pet crematory question

[Nina51]

my dog groomer and i have been kicking this around for the last year or so.

the closest pet crematory to us in urbana, illinois, and there is one in st. louis. we live in a very rural area so when pets die, they are just usually buried.

we've talked to numerous people who have told us that had the services of a crematory been available to them when they lost a family pet, they would have gladly paid for cremation.

we have also talked to representatives of companies that sell the "ovens" used. there are licenses to consider, state inspections, etc. we have the perfect spot for a set up. we just aren't sure we want to invest the considerable $$$ it would take to start up. we're talking upwards of 30 to 35 thousand.

we have been told that it would be several years before we would see much of a return on such an investment.

my question is, if this service had been available to you in your time of need, would you have used it? has anybody had a pet cremated? my brother still has his poodle's ashes after 20 years.

then there is the matter of the emotional investment. i just don't know if i am strong enough to deal with the sadness i'm sure i would encounter. my vet offered me a job once. i was ready to jump at it because it's something i always wanted to do. but when he told me i would have to participate in euthanizing animals, i said there is just no way that's gonna happen!

what are your thoughts?

[dinoman]

I'm not sure if I would or not. I guess it would depend on how much money was on hand at the time, my family isn't one with a whole lot of spare money laying around. Though if I did have the money I would probably consider it.

[emilye2]

When Timber was killed there was no doubt in my mind that's what I was going to do. It cost 200$ that we didn't have but the car payment was only 2 weeks late! We rent this house, there is no way I'm leaving her here in the ground with strangers! Have you contacted local funeral homes? That's what they do here, I believe. Either that or one of the local SPCA's has one....
One of my jobs while working for the big city vet was hauling dead bodies out of the freezer every week that were tagged for cremation. Or better yet, digging through them to find a body that someone had left and then returned to collect. There is no way to make a dog that has been frozen for a week at the bottom of a pile of other critters look in any way natural or at peace!
something you may consider in it's place is a pet cemetary. complete with services and headstones. I would have done that rather than cremate if there had been one available.

[clavery]

Nina, I don't know if I'd have the emotional strength to handle all those grieving pet owners. Too much empathy for what they're going through. I would just think of Scout and cry all the time, but that's just me. Of what little I know about you through your posts, you are a very caring person, and I would think it would eat at your heart.

Cheryl

[dc]

I know lots of people that do. I don't know if I could deal with the sadness tho. Our dogs are in our yard, even tho I may not live here forever, it was their home.

[Nina51]

yeah cheryl, that's definitely my biggest obstacle. i'm just not at all sure i can do it and detach myself emotionally. when i had to have flag put to sleep and then lost my old mare last year, i was inconsolable. heck, i still grieve. but having to do it on a weekly basis would probably be too much for me.

em, the pet cemetery is an idea we have talked about. the problem is that although we both have land, there really isn't enough to make the idea feasible.

i knew when i buried flag and the mare, i would never be leaving this place until it was *my* time to go. so i have them both here, they are each in a special place. flag under his favorite tree with a marker and chips out under the alfalfa field where she so loved to graze.

[gaels]

i have my cat (the dear honey-boy-yubbers) in a beautiful oak box on my desk, and my dog (chloe) on a shelf just above yubbs. it's expensive, but worth it. i shudder to think of what the cost will be for my saint bernard. i think the price goes according to weight

[chiliaddik]

Nina...back about 4 years ago, I used to volunteer for the local animal shelter. I worked there for about 2 years.

This such a touchy subject and I really don't want to get into how they euthanized (humane, but not the shot) and what happens thereafter. It saddens my heart to even think about it.

Anyways, the City had about $40,000 in their budget which was money raised to build a crematorium (since the closest one from that city was 250 miles away). The cost of building the crematorium is VERY expensive and with the money set aside for it, it seemed the right thing to do. It wasn't the money to build or buy it, it was the operating costs, which the $40,000 wouldn't even cover.

The crematorium never got built, but they did build a larger facility and built more kennels and stuff for the animals with that money. It took a lot of legal work and all that to get even that done.

This particular animal shelter, in a city of roughly 41,000 people, euthanized over 300 animals A MONTH! That is how BAD the pet population is in New Mexico.

[Laura D]

I have had all my dead pets cremated.

Reasons being:

For some reason they all seem to die in Mid winter, where there is no way we could bury them here in Iowa. What am I gonna do, stick them in the freezer until spring thaw?

Also, we are not yet settled down into a permanent house, and I would hate leaving them behind when we move.

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Its actually illegal to bury yor pets in your back yard here, unless you live in the country. My mom recently had her cat put to sleep and they cremated it. As For my dogs, my golden is soooo big that even if I was allowed to bury her, I couldn't. She will most likely have to be put down due to her bad legs, so we will probably have her cremated...such a sad thing to think about

[Caryliss]

The pet crematory our clinic uses is an hour away, but they have contracts with most of the local veterinarians and make weekly pick ups. Ashes are usually returned by UPS within a few days. I think that to have a thriving business as a crematory you would need to establish such a network, not just rely on local pet owners. Probably 20% of our clients chose cremation over burial. If you are interested I could do a records search and get exact numbers--just pm me.

Sheba-dog's ashes have been sitting on my fireplace mantel for 10 months now. Originally we planned to bury them but I don't want to do that now. It is somehow comforting to keep them. I am planning to do the same with my 17 yr old persian (Tommy-Bear, world's best cat) when the time comes.

