I have brought baked goods. I too received sympathy cards from them when we've lost our pets; they sent one to us when we brought in our neighbor's dog that was killed by a car. I gave that to the oldest child; just to show him that his dog was special.

They send birthday e-cards for Parker every year!

We take them a big gift basket of goodies with a card and photos of our dogs dressed up all silly in Christmas costume.

They've sent us sympathy cards and cast paw prints, which has meant a great deal.

We are very good friends with ours, we socialize and celebrate birthdays and Christmas. She is very special to us.

I take cookies in occasionally.

When we had our kitty put down, when she was "gone," the vet asked us to join hands in prayer. It was a sweet moment. We got a card later.

My friend is having her Maine coon put down today. The vet said bring the cat in at 2:45 this afternoon; that sure makes for a long day. 14 good years she lived. Maybe some of you remember I had a jigsaw puzzle made of the cat as a gift one Christmas.

My condolences, Jasdip. You must be very sad.

Thanks Socks. Sir Smudge was 17. We cry every day for him.

Yes, I have an extraordinary vet who went above and beyond when our corgi was ill. Every spring, I bring her a gooseberry pie (her favorite) and I often take cookies to the office when I go pick up the kibble. She's not just a vet, she's a friend.

When I lost my beloved Tasha...I wrote a thank you note to my vet. She's always sent me her personal condolences but I felt it was her turn to receive some written appreciation. Tasha was my third pet she had helped over the rainbow bridge and it became very important to me to tell her how much I appreciated her loving kindness and her gentle empathetic attitude not only to my pet but to me...especially knowing that the act itself was as difficult for my vet as it was for me. Then I donated a large carton of pet supplies to her favorite local animal charity.

Anytime one of the dogs had a visit with the vet, whichever one it was sent a thank you card to the vet's office complete with their signature in the form of their paw print. I guess the vet and his people like that, because I used to see the cards on display when I'd go to their clinic for various reasons.

We took a gift baskets of people treats, a thank you card and a framed picture of our beloved Beavis to the emergency vet hospital that helped when he was having seizures and had to be euthanized. It's been about 6 years and I still cry when I think of him and that terrible time. The vet said that they had never seen a 19 year old husky, He was in great health aside from the brain tumor and arthritis.

One of the vet techs told me that every time one of her pets passes, a client buys everyone a designer piece of jewelry. Tiffany, Lagos, etc. I told her since we have had 23 pass over the years, good luck! She had broken a bracelet and asked me if it was worth getting fixed. Ummm, worth 5k! Yes!

PKponder, we went through the same thing (brain tumor) with our last dog. She wasn't as old your Beavis, but otherwise perfectly healthy. From diagnosis to euthanasia was a week. It was a horrible time partly because it was so unexpected and seemed so unfair to her.

Nineteen is a good long life for a dog; you must have really taken good care of him.

I used to give my old vet (now deceased) shrimp. I don't give anything to Val's vet except lots of money.

I've learned from the vet in my family and a fair number of colleagues, classmates, and others I've met that very many (but not all) vets view what they do as a solemn calling and responsibility. Those of this mindset have dedicated their lives to treat animals when they can and protect them from suffering in other circumstances. Tears and the expression of touching sentiments as described above are heartfelt for such people.

I've been lucky to know many dedicated and compassionately sincere medical doctors yet those I've known seem not to get as emotionally involved with patients as vets do. Perhaps the kinds of MDs who deal more regularly with suffering and end of life issues (like so many vets do) are more like vets in this regard? Or maybe not?

Edit to add. The in-family vet gets gifts almost every week but shares them with the staff. A way of saying thanks to them.

We've had sympathy cards from our vets when they've been aware of our kitties passing. One died (she was 21 and had had felines AIDS for years so it wasn't a surprise) while she was staying with the vets while we were overseas. They loved her there and really spoiled her and it was the safest place for her when we were away. When the phoned to tell us Motley hadn't woken up that morning I think they were as upset as we were.

The last cat we had which died had been treated for mast cell cancer for about three years prior to her death at 19. The vet who mostly cared for her was great, he always urged us to think through the implications of certain tests and courses of treatment and whether the benefits to Mischief would outweigh the distress caused her as she didn't travel well and being in the car for an hour and a half to and again from the testing vets was hell on her. When Missy finally died he sent a lovely rosemary plant and a card. I knew he was a vegan so I made some vegan cinnamon rolls (the test batch was delicious) and he was really chuffed as usually when the practice received baked goods he couldn't eat them.

I make a donation to our local animal shelter in honor of our wonderful vet (insert name) and staff for the wonderful and loving care they gave to xx (insert pet's name). The shelter notifies the vet of the contribution.

I take cookies, and sometimes a fresh flower arrangement.

A few times around Christmas we sent the vet we like at the pet hospital either an edible arrangement or a flower arrangement. She is the only one we trust there and she was one of the few vets there that helped exotics. We took our ferrets to her and she seemed to care about them too. We still ask for her if we need to go and luckily she works the evening/graveyard shift for those late night emergencies.