I have thought about this, and it's always a hard subject for me to think about. I've never had a pet die, luckily, and I hope I still have a long way to go until that happens. The problem is, I don't live in a house so I don't have a yard to bury them in, and where I live there's no such things as pet cemeteries and pet cremations (and I mean the whole country, not just close to me). If they have to end their life being euthanized, or end their lives differently in the vets office, I would probably leave them to the vet. Otherwise, I don't know what I would do. I hope that my cats still have long lives in front of them, and that the situation will be better when they do meet their end. I would prefer to have them cremated, I see it as a nicer tradition than being buried.
When my dog Max died in 2007, we had him cremated. It wasn't cheap but it seemed like the most dignified way we can say farewell to our lost companion. The cremation also came with a plaster paw print that they take of the dog, some clippings of his hair, and a poem that your dog "wrote" telling you that he's in a better place. Honestly I could do without the hair and poem but I appreciated the paw print a lot.
I know that death is a part of life both in the human and animal world but it is still hard to deal with and sad. Cremation will be what we will do when the time comes for our Brogan. I pray to the good Lord that is very very far away though. I actually saw a friend post on facebook that they buried their pet on their family plot in the cemetery. I know that they did not get permission to do it so I don't see how they got away with that but they did it.
We buried all three of our dogs next to each other in our back yard. We had plastic tubs with lids that we placed them in with their favorite blanket and toys and some pictures and other sentimental things. Then we made some tomb stones for each of them and planted some flowers by their graves along with some solar lights to light them up at night.
My friend's vet does something kind of cool. They take a paw print and a hair sample and frame it along with a photo of the pet and a poem honoring them. They provide that long with an urn of their ashes.
the only pets i have had that have died have been small rodents, birds and fish. and since a little girl i have always given them a burial. out in the garden, say a little prayer and add a small item like a photo, mite seem sad but i have loved all my pets and bonded with them, even my goldfish, and i now do it with my kids, when their pet dies we bury in the garden xx
My deceased pets get buried in my backyard and have a small shrub planted over their remains. I like to use azaleas for this because they have such beautiful blooms in the Spring and are available in so many different colors. Their remains help to fertilize these beautiful flowers so it is like they are born again every Spring.
When I was growing up we were lucky enough to live out in the country where we had a lot of land. Back then, we had a little cemetery way in the back of the yard where we would bury our little pets. It was nice to able to walk back and say a prayer and visit them there.
Now we live in a community that is not conducive to that at all! If anything does happen, I am planning on having them cremated... hard to even think about really. That would be our only option now.
Our cat disappeared. So we don't know where she went. One if my grandmas cats did the same. They had many cats over the years and when they past away grandpa would bury them behind the bushes in the back yard. If our kitty had died at home we would have done the same for her. I have parakeets now and I think when they go I will put them in s ziplock and out that in a box and throw it away. That way there won't be a smell in the dumpster.
Depending on your decision, you may have to keep the body in your home for a short period of time, particularly if the death has occurred at night. A well-cooled body can be held for up to 24 hours, but as this is difficult to maintain in a home, the sooner it can be taken somewhere else, the better.
Having a pet die is always difficult no matter how long you've had the pet. We treat them like our children, and they give us the unconditional love that we, as their caretakers, deserve.
I've had two pets die in the past few years, one was a cat and one was a dog. My cat lived to be 13 years old. When he died, I wrapped him in a special blanket and buried him in the yard of a home I was moving into in two weeks. I still live there and anticipate being her for a very long time. My dog died at the age of 15, and she was too big for me to manage a burial. Instead of that option, I went with cremation. I purchased a beautiful urn and had a little gold nameplate name. The urn is on one of my bookshelves. I'm happy with the choices I made at each pet's death.
When our hamster died my son wanted me to bury it, but I couldn't get the thought of the neighbourhood cats digging up my garden out of my head. In the end I took it to our local vets who said they would dispose of him in a humane way (probably cremation) and I held a little service for my son's benefit.
When my cat passed away though I had her cremated and there's a little headstone like those above in my garden for her.
We have had several family pets pass away over the years and only 1 of the dogs was buried in the pets' cemetery many years ago now. Most of the others have been buried in the garden, though I can only think of 1 where we now live in the same home. Only 1 of my mother's cats has remained with her, that was her favourite and the urn with the ashes in now resides in the her garden. It has its own dedicated area and special flowers grown there. The other cats were left with the vet to dispose of.
All of my hamsters are in a friend's garden.
The death of a pet is always a very sad subject, but I know that it is something pet owners have to face eventually as unfortunate as it may be. I've faced a few tough deaths, and I always have buried them in the backyard in a special place. Even more sadly, however, we have moved since the last pet death and I've had to leave my dear ones behind. I do like the idea of having a pet cremated but I am not sure if it would help ease the loss to have that done or just make me sadder whenever I think about it. I know the post was quite a while ago now, but I really love the thought of cremation done the way MariaPamela said, with some mementos and a poem. I'd cry like a baby, but be happy and appreciative in the end. I don't think there are any services where I live that do something like that, though.
My animals now are still young, with my cat around 2 and my dog around 4. I don't even want to think about what I will do when that time comes at this point. I still think burial is the best option for me, but I will definitely be looking more into the pet cremation services on into the future.
... Ah, man. Now talking about this has me feeling pretty sad. I'm going to go give my dog a whole ton of pets and snuggles to cheer myself up!
Fish, we flush. And boy have we flushed a ton of those over the years! We have a no more fish rule in this house.
All others, including hamsters, we have buried in the back yard. Complete with little crosses or markers and tiny funerals with prayers and tears and memories.
Puki was a wonderful dog who died two years ago. I used to walk him near the river and how i miss him!...I don't have a backyard... I've paid for his cremation, but i couldn't stand the idea of letting him go that way, so i brought him with me from the vet and buried him where he loved to be walked, near the river, in the nature. He's close to me, both from where i live and from my heart...
In my area, people have become fatalistic, what with the frequent road accidents and most homes having a deceased member. The same mindset applies to pets. In my case, it is quite a sad and wistful affair. I know it is a good thing to give a pet a decent send off but I wouldn't go to the extent of constructing a cemetery. We usually look for a place in the garden and dig a deep hole and them pay our last respects. Pets are forever etched in my memories.
I've buried all my dead pets. Since we live in an area that's close to the woods, I feel it to be the nicest thing to do. Pets are a big part of our family, have always been, so we treat them equal to people. It's really nice to have a small memorial for them as they're with us for a long time and we get used to them. Also, burying pets really relieves the pain of missing them, unlike just throwing away the corpse. It's actually good that some cities have graveyards specially for pets since animals tend to be a big part of some families lives.
We have 2 dogs who passed away - the first in 2007 and the second was in 2012. Both of them were cremated and the ashes are in a wooden box that I keep in our living room. Even with the time that passed, I still miss those 2 dogs and sometimes I dream of them.
By the way, the first dog was buried in our backyard. We placed it inside a big transparent plastic before burying. After some months when I learned of a crematorium for pets, I had that dog dug up for cremation. The body of our dog was still intact.
(03-01-2012, 10:23 AM)Ram Wrote: I am just wondering how people take care of things after a pet is gone.
Throw in the trash can?
Flush down the toilet?(fish)
Or backyard grave?
Or... well you tell me lol.
Definitely backyard grave. My aunt's other dog, also a shihtzu named Candice, died from renal failure while my son and I were away. We were on a swimming trip when my aunt texted me to tell me that Candice passed away just a few minutes after we left. Earlier that day, I've already noticed her heavy breathing but never thought too much about it. I wasn't able to enjoy our swimming that day and that night when my son was asleep, I cried. She stayed here for two years when my relatives were evicted and I learned how to take care of a dog through her. Candice was underfed and already suffering from UTI that time but my aunt was in denial and kept telling us that her frequent vomiting (which turned out to be gastritis) is the result of being pulled away too early from her mom's milk, which the vet had already confirmed that it wasn't the case. I still have her last picture taken a few days before she passed away.
Over the years we've had a number of different pets, from goldfish to hamsters, mice and gerbils, all the way through to cats and dogs, and when they pass away, depending on the animal depends on what we do with them. The fish have been laid to rest in the usual way, down the toilet and while it may seem a bit of a sad way to go, I'm not actually sure what else you're supposed to do with a dead goldfish!
The cats and dogs we've had that have died, we've had them cremated and the ashes scattered in a suitable place. They become part of the family as more often than not they're with you for a number of years, so in my opinion our faithful little friends deserve to be given a decent send off.
