What’s your name & job title?
Sieske Valk & I am the Founder, CEO and Care Choreographer at Autumn Animals
How long have you been working with us at Dignity?
2 months
Where is your Vet Practice located?
London
Tell us a little bit about you and your team
Autumn Animals consists of a versatile group of veterinary care professionals, mostly women, who want to make sure pets and their caregivers receive top notch care in the most difficult stage in their life; from the diagnosis of a disease all the way to the at home euthanasia and beyond.
What services do you offer?
We offer a holistic range of End-of-Life care therapies. From at home veterinary nursing care, to End-of-Life Doula support, veterinary acupuncture and osteopathy to at home euthanasia and finally pet bereavement therapy and community support groups.
What is the best way for clients to get in touch with you?
Send us an email at hello@autumnimals.com or download the Digitail app and find us on there.
How long has your practice been open?
The inception of Autumn Animals was in April 2022, but we’ve been a registered veterinary clinic since October 2022. This is when we started offering at-home euthanasia.
What’s unique about your Veterinary Practice?
Autumn Animals is a holistic care provider, meaning we take our time to get to know you and your furry companion and your needs. We make sure your pet is taken care of medically, but also emotionally and of course make sure you are staying sane as well. Moreover, we create a community of pet lovers that are going through similar difficult phases of grief so that you don’t feel alone in your loss.
All of the people working for Autumn Animals are chosen because they each have their unique approach to care and really believe in the power of pet-“owner” empowerment, providing thoughtful care and recognise the importance of good communication, both with the client and their primary (or 1st opinion) vet. Moreover, we thoroughly believe in a holistic approach, taking into account the physical, mental and environmental aspects of care.
Lastly, we are a business that doesn’t think profit is the most important thing. That’s why we invest a lot back into our staff, the community and the environment. Examples are a buddy system for our staff, good pay and sustainable travel expenses paid for. Being a carbon neutral company, using e-cargo bikes for transport within the city (yes, also for deceased pet transport) and planting a native tree per pet we have served. We are a member of Ecologi, % for the Planet and are working hard to become a certified B-Corp.
What are you really passionate about?
I’d love to spread the word about at home nursing support and additional pain management. We can help people in teaching them how to give injectables (e.g., SQ fluids or anti-emetics), help them to figure out the best plan for home care after seeing the primary vet, and do a quality of life and environmental assessment. Basically, there is still so much we can do between diagnosis and death. We also really like to advocate the importance of planning a “Good Death” so that people don’t end up at the Emergency vet in the middle of the night with a very distressed animal. Eventually, when the time comes, we can help them to say their final goodbye in the comfort of their home.
What is the favourite part of your job?
The versatility of it, the different families and companion animals I get to meet and the fact that we’re helping people get through one of the most difficult stages in their life. I’m very proud that we don’t shy away from the difficult conversation and that we can help people to make meaning out of their pet’s passing.
Do you have any fun facts to share about your Vet Practice?
People often ask me: Why the name Autumn Animals?
I adore the autumn as a season, I always did. It’s a time of slowing down, getting cosy, lighting a candle and enjoying time indoors together. Nature is slowing down during Autumn too, getting ready to hibernate or even die.
The flaming orange in our logo comes from the Japanese Maple tree I envisioned when setting up Autumn Animals. It turns bright orange during autumn before it drops its leaves, turning inwards during winter.
I associate elderly or ill animals with Autumn: they slow down, get cosy, enjoy warmth and being with their family… But they are not dead yet! There’s still life in them, life we need to honour and cherish, before winter finally approaches.
The ink drawing we also use as a logo is a Charlie Mackesy-inspired drawing of my super senior cat Lewis (my muse) and myself staring into the distance, towards what is coming up ahead. I absolutely love the book ‘The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse’ by Charlie Mackesy and always give a copy to grieving pet caregivers. It is a profound tear jerker about friendship, whether that is human friendship or inter-species friendship.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
I’ve been doing a lot of interviews about how Autumn Animals came to be, our values and goals. You can find them here: https://linktr.ee/autumnanimals .
You’ll find more information and blogs here: https://medium.com/@autumnanimals
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnanimalslondon/
Lastly, we’re always looking for more London based veterinary professionals to join us, so get in touch if you are intrigued.