After the Passing

After a favorite pet passes on, there are several options for pet owners to consider. Pets are now afforded the same after-life respect that humans have come to expect. Remember that the best time to make these decisions is not in the turmoil of initial grief, but while your pet is happy and healthy.

Of course, burial in the backyard is usually the first thing that comes to mind when people lose a pet. This tradition is certainly an option for some people. If your city or county allows animal burial in your yard and if you plan to stay in your home for many years to come, it can be nice to have a loving memorial where you can easily visit.

If you are going to bury your pet yourself, be sure that the hole is at least three feet deep to avoid any unwanted scent. Keep in mind that if there is a smell, wild animals will be attracted to the site and try to dig up the body. Putting the pet in a heavy duty plastic bag and then placing that in an appropriate wood or metal box will also help.

If your backyard is simply not an option, but you would still like a traditional burial, there are many pet cemeteries available throughout the country. A pet cemetery provides a more permanent location; however, make sure the cemetery is on "dedicated land," which means that it will always remain a pet cemetery regardless of ownership. There are several options within the pet cemetery category. You can have an individual gravesite, or opt for a common burial (sometimes referred to as a "country burial"). Small funerals can even be arranged with a casket, headstone, and service. In fact, some pet cemeteries even offer embalming services. There will be an up-front cost for the burial and most likely annual maintenance fees after that. Be sure to factor in the long-term cost of the burial.

Pet cemeteries usually work in conjunction with a pet crematorium, providing the option of burying your pet's ashes, scattering them, or placing them in a mausoleum. Above-ground mausoleums enable you to move your pet easily should you have to move, and you want the pet within visiting distance. Cremation is a lower cost option, but the mausoleum itself can be costly, especially if you choose to move your pet to another location.

The most common choice is cremation. This option tends to be lower in cost and convenient since most veterinarians can arrange everything for the pet owner. Cremated remains are portable so they can travel with a family in a decorative urn or other special container. A small portion of the remains can even be incorporated into a unique glass or ceramic keepsake. If you don't want to keep the cremated remains in your home, you can either bury them at home or in a pet cemetery or scatter the ashes in a special location meaningful to you and your pet.

If you choose to cremate, be sure to ask whether the cremation will be individual or mass. Many animal crematories do mass cremations and then divide the ashes amongst all of the pet owners. Basically the ashes you receive will be a mixture of your pet's and many others. Some crematoriums do offer individual cremations at an extra charge. You can even place a special toy, blanket, or flowers with your pet at the time of cremation.

A relatively new option is freeze-drying. This procedure, developed during World War II for preserving blood plasma, is now an alternative to traditional taxidermy which has never produced a good rendering of a pet. The steps to freeze-drying a pet are a little gruesome. First, the pet is skinned, and then rebuilt around an artificial body cavity. Some taxidermists choose to retain the head and paws, to help preserve the pet's distinctive identifying qualities. Freeze-drying is also a time-consuming process that can take up to nine months to complete. If you do choose this option, make sure you are going to a reputable taxidermist. Done improperly, the process can quickly disintegrate leaving you with nothing.

The last options are rendering and disposal. Rendering is the recycling of animal remains into products such as fertilizer or animal food. Normally this is done with large livestock animals, but sometimes domestic pets are also used. Disposal is just that - disposing in a dump or landfill. Neither of these options truly honors the life and loyalty of a pet and will certainly not help the pet owner in the grieving process.

If a close friend or relative dies, there are support systems built into our families and society to help deal with the grief. There are few places to turn to when a pet dies. Veterinarians or crematorium operators may be able to help or point you in the right direction to find local counselors who deal with pet loss issues. An on-line resource that can be very useful is http://www.petloss.com.

Newsletter Featured Charity

This week, BringYourPet.com is shining the spotlight on AnimalKind, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization serving the Triangle area of North Carolina. Because the Humane Society of the United States reports that in communities where integrated sterilization programs have been implemented, the number of animals euthanized has declined 30-60%, AnimalKind set out to raise awareness and offer solutions in their area.

After much research, AnimalKind discovered that the high cost of spay/neuter surgery was the number one obstacle pet owners had to getting their animals fixed. This information led to the creation of AnimalKind's new program, THE $20 FIX, which will address the very source of the overpopulation crisis.

THE $20 FIX program offers a low-cost way to spay or neuter your dog or cat which helps with AnimalKind's overall mission to work with the animal welfare community to eliminate the euthanasia of adoptable pets. To support this new venture, $18,000 was raised at the November 2003 launch of THE $20 FIX event.

You are eligible for this program if you live in Wake, Durham or Orange County in North Carolina, and either your household income is twenty-thousand dollars ($20,000) or less per year or you are in a public assistance program. If your income qualifies, you will receive a spay/neuter voucher and a list of the veterinary locations or events where it can be used. The only money that you are responsible for paying is $15 for a cat and $20 for a dog.

Contact Information:
Email: info@animalkind.org
Web site: http://www.animalkind.org
Phone: (919) 870-1660
Address: PO Box 12568, Raleigh, NC 27605

About AnimalKind…
AnimalKind is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization serving the Triangle area of North Carolina. In that area alone, nearly 20,000 sheltered animals die as victims of pet overpopulation every year. AnimalKind runs a public education campaign to communicate the benefits of spay/neuter to more than a quarter million people.

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