But…Fluffy was like one of the family

When we bring a family pet into our homes, we make a lifelong commitment to love and care for them. In exchange we enjoy the pleasure of companionship and unconditional love. That’s why so many people find it difficult to say goodbye when a beloved pet dies.
It’s natural to grieve at the loss of a pet, whether you’ve enjoyed one year with them, or ten. But our sense of loss is often interrupted by people who don’t understand the bond that pet lovers share with their animals. “It’s only a cat,” they’ll say. “You can always get another one.” These unthinking, unfeeling comments make the loss and sorrow even more difficult to bear.
When children are involved, the death of a family pet is often their first experience with loss and bereavement. This occurrence, sad as it is, provides parents with an excellent opportunity to begin the difficult process of explaining death to children. How we cope with our grief at this time, and how we plan the final disposition of a pet, can help children understand the experience, and prepare them for inevitable similar situations in the future.
It can take months, or even years, to get over the death of a pet. But there are some very effective, very human ways to cope with this particular sense of loss. Ultimately, it often helps to treat the death of a pet much like the death of a beloved person. After all, many people consider their pets to be members of the family. To the family that experiences this type of loss, a beloved animal still deserves honor, tribute, and a fond farewell. You and your family, by having the pet cremated or interred, can gain much more comfort and closure.
As funeral directors we are quite experienced in helping people cope with loss of every kind, and can explain the many wonderful ways to commemorate and pay tribute to the years of love and devotion our pets give us. For example, the pet can be cremated, or interred in a special pet cemetery. Some large memorial parks even reserve entire sections for pet burial.
If you should choose cremation or burial for your pet, we can help with that service. We have a crematory facility that is reserved for pets only. After the process, the cremated remains can be interred in a pet cemetery or other special place, kept by the family in a beautiful urn or similar container, or scattered in a location that has meaning for you and your family.
The sense of loss we feel upon the death of a pet is very real, and very deep. If the time should ever come, consider healing that loss with pet memorialization. We are here to help you say goodbye