It’s hard to try to figure out what you want to do with a beloved pet’s remains when you’re grieving their loss. Often, it feels like it’s easier to just let your veterinarian deal with things, so that you can grieve in peace. However, you have more options than that, and we want to make sure you make the best choice for you and your family.
There are two main options for your pet: burial or cremation.
Burying Your Pet
Burying your pet can be a good option in certain circumstances. If you’re living on property you own, you can bury your pet on your own land. If not, you can bury your pet in a pet cemetery.
Burial in a Pet Cemetery
This is not a viable option for most people. While pet cemeteries offer full services for your animals, they can be cost-prohibitive to many people. At minimum, you’re required to purchase a plot of land and a casket of some sort. Pet cemeteries are also not very common, and can require extensive travel.
Burial On Your Land
If your pet passed away at home, this is often the easiest route. However, this can’t be done on a rental property of any sort, as you can only do this on property that belongs to you. You also should be leery of this if your animal was put to sleep (euthanized), got into any kind of poisonous substance, or had a communicable disease. Other animals can dig up and scavenge the remains, causing them to become ill or even die.
On top of all of this, if you choose to move away from your current property, you will have to leave your beloved pet’s burial site behind.
Cremating Your Pet
The other option is to cremate your pet. Often, your vet can do this once they’ve euthanized your pet. If your pet died at home, many crematories offer services for pets. Once you cremate them, you have to decide what you do with the ashes. In this, you have three options: keeping the ashes, scattering them yourself, or having a scattering service do it for you.
Keeping the Ashes
This is a common option after you have a pet cremated. Often the ashes will be kept in an urn or box in the home. This can bring comfort to some, but others aren’t as comfortable keeping them around the house. It can also be inconvenient if you have young children or other pets who can tip over or break the box or urn.
Scattering The Ashes Yourself
If you own your own property, this can be a good option. However, there are lots of laws associated with disposal of ashes and remains. So if you’re going to attempt this option, ensure that you read up on the laws and regulations in your state.
Have a Scattering Service Handle It
Scattering services like Rest Ashured can scatter your pet’s ashes for you. We mail you a box with everything you need, and you simply follow the instructions and mail it back to us. Then we scatter your pet’s ashes on our gorgeous property in our special scatter garden. We can even place an engraved stone to serve as a permanent memorial to your pet.
There are so many more options for your pet’s remains than most people realize! Make sure that you’re choosing the best option for you and your family.