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Pet Cremation - 5 Helpful Tips

Losing a pet is an emotional time.  Our pet cremation and remembrance tips will smooth things over so that you can concentrate on treasuring the memories of your beloved creature. 

Lovely Old Dog to comfort those thinking of Pet Cremation

1.  What to Do if Your Pet Dies at Home

If your pet dies at home, it's best to wrap them in a favourite blanket and put them somewhere cool like the laundry or outdoors in an enclosed garden shed until you can arrange what to do.  Then you can either take them down to your local vet, bury them yourself if you have enough land, or ring a local pet cremation service. 

2. Burial or Cremation? 

Burying your pet at home can be a lovely thing to do to keep them close, but you must check with your local council as they have specific regulations for your area, and make sure you know where all your gas and plumbing pipes are.  You might also be able to bury them at a local pet cemetery, but there aren't always plots available.  Cremation, arranged by your local vet or pet cremation service can be an easier solution. 

Elegant Zebra Wood Pet Cremation Urn - Can be Engraved - Click for More Information

3.  Decide whether you want an individual cremation or not?

Perhaps I'm not very sentimental, or decided it was too expensive, but when my beloved dogs died, I held them while they were put to sleep, cried my eyes out, and then left them with the vet to send for cremation.  I didn't ask for their ashes. I regret that a little now, as it might have been a comfort to scatter their ashes around a favourite tree or plant them under a rose. But I have their pictures around the house which keeps them alive for me. 

Pet Memorial FrameClick here to order

Nowadays we have many choices for individual cremation or even burial in a pet cemetery.  It's perhaps a good idea to have a think about it in advance as you will be very emotional when the time comes and you will need to keep a clear head to choose what you would like. 

4.  Vet or Pet Cremation Service?

Your local vet can recommend a service and will arrange everything for you.  You might want to choose your own service, and there are plenty of them on the internet.  If you plan in advance, you can also choose your own pet cremation urn.  If you're planning to scatter the ashes, a simple box provided by the cremation service will do, otherwise you can choose a more permanent solution online.

Read some ideas about holding your own personal pet funeral

Click here to see a few choices of Pet Cremation Urns. 

Pet Cremation Urn with quote - Dogs Leave Pawprints on your heart foreverClick here to order

See also our selection of Cat Cremation Urns

5.  Manage your Grief

Grief for a pet can be as devastating as the loss of any family member and we wish your our heartfelt sympathy.  We have several pages to help you over your loss.  This site is for people coping with any type of bereavement, and many of the pages on the site will help you.  But perhaps start with our Grief for Pets page. 

Remembering your pet through a memento such as a photo in a frame, an engraved necklace, or a cremation pendant may also be of comfort.  There are lots of keepsake ideas here and they also make perfect pet loss sympathy gifts if you know someone who has lost a well-loved animal. 

Pet memorial necklace with charmsClick to Order

Pet Memorial Necklaces

Choose from a range of engraved charm necklaces.  Personalise with the name of the pet and make a special treasured piece of jewelry  that will last for ever.  

Order your design here. 


Related Pages: 



Pet Cremation Jewellery UK



Also check out our Pet Memorial Jewelry suggestions

For more help coping with grief see Grief for Pets



For USA Residents: 

Please help our colleagues at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, USA by joining in their research study:



SUPPORT FOR BEREAVED PARENTS

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Losing a child to cancer is devastating, and there is a critical need to develop effective supports.

A federally-funded study in the United States (US) evaluating different types of support for bereaved parents is currently seeking participants. Parents residing in the US may be eligible if they lost a child diagnosed with cancer at least 6 months ago and live in one of the following states: NY, NJ, PA, CT, FL, or TN (other eligible states are being added, please complete the survey to check with us).

To find out if you may be eligible, please click here, visit our website at bereavedparentsupportstudy.com, or email us at parentstudy@mskcc.org.

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