Thinking about the death of your pet is heartbreaking, whether it’s happened already or it’s yet to come.
But the sooner you plan for your pet’s final disposition, the easier it will be to take care of those practicalities when the time comes. Here’s how you can plan and prepare for a pet cremation.
First, it’s a good idea to discuss pet cremation with your veterinary office. At your pet’s next appointment, ask which crematory the business contracts with.
Mention that you’d like as much information about the crematory as possible so that you can make a good decision when you have to.
Losing a pet is losing a member of your family. When you have to say goodbye to a beloved friend, you face feelings of grief and loss. Many people also feel a great deal of anxiety about what they should do with their pets’ remains.
Planning ahead for the practicalities of losing a pet can help you cope with those stresses when the time comes. One of the practicalities of pet death is deciding whether or not cremation is right for you and your precious pet.
Pet cremation is the most popular type of final disposition for pets when they die. While burial used to be popular for pets, cremation has overtaken burial in recent decades. A key reason for cremation’s rise in popularity is the service’s price: while burial in a pet cemetery is costly and the cost of pet cremation is normally less expensive.
Additionally, pet cremation allows pet owners to keep their pets’ remains with them at home. Pet owners who cannot bury their pets at home because of local regulations or because they don’t own their own property are more likely to opt for cremation.
They can visit their pet’s remains whenever they would like, without traveling to a pet cemetery. They can also take the remains with them if they move.
Pet cremation may be popular, but it is still not right for everybody. You might learn something about pet cremation that makes you want to go with a different option. Whether or not you choose pet cremation, it is important to be informed about the entire process.
If you do choose to cremate your pet, there are precautions you can take and decisions you can make, to ensure your pet is treated with respect.
On a technical level, pet cremation works much the same as human cremation. However, the pet cremation process also differs from human cremation in several keyways.
Before the cremation can occur, your pet has to be transported from his or her place of death to the crematory. Because pets often die at the vet’s office, most veterinary hospitals and clinics have agreements with their local pet crematories.
If your pet dies at the veterinarian’s office, the staff will ask you whether you would like them to transport your animal to the crematory. You will sign a form agreeing to the type of cremation and other details.
Choosing private pet cremation at Martensons Family of Funeral Homes means your pet will be cremated individually, in a clean cremator. This gives you the opportunity to retrieve your pet’s ashes and do with them what you would like.
We can even offer the additional service of cremation viewing, at no extra charge, which allows the pet owner to watch the initial cremation process.
Finally, if you chose private pet cremation, you will be able to pick up your pet’s remains directly at Martenson Family of Funeral Homes.
If your pet dies at home, call Martenson Family of Funeral Homes (734-671-6400) and we will give you a personal walk through of how we can proceed. But we will handle all the arrangements for you and help you through the process as we would for any family member. We offer privately cremation for our pets, and for most pet owners, the extra investment is ultimately worthwhile. Our compassion is for real.
One night about 11pm, for example, we received a Facebook message from a distraught person who realized her pet was about to pass away. Our Director kindly gave information about what Martenson Family of Funeral Homes could do for her and the family and walked them though the process. Later that night they messaged again, distraught that their dog had in fact died and our Director again responded within minutes: “I am so sorry and I wanted to reach out. I remembered how hard the first night was when our Pekingnese died. It is just my husband and I so we were acutely aware of how quiet it was in the house as we sat at home that first night. So please know that someone is thinking about you both as you try to navigate this terrible night. We now have a Giant Schnauzer who is 10 and I know there will be a day when we are there again and I pray that day is as far away as possible.” Waiting until the morning was very difficult for this family, but we believe our compassionate Director helped them through it.
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