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I always have my cats and dogs cremated, and I did have urns stacking up. I finally (just a few weeks ago), mixed all the ashes in with potting soil and planted a rose bush in the back yard.
I started cremating when my first dog died and I asked the vet what would be done with the body if it weren't cremated. "Well, actually," he said sheepishly, "they're thrown in the dump." Not only did I opt for cremation, I found a new vet.
I have two old cats now and am pretty sure our small-town vet doesn't offer cremation. If not, I'll bring the bodies home and give them a back-yard burial with full honors.
The vet cremated my cats and I didn't request the ashes.
That's what I do. Most recently I said goodbye at the Vet's as we put him down and they took care of everything. They made a footprint in clay and had it fired as a remembrance for me...no ashes.
My pets have been family to me , but once they die I am not sentimental about the bodies.
I am the same way about family, my mom requested cremation and no ashes kept and when she died her wishes didn't bother me at all. I may request the the same thing for myself.
I had my beloved 14 year old Golden Ret. cremated and left his ashes in the laundry room for years. Finally threw them out.
For me the idea of a body of a loved one (human or animal) decaying in the ground is worse than cremation.
I always have my cats and dogs cremated, and I did have urns stacking up. I finally (just a few weeks ago), mixed all the ashes in with potting soil and planted a rose bush in the back yard.
The vet I go to in town is very good with the pets who come to him sick, and he cares in death too. He has a farm, and an area is set up as a pet cementary. It's on his property so you can't go visit, but he offers burial in a peaceful area. He charges five dollars for the burial.
My older dog got attacked and she was so badly injured I chose to put her down rather than suffer through a small chance of survival. She was 14. She's resting with the cat I moved with, who was dear to me. They knew each other.
Three of my dogs were cremated, and I still have the ashes on a shelf where they are near the rest of home.
Sadly, I couldn't afford cremation for the others, now, but would feel comforted with them buried with the others.
I have my dogs cremated. I keep the ashes of the very special dogs (the ones I call my heart-dogs -- 4 of them over the past 45 years). I have a keychain urn and have put a few ashes from each heart-dog in it to keep with me forever. When I die, my ashes will be mixed with theirs and then scattered in a special place.
The ashes of my other dear dogs have already been scattered in the places where I always took them to run.
I have had many animals over the years, majority were rescued and much loved cats. Almost all were cremated individually, it costs a little more than group cremations but worth it to me to get my own pet's ashes back. Burial would be possible on my property but plan on relocating and do not want to leave my pets "behind" and possibly their graves destroyed by future buyers? I feel comforted to have the ashes at home with me in nice wood and metal containers, they are kept in a living room cabinet but are not visible to guests. I also have a little outdoor memorial area with rocks painted with their names and dates, decorate it with seasonal silk flowers and windchimes. Nobody is actually buried there but it is peaceful and makes me feel still connected to them and the happy lives they had when they were here. I will take the rocks with me when I relocate and arrange another memorial area in the new place. My eventual plan is hopefully to be able to have someone scatter my ashes, along with the ashes of my pets when I die. If nobody is left or willing to do that I will try to scatter their ashes myself while I am still able.
As a retiree, I have had a few pets who died and was uncertain as to what to do ? Cremate them? Bury them somewhere? Find a pet cemetery?
My most beloved cat died in 1997. He was 19 and I buried him in my yard. (It was ok then to do so). But then I moved to another state so I dug him up and re buried him in my mother's garden. His sister passed so I buried her along side of the house where no one could see the gravesite.
Since then, I have cared for 3 other cats. Two were my kid's cats and one was, again, my very own beloved darling calico. She died a year ago and I now have 3 cats in boxes in my den. All cremated.
Here's the problem. I now have 2 elderly dogs. When they pass, what to do? I cannot keep cremating these pets and stacking them up in the closet. What do other retirees do? These pets were all rescues and were old, like me. I truly do not want to be cremated and kept in a box in the closet.
I wish there was a pet cemetery here. That would be a good solution. So what do you do?
The vet cremated my cats and I didn't request the ashes.
This is what we do with our dogs (we have them euthanized at home, but take their bodies in to the vet for group cremation). I don't even much like the pet paw print in clay that one mobile vet did - I threw it away. It's just dead and sad-looking to me. I do keep their collars, and I have also kept the dog dish of one dog who carried hers around lovingly for half an hour after every meal (so it's all chewed up) - seeing her dish makes me remember how much she adored living and especially eating, and it makes me smile.
I have buried horses and I do not like moving away from the area where they are buried, especially if they are buried at a farm where I boarded them, but that I have no other connection with (so, will never visit).
I also have buried one hen. We had chickens for many years and when they would die, we would take them to the municipal animal shelter for cremation. But my sweetest little red hen, Ruby, got a burial. (She had turned into a pet - she'd tolerate letting me hold and stroke her on my lap while singing, "Ruby... don't take your love to town!")
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