Tradition and Choices

After being in the pet memorials business for over seven years now, I've found that there is a very distinct difference amongst pet owners - those that would never cremate and ones that would never have a burial - and almost never anyone on the fence between the two. Maybe those that bury were brought up strict Catholic, not sure. Up here in New England, where there is still a strong traditional Catholic population, there are still a significant amount of human burials versus cremations. And out in the western part of the country, it’s the opposite where there is a growing trend in cremations. People will tend to follow the same traditions as their family when it comes to caring for their pets. And that has proven true as a majority of pet casket orders have been for the east coast and mid-west Bible belt areas versus strong pet urn sales out west.

But there is one constant amongst the pet owners I’ve spoken to, they're all devastated by the loss of their pet. Regardless if the passing was expected or sudden, no difference – the pain is the same. We listen and we help them memorialize their pet however they would like. But more importantly, we understand - we have buried 2 beloved cats and cremated a sorely missed dog. Just about 2 yrs ago, we lost our beloved Choc Lab, Bailey - I'm still not over it. I sell pet urns and still can't bear to pick one out for her. Maybe someday…

We have a new dog, a 2 yr old black lab Mandie. My wife “adopted” her from a rescue group in Indiana. She was living on the street and needed a home. I was resistant to having another dog after we lost Bailey and I’m still having trouble accepting her. Again, maybe someday..