood pressure or heart murmur.
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Let's compare this to our first in-person consult, worth £350: A member of our team will come to your home to meet you, the family and more importantly the animal concerned and their siblings. We look at the home situation, how we can change the environment to make it more safe and comfortable for them and get a thorough history of the furry companion concerned (in addition to the information we have already requested from your primary veterinarian beforehand). We set the baseline for future Quality of Life assessments and you will be given advice on how to go forward, this advice is also communicated to your primary veterinarian and within our team and a care plan is set up. This first meeting can last up to 3 hours, and the writing up of the report at least an equal amount of time. On average, about 7-10 hours of work will go into that first Quality of Life assessment.
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Additionally, between the first consult and the follow-up consults (be that digital or in-person), you will be periodically contacted by our End of Life Doula who will check in with you, go through any worries/needs you have and our veterinary care team will be available to answer (reasonable) questions between 10am and 8pm via email and Digitail chat. When needed, you will have access to our Pet Bereavement Talking Groups and we will always be in direct communication with your primary veterinarian.
Let's compare our starting price of £500 for putting your pet to sleep at home with that of some of our competitors who have prices as low as £200. From conversations with some vets who have worked for these agencies, we know that they ultimately pay the price for that offer. They are not paid enough for the responsibilities they are taking, including after-care and a lot of administrative work, but are doing the job because they care for their patients and their families.
At Autumn Animals, you can be sure that everybody is paid more than the going rate for London, including amazing benefits, such as travel expenses and paid travel time to clients. We believe that personalised and pro-active care is paramount to your experience and that of our team members. This is why we are not afraid to charge a bit more, so that we can continue to provide the best quality of care for every body.
Because we provide an at-home service with continuity of care (you will see the same faces as much as possible), we’ll be able to get to know the family and what works best for you.
Lastly, but certainly not the least, we provide fair pay and top-notch benefits for our employees which is beneficial for both the team's cooperation, the patient and you. We plant one tree per deceased patient, offset all our professional and personal carbon and are a member of 1% for the planet.​
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* That means that a London based veterinary nurse needs to live on an income of £1825 per month, which has major exclusion impacts on who can do this job in the first place. We have found that most veterinary nurses do not live in the city but commute in on top of their 10 hour shifts.