Pet Remains

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We care for our pets to the best of our ability. Some pets have a very long lifespan and we need to plan for how our pets will be taken care of if we pass on first. I’ll discuss issues about caring for your pet after you are gone on another page. Especially if you have a pet with a long life span - such as parrots, tortoises, and some reptiles - this is an important aspect of pet care for you - no matter what your age.

If you are rescuing a pet, they may be older. Most dogs and cats live up to 20 years and smaller animals live just a few years. You will have to deal with the heartbreak of losing your pet to disease, accident, or old age. You can do many things to memorialize your pet, which I discuss on my pet memorial page. One thing you can do is make a page on this website to honor your pet. But what do you do with their physical remains?

Photo by Greta Hoffman : https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-working-with-soil-in-garden-7728049/

Many of my pets have been buried in my backyard. Part of my grieving process was digging a hole for them, saying some words about them, saying goodbye, and then covering their body with dirt. 

When burying the remains of your pet you want to be sure that you dig a hole deep enough that your pet’s remains don’t get dug up. The remains can be toxic to any animal that comes near them. A hole four feet deep should be big enough for most pets. Also, be sure that the burial site is not near water so that water fun off won’t be contaminated. You can wrap your pet in a towel or blanket, put them in a cardboard box, or just lay them in the ground but avoid encasing them in plastic.

You can have a lovely burial ceremony for your pet when you bury them. It was important to me that the other pets living in my house see the burial and the body so they understood that their deceased friend won’t be coming back. You can invite people who were meaningful to your pet’s life, or just have a quiet ceremony yourself. You can sing, quote poetry, play music, dance, or do any other gesture to help you say goodbye. You can make a special marker for your pet’s final resting place.

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It’s a sad part of pet ownership when we outlive our pets. There are many ways your can memorialize your pet and honor their existence. You can incorporate some of their physical remains in these memorials. The rest of their remains can be cremated, buried whole, or donated to a vet school. No matter what happens to them physically, your pet will always live on in your heart.

You can read about estate planning for your pet in case you pass on before they do on another page of this website. You can also explore ways to memorialize your pet. IF you would like to write a page on this site just for your pet, fill out the form below.