You would have to have a strong stomach to operate such a business however. One of my technician's worked for a clinic which did their own cremations. If you would like I can ask her for more information on the technical aspects.

I would call around to the local veterinarians and see if any of them offer cremation. They may contract with a company, or there may be some that do their own. Find out if they would be interested in a local crematory.

[Nina51]

thanks caryliss, i'd be interested in the stats you might have.

we've talked to local vets a little but haven't really delved into much other than the financial aspects at this point. small business loans seem to be available.

i'm just not sure i can get past the emotional part. i know what a basket case i was when i was facing this decision. to have to deal with it on a regular basis would probably do me in.

anyhoo, we're still in the *thinking* stage.

[Muttling]

It's a great concept, but you have to be in a more urban area to get enough business to offset the cost. It will be a money loosing venture in a rural neck of the woods.

Knoxville, Tennessee used to have 2 of them. One went out of business and the other is still struggling to make ends meet.

[Hoggn]

Had Samson creamated 11/04 and would do it again in a heart beat... I keep the urn in my living room...

The emotional aspect I think would be to great to bear....

[Muttling]

Update........

It's a bit morbid, but you could try to get a grip on the potential market for your services. Identify the distance you'd be willing to drive to pick up the deceased. Use Mapquest or something similar to find all the vet offices in that area.

Next, contact them and discuss the probability that they would offer it as an option to their clients. Then discuss the number of clients who loose pets in a year. Finally, try to come up with a percentage that would cremate and run the numbers.

This is all about a business decision and trying to figure out how many clients you can reasonably expect in a year. It's also about figuring out the cost of servicing those clients (e.g. body pick up costs, creamation cost, ash return cost, and yearly licensing costs.)

I seriously doubt the numbers will work out for you, but I also wish this option were available to all pet owners and hope you can make it work.

[catdoc]

For "budget" cremations, our clients can have us take their deceased pets to the local shelter for a group cremation. We did have a local crematory open a few years ago, but they operate in conjunction with a boarding kennel. I guess they are making money since they continue to operate their crematory services. They also have a pet cemetery on site where families can have their pets' ashes placed. People have the choice of individual vs group cremations as well as whether or not to have the ashes returned, urns are another option. Generally, the ashes are returned to our clinic within 48 hours and they deliver them in a nice little floral tin unless the owners have opted for an urn.

That said, I did have my 2 cats cremated when the time came. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving them behind if we moved and thought maybe I'd place them into a houseplant or in the garden with the roots of a plant I could transplant if we moved. So far though, they are both still in the tin that they were delivered to me in.

[suzyq]

I have worked for a vet for many years and there is a pet cemetery close by. The lady comes by to the vets offices in the area and will pick up the pet for a extra service charge or you can take your pet there yourself. I have had my cat cremated there. I have had her for twenty years and she was just the neatest cat I ever known, so I have her ashes in a wooden urn on my windowstill. I think it is a good business. I think anything to do with people and their pets is big business. People love their pets and treat them better then they do themselves sometimes. You have to really be a compassionate person and like working with people, because you will be dealing with grieving people in that business. Having ashes on a special pet is nice, but the whole funeral and everything seems kind of silly sometimes. Did you ever see the Odd Couple episode where he has a funeral for his parrot?
If you want to see pictures of the pet cemetery near me you can go to http://hometown.aol.com/liondog96.page4.html. There are pictures of what is suppose to be ghost, but I'm not sure if I believe that.

[Wolverine]

Originally posted by Laura D
Also, we are not yet settled down into a permanent house, and I would hate leaving them behind when we move.

One person I know did exhume a buried dog when he moved to a new house, and reburied the dog at the new home for exactly that reason.

Dave

[vonodie1]

My first dog that died, is buried in OK at my in-laws cabin at the lake. I couldn't bury him at my grandma's cabin since she had sold it. We chose to bury Odie there because he loved the lake so much!

We just had to put my 14 year old weenie dog Spunky down in April and chose cremation this time, because I now live on an island and couldn't stand the thought of him being left to be disposed of by the vet. I only knew of the pet cremation service due to a business card at my vets office. That was a hard decision to make to have him put down.

I don't think I could do anything related to death or sorrow. It is just too difficult.

[exotec]

Ninapearl - I can't offer you any firsthand revelations on the topic ... but I have a friend who owns and operates a pet crematory, and I'm sure she could offer you plenty of insight on the topic. Contact her at

< sharon@peturns.com >

Her business consists not only of "sad" pet funerals, but also pet memorials such as polyclay pawprints and the like. If you have any skill in photography, there's a pretty good market for holiday or special occasion and note cards.

It doesn't have to be an unhappy job. I think that keeping ashes (anybody's!) is a little morbid -- but I certainly like the idea of the memorials.

[shavedhead]

Ninapearl......where abouts in Illinois are you thinking of setting up 'shop' ?

[Nina51]

exotec, thanks for that information. i'm seeing my groomer on tuesday and i'll likely contact your friend for whatever insights she can give us.

shavedhead, we're located in west central illinois, not far from the jacksonville area. where are you?

[Laura D]

Originally posted by Wolverine
One person I know did exhume a buried dog when he moved to a new house, and reburied the dog at the new home for exactly that reason.

Dave

Wow! I don't think I could do that!

[NeuroLarry]

Wish I was a veterinarian instead of an MD. Those guys get to charge you to treat the critter and again when it dies! Maybe I will open a funeral home so I too can be a full service doc.

[cadams]

have you considered the fine art of taxidermy?

j/k