Cremating your Pet

[LSUmiss]

I'll asked my daughter this (she is a registered vet tech). I am sure I asked her before but can't remember other than it is a group cremation.

The pet cremation service here is on the property of a large human cemetery. They have a mausoleum type tomb they keep all pet cremains in.

 

[ronandannette]

The pet cremation service here is on the property of a large human cemetery. They have a mausoleum type tomb they keep all pet cremains in.

Like in niches with the names marked so former owners can visit? That kind of service must have some cost attached. Niches for people, in a similar structure (called a columbarium) here cost practically as much as a grave.

 

[disneychrista]

I realize this is slightly but I wonder then what does happen to them? I know with people, funeral/cremation facilities are not allowed by law to dispose of human cremains. The funeral home I worked at had scores of unclaimed boxes in storage, some were many decades old.

My daughter said it depends on the service used and of course would be governed by local laws. But the vet we used they sprinkles the ashes in the local apple orchards.

 

[LSUmiss]

Like in niches with the names marked so former owners can visit? That kind of service must have some cost attached. Niches for people, in a similar structure (called a columbarium) here cost practically as much as a grave.

There aren’t any names on it. It has some kind of inscription but not individual names.

 

[J'aime Paris]

We had our Corgi cremated. I couldn't bury him in our yard. We will move someday, and I couldn't leave him behind.
We have a nice box that holds photos on top (mostly old photos, since he was with us 16 years). The mid section of the box hold his collar, tags, and notes from friends. The bottom compartment of his box holds his ashes and a rosebud.







Sorry the pictures are sideways

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My first two German Shepherds growing up died at Angell Memorial Hospital in Boston and their bodies were kept and disposed of there. (They have a large incinerator.) I think that was pretty much what people did back then.

Our next four German Shepherds were cremated privately. Three of their ashes were spread in the ground in our yard where they used to sun themselves, and we made a memorial garden over that space. (I decided on this around the time that new neighbors moved in behind us and dug up some of our old neighbors' dogs bodies when they went to put in a pool. That made me sad because those dogs were like their children, having no human children of their own, and they were devastated when they died. New neighbors put them out with the trash.) I am still holding onto the ashes of my last Shepherd. They are in my bedroom in a beautiful box on my bureau with a small stuffed GSD toy on top of it. I am still not ready to part with her but some day her ashes will also go in the memorial garden.

We've had several of our hamsters cremated, too. (If I recall it cost about $35 if anyone is wondering; worth it for us.) When the ashes come back they are always done up so lovingly from the people at the crematory, it's really touching. We've buried the last four, though; two just recently. (One was only with us a week when we brought him home he was already sick and we didn't want to bring him back not knowing what they'd do with him.) Of the ones we still have they are stored in a grandmother clock we have, near an area where we used to let them run around. I imagine some day the ashes will also wind up in the memorial garden, too.

 

[DebbieB]

I have my cats remains in a metal box on a shelf in my office. I have pictures of her as a kitten and before she died. Also her dish and some favorite toys. Before we took her to the vet, I cut off some of her fur and it’s in a plastic bag next to it.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I think it is common, I know lots of people who have done it. My beloved dog that I had to put to sleep 14 years ago sits on my shelf to this day, through 2 moves. I think I made the decision to cremate because I couldn't stand the thought of letting him go and I was in college at the time and my life was a bit unstable, otherwise I probably would have taken him home to bury. My dog that died at home was buried at home, I dug the grave myself. When I found out that my ex-husband was selling our house the first thing I thought about was my dog, and someone new coming in and disturbing his grave. I got so irrationally angry about it, when he's been dead for more than 3 years. I think I would feel better about it if I had his ashes with me, even though I know that's stupid thinking.

 

[Jennasis]

While we are discussing where to keep the ashes...

About a year after we moved into our new house together, I went to grab something out of the bathroom linen closet. That's when I noticed a large cardboard box on the top shelf. I read the scrawled note on the side of it and then (horrified) yelled to DH...."Ummm honey? WHY is your father in our bathroom closet???"

Note, DH's mother lived with us for a year after we moved in (God help me) and apparently decided to shove her husband's box o' remains in the top of my bathroom closet. When she moved out, she didn't take him with. I harangued him until he made her finally go and do something a bit more dignified with the ashes. Though, according to DH, the bathroom was his dad's favorite room in the house, so...

 

[Nagle]

We have had the 3 dogs that passed away cremated. The ashes were returned to us a few weeks later in a small urn with a paw print memento in the package. Casey, Norman, and Taco are in our bookcase.