Cremation vs. Burial - Pets

Corryn78

I had my 13 yr old dog cremated is a semi private cremation last year. There are several other animals done at the same time (with space between) so you do have the possibility of some...contamination?? However it was about 100.00 less than private.

Also I took a child safe non toxic ink pad and made a stamp of his foot about 6 months prior. It is now a tattoo on top of my foot.

Love that tattoo idea!!!

Thanks The flowers are pansies, which were my grandmas favorite...so one for each grandparent. It's really special for me to have it.

yo_andi

When my Sophie dog died, I had her cremated. The Animal Hospital gave me seeds for a beautiful flowering bush along with her ashes, which I planted in a pot and has moved with me all over the US. Someday when I own my own place, I'll plant the bush out in its own space and know that Sophie is there with me. Her ashes I still have in a little urn.

AllonsYtotheTardis

My vet does a nice thing though - after the cat has passed, they make an impression in clay of her paw prints with her name and give it to you. So I have that also.

I wish my vet had done that. I would have liked that.


We decided to bring my cat home and bury him on our property.

chrome_princess

I'm very attached to this one dog we have now, and he has separation anxiety ... so I've long said that he will be cremated when he goes. Because the idea of *if/when* we move and leaving him behind is just too hard for ME to handle. I don't like the idea of leaving him behind. My husband has never said no to this. All of his parents' dogs are buried in the field at home ... but they live on a farm, it makes sense. They won't be leaving ... I'm not sure we'll be in this house forever. But Oscar was a wedding gift, he was our "baby" before our kid was born, and he's grown up with our kid, he's a part of the family. I'm hoping I don't have to deal with it for a few more years down the road (he'll be ten next June, so I know the time will come sooner rather than later), but there is no discussion. He will be cremated and he will stay with us.

As an aside, my dad's dog was cremated... and my stepmom pulled some strings, and had the box the dog's ashes were in buried with my dad. Apparently there's an ordinance that says that shouldn't happen, but she wanted to make sure he and his dog were together, and she made it happen.

bgelliott

I have had 10 dogs and 6 cats throughout my life and am currently the proud mommy of an amazing Black Lab and a crazy but awesome kitty. I personally have no sentimental tendancies about their bodies once they have passed. The cat, Oliver...since he is small, I may save the money and dig a hole in the yard. His body will decompose fairly quick and it's free. Charlie however is 85lbs and I don't think I could dig a hole big enough so I would take him to the Vet and let them dispose of his body.

deadstarsunburn

I plan on having my 15 year old chihuahua cremated when he passes. I can't stand the idea of him decomposing or bugs and such eating him. I know it's an odd reason but I just couldn't let that happen to my little guy.

KrayKira

as absolutely heart broken as I would be I think I would bury my dog on my mum's property..
I got her paw print tattoo'd on my wrist for her 2nd birthday.. So I will forever have a part of her with me..
Mind you I have a dog that will live forever.... *I will tell myself this until the day she dies*

mabelbabel1

I had both my dogs put to sleep at my house and I buried them in the garden.....to me once they have died their spirit /soul is free, has left the body, so I won't be overly concerned about leaving them behind when the time comes for me to move house.....I also took comfort in the fact that the first flowers to grow over them was a forget-me-not and now 18months later the grass is slowly growing back, (I kept it clear for a while as I wasn't ready to move on)....soon there will be no sign of them being there......that will be when I can close that chapter of sadness and try to focus on the 14 wonderful years we shared.

Of course I carry them with my in my heart and in my memory.....they'll always be with me.

If you decide to get a cremation do ensure you chose an individual cremation as in the UK if you don't specify this then the ashes you get back will not be all or any of your pets as they do more than one animal at a time.

BanjoKd

I have 2 cats and 3 dogs in urns. A few people have rolled their eyes at me....i don't care. I love my sweet little animal friends...i don't go as far as putting a leash coming out of the urn...lol But they do all have a special memory that i have about them written and placed in the urn.

eta...one day i will have the desire to spread the ashes but right now i can't. And also in my defense if i must...it's hard to bury a 100 lb dog.

jeaninemckinney

Well we just went through this over this past summer! It was the hardest decision ive ever had to make! Ugh...making me cry talking about it :-( we are renting a house as of now and didnt have anywhere nuce to burry him unless we would have opted for that! Instead we cremated and picked a nice urn and the vet also took two imprints of his paws...still had dirt on them was one of the hardest times of my life, he was like a child to me! A huge part of our family and we will miss him forever! Now he sets on our counter with the candles and ither nic nac things! I felt kinda strange thinking about having an urn at first but im so happy we did! Now hes with us wherever we go...and in our hearts! Would love to plant a small rose bush or tree once we buy a house! It was hard putting ornaments on our tree this year as u forget some of the special ornaments u have! Miss his cute face! Good luck to u and your family! So sorry u have to go through tgis, its an incredibly hard decision!

nbhobbes

Sorry for your loss.. I would say go with burrial if your in a remote area. If not then creamation and scatter teh ashes some place the pet loved.

dmpizza

Sorry for your impending loss.
I assume when the time comes we will choose cremation.

HiKaren

I chose cremation for my Sophie. She lived 18 years. And she was my child. No humans over here. So I bought her a special engravable urn, that looks like her. She was white. This is a picture of the exact urn she is in right now. Only its white, with her name, and the years that she lived. She gave me alot of comfort in my life, and she at least deserved something nice like this one.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=engravable+urns+for+cats&view=detail&id=A8755AAB5A0564377F717DAD342753D72A0C6B33&first=134

SHHitsKaty

I had my cat cremated and it was done very nicely. They took his paw and put it in cement and gave me it once it dried so I have his little paw print as well as his ashes in a nice urn that they supplied with a place for a picture of him on the front. There was no way I was going to let him be cremeated with a bunch of different animals and then just dumped somewhere and I don't have anywhere to bury him (I live in a condo) so cremating him alone seemed worth it even if it was expensive.

Lesa_Sass

I am so sorry for your loss. I lost our beloved in June of this year and I am still not over it. It was the second worst day of my life.

We opted for cremation and I am glad that we did it that way. Although I will say, the day I went and picked up his ashes I sat in the parking lot and bawled my eyes out for 15 minutes before I could manage to get home and cry the rest of the day.

Once again, I am so deeply sorry for your loss. I do not know you and I sit here heart broken.

L

AdoraK

I have done both.

I have two dogs and two cats buried in the back yard in the dogs pen. I also made headstones for each. I had the last dog that passed cremated and she is in a pretty box in my livingroom.

I think the choice is going to be what make you feel better in the long run. I don't plan to move so between the two was only a choice of the time of year. The pets I buried passed in the warmer month but the one I cremated passed in the winter, so I could not dig a burial site for her. I only paid about $250 for her to be cremated and the box was included.

Either way I am sorry for your future loss.

RBXChas

So serious question for pet owners/lovers......If you were to lose a pet you have had for a very long time.......a part of the family............how would you dispose of the body.......This is a decision I have to make very shortly and am having a very difficult time with it. If we choose burial it is a lot cheaper ($250-$550 for cremation + $$ for urn etc.). I could bury him in the yard but when we leave we would leave him behind. If we were to cremate we would have his ashes which we could take with us if we leave. I think my wife would prefer cremation and I am not sure.....I have not really thought about it. Part of me likes the idea of having the ashes of having him with us........Part of me feels like it is kind of morbid and he isn't really around anymore anyways......bury the body and move on and have him with us through pictures/memories.......What are your thoughts? How would you decide.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I have three dogs, and though I have a child, they really are like children to me (just in a different way than my son is). It is heartbreaking to have to make these kinds of decisions.

In October, we lost one of our dogs - I'd had him for nearly 9 years, and he got very suddenly ill and was gone within three weeks :frown: He was getting better, then took a sudden turn for the worse, so we didn't have time to plan for him to be euthanized, and he died late at night. We called the emergency vet, who gave us three options. We could bury him in our backyard, or we could have him cremated. If we did the latter, we could have a "private" cremation (essentially him being cremated by himself) and get the ashes back in a simple urn, or we could have him cremated with other pets and the ashes spread over a field. Obviously burial is free, the "private" cremation with return of ashes was upwards of $350, and the "regular" cremation was $60.

With money being tight plus some other considerations, we went with the "regular" cremation. What was nice was that we got a sympathy card from both the emergency vet and our regular vet, plus a cremation certificate and sympathy card from the company that handled it.

Years ago, my parents buried one of our dogs before in their backyard and marked it with an engraved stone. However, it does make me sad that at some point they will sell that house, and our dog will be on someone else's property.

As for my yard, the bulk of it is a wetland buffer, which means it's probably not the best place to be burying anything, and I'd worry about animals coming and digging up a beloved pet. That is why we decided not to bury our dog.

My parents also did cremation for two of our other dogs who've died more recently. Both dogs happened to pass away in the winter, when the ground was frozen, so my parents had them cremated, then got the urns back and buried them in the backyard the following spring. Having the urns around in the interim was a little strange but not creepy or morbid. However, it is sort of an unusual item to have around/move around with. However the burying the ashes decision also made me sad that they will eventually be on someone else's property.

As for our dog, I thought about getting his ashes back, but I knew I wouldn't know what to do with them if we kept them, and it would have only made me more sad to have them around. I would want to scatter them over the water (he *loved* going to the beach), but then what would I do with the urn? I figured I would not waste resources and would take comfort in knowing that his being cremated with other pets is not disrespectful, since his doggy spirit was no longer with his body, and the ashes were spread over a field.

It's been almost two months since this happened, and I still don't regret the decision. I keep his collar on my nightstand, though.

Giving your dog the best life possible is the gift you have given him, just remember that.

ETA that the dog in my profile pic is not the dog we lost but another one of our rescues.

Countryboy_

Jac,

First let me say how very sorry I am for your loss. I have grown up my whole life having dogs, many of them I was very close to. In my opinion, I favor burial for a dog when it passes on. My dogs have always been big, outdoor dogs that loved being outside...running and playing.....roaming the farm where I grew up. I could not imagine keeping their remains cooped up inside.....I always felt that they would have wanted to be out in the environment that they loved. When I was a kid, I would always take a cement block and carve their name on it with a cold chisel to mark the spot. As I have grown older, I would plant a tree or ornamental bush over the grave as a marker.

HannahMarieMcDougald

Cremation.....

Tw1zzler

So sorry for your loss... when I lost my dog of 16 years I chose cremation. I would hate to move and leave him. And I really couldn't bear the thought of his little body in a box...

A friend of mine had a painting made of my dog for me, the painting makes me smile. It's a simple water color and a great remembrance.

tappae

I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned this yet, but it's against the law in a lot of urban areas to bury your pet in your yard.

auntkk28

I work at an animal shelter and cremation is a service we provide and for a very reasonable price ($85.00 - $125.00 for private cremation depending on weight) so you may want to compare pricing if possible. Growing up the only option for me was to bury in the backyard but since I've moved to Florida I've had my pets cremated. Actually my first dog was cremated when I lived up north but I was an adult and was able to pay to for the service. I like having them with me and as far as urns go you can find them online for reasonable prices or get creative, I had a customer bring in her cat's treat jar for an urn (we allow customers to provide their own urn or purchase one from us or take the carved teak box that is included in our pricing). There is no right or wrong answer here, to each his own I say:)

miaagar3

My oldests dog who's five has epilepsy and is getting put down tomorow . he is getting cremated but I feel really sad because he still has at least 10 years of his life left.but he also has bit 3 people and always runs away if we leave the door open.he is a nervous wreck and his brain is pretty messed up but he's really smart.can someone help me.:-(

jofjltncb6

hbrittingham

It's so hard to lose a loved pet!

I have buried one dog, she had grown up and lived all of her life in the neighborhood where we buried her (in the woods). We felt like that was "home" to her.

All the others have been cremated. Most of them are in boxes in our closet, yes, a bit morbid. The only one I know that I want to spread her ashes anywhere is our lab. She has grown up going to my parents' lake house and loves the water, so we'll sprinkle her ashes up there. We also had spread my mom's ashes in the water up there last October because she loved the lake, and she loved our lab, so they'll be together again when the old girl passes away. The boys like to be wherever I am, so they'll end up wherever I end up. Both my husband and I will be cremated.

chrissyrenee1029

Growing up in the country we always buried our dogs out in the woods, except for my daddy's dog that was his buddy while he fought cancer...he couldn't bring himself to put him in the woods and he's buried in mama and daddy's backyard.

Now that we're in the 'burbs though I'm leaning toward cremation for our fur babies. Our oldest will be 9 next month and he was a birthday present from hubby to me right after we got married. I couldn't stand the thought of moving someday and not being able to take him with me

AddieOverhaul

When my cat passed away I had her cremated but I didn't want the ashes back which made it profoundly cheaper. I don't remember how much it was, but I'm sure it was under $100. I'm sure size of the animal affects price (I haven't read all the posts so don't know if you mentioned if it's a big dog or not).

I didn't want the ashes because I'd rather think of her as she was when she was alive and remember her by looking at her pictures. i did get the paw print clay thing, and I'm glad I have it but honestly I keep it in a drawer because I get sad when I look at it because I know she was dead whent hey did it. I'm considering getting them made for my two cats now while they are still alive so I can hang them up now and remember doing it with them alive and well (and probably not being very cooperative haha).

The family pets were all cremated with no ashes returned as well when I was growing up.

I'm sorry that you will have to face that soon. I know how hard it is and even now with my healthy middle aged cats I dread the day I will have to say goodbye to them.

seltzermint555

I'd choose cremation and let the vet dispose of the ashes.

+1

I am just not sentimental about the remains of people or animals, at all. My thought process is that they no longer exist, except in the hearts & memories of those left behind...so it doesn't really matter.

As for the price of cremation sounding VERY high in the OP's post, I agree, but then I have only had small pets...perhaps it is much more expensive for large breed dogs? Just a thought. It would kind of make sense. Sorry to sound crass or morbid, but cremating an 8 lb dog versus a 120 lb dog would be much more difficult and require more resources.

askeates

I struggled with that one myself 2 and a half years ago. In the long run, because the place we are in we took him to my SIL's house and buried him along with their cats that they have lost. We know that they will be in the home forever, and one of their girls will end up moving in when the time comes..... or another family member will. I think if we had not had that option we would have cremated.

TheRoadDog

Pet fish get flushed.
Pet birds get thrown out in the trash.
Pet Cats and Dogs get buried in the garden.
Ex-wives get buried in the basement.