Where will you go when the time comes to say good-bye to your beloved pet? Most people will go to their trusted Pet Care Provider who will hopefully usher them through this crossroads of emotion and decision making with love, support and dignity.
Surprisingly, this is not often the case. dog ramps Recently when i picked up my dogs at the grooming salon, the dear lady shared with me that when she lost her most recent dog, her husband handled all of the decision making as she was just too emotional. After spending nearly $350. 00, it turned out that he had mistakenly ordered a mass cremation and therefore this couple never did receive the ashes of their beloved pet. He was told by his Pet Care Provider "don't worry, we will take care of everything; this is the option most people choose... " He had assumed, incorrectly, that he would be receiving his pets ashes in return.
While pet cemeteries have been available in many communities, burial within a pet cemetery can be a very expensive option. Many may still choose to bury their pet in their back forty but most communities now have very strict health department zoning restrictions on pet burial. Today families have become more mobile and may desire the ability to take their family pet's remains with them when they re-locate or they may feel more comfortable with a visible, tangible memorial for their beloved pet. All are reasons that more and more pet owners are choosing cremation and as many as 70 percent of those owners are choosing to receive their pets ashes after the cremation. Just 10 years ago only 25 percent chose this option to receive the ashes back after cremation.
Knowing that cremation is your choice is not the last step in this decision. Many pet owners do not realize, as my poor dog groomer did not, that there are many options for the pet cremation and deconstructing these options and the variety of terms in use for these options is the most important aspect of the pet cremation choice. Pet cremation usually falls within three main categories; mass cremation, individual cremation and private cremation.
Mass or Communal Cremation - As the name implies this is the cremation of many animals at one time, within a single cremation session. Pet cremators (the actual pet cremation equipment) can be very large with a capacity of several hundred to thousands of pounds of weight. The animals included in a mass cremation may come from a variety of clinics, animal shelters, etc and when the cremation session is completed the ashes are gathered and taken away to be disposed of by the crematory company, generally in their private landfill. This option should be the least expensive option for the pet owner and is a sanitary and decent way to dispose of the pet if retaining the ashes is not desired.