Pet Cremation

[DirtyHabit]

This evening I said goodbye to a loyal friend for the last fifteen years and I could not leave her at the vets and took her home. I have large garden, so I could bury her but just wondered how much it cost to have a average dog cremated?

[nickmo]

Firstly DH - so sorry to hear. I have lost a good friend in the past and know how you feel. A cremation is about �70 - �80+, but there are extra costs for an urn - or you can supply your own for collection of the ashes - and any plaque etc.

Your vet or maybe the local council can advise if the cremation service is reputable - that they are licensed, will treat the pet with respect and offer an individual service - there are those that ignore your feelings and just take the fee. There is an association of pet cremation services that you can check up on.

The council may have a view on burial - technically the remains are waste (sorry to be blunt) and some councils have directives about home burial, (depth, how close to water courses sort of thing) but it should still be ok if you prefer.

A nice way to remember the scattering is to sow wild flower seeds in the area and this will perhaps give comfort for the future as you will always see the blooms. Take care and thoughts are with you.

[wolf63]

My monster of a pusscat died last week, so I know how you must be feeling.

My thoughts are with you at this time. I hope that you can bury the ashes somewhere that reminds you of your friend. With my last dog that would have been two inches from the front of an open fridge, if not actually in the fridge.

Susan

[gessoo]

I can't add to the excellent advice given, but just wanted to send my thoughts are with you. x

[jaq1964]

I'm sorry to hear of your loyal friend. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

I had to have my dear dog put o sleep two weeks ago so the subject is still very raw for me.

He was a rough collie, so was classed as a large dog. It cost us �66.00 to have him cremated. It would have cost us more if we had his ashes put in a casket. We decided that we are going to scatter his ashes, so they were put in a scatter box.

We have an animal sanctuary near us who perform the cremations. If we wanted him to be cremated with other animals it wouldn't have cost us, but private cremations start from about �5.00 depending on the size of the amnimal.

Best wishes. Thinking of you.

Jacqui

[doggylady]

Hi DH - I too had to have my little friend put to sleep 11 weeks ago and so I know what you are going through - my thoughts are very much with you. I had Lucy cremated at a crematorium recommended by my vet. I chose to have her cremated individually and the cost of this was �158 (in a scatter box) which by the sounds of it was probably quite expensive. Lucy's mother passed away 5 years ago and we chose to bury her in our garden which I did in the lawn and then replanted with grass and put crocus bulbs in it and a little cocker spaniel ornament to mark the spot. I will eventually bury Lucy's ashes in this spot (but cannot bear to do it at present) so that she is with her mum. I will then add some snowdrop bulbs to the area as well. Hope this helps you. I have now got a little cocker puppy who seems to like laying on this area! I call it the dogs' place! Sentimental but there you go, we need to do these things.

[blue eyes ;)]

we buried our dog in our garden,she was very old and its so sad to lose a pet.you could bury her rather than cremate her and bury her with her favorite blanket and toys like we did x

[Fitzer]

Sorry to hear of your loss, if as you say you have a large garden and you aren't near where water for public use is extracted then I would certainly consider burying her in your garden. Whichever solution you end up with I wish you peace; why do we bother, 15 years of joy and then all they cause is sorrow ;-(

[lankeela]

I have always had my dogs cremated (moved house too many times to bury them in the garden!). I have never had the ashes collected, I had said goodbye to them before they were put to sleep and I do not believe in any sort of 'afterlife' although I know many people who take comfort in having their pets' ashes returned. Mine have always been done with other pets at a large pet creamtorium that my vet uses and although this is my way of doing things I understand perfectly if you want to have yours returned.

Must just say though, every time I drive past the place it brings back memories of all those who have gone there, and I do shed a tear for them.

[DirtyHabit]

Thank you all for your kind words and advice. DH.

[jo90]

So sorry to hear of your loss. My faithful friend died last year and I can still weep buckets. My last but one dog was always cocking his leg on everything, so when we had him cremated we bought a big half barrel planter, put his ashes in it and planted a small tree in it. It was called a Weeping Pea (appropriatley we thought!) and every spring these lovely yellow flowers appear and we say a little prayer for him. We did the same thing for our last dog but with a different plant. At least this way if we ever move with can take them with us.
Chin up and remember all the good times.