anyone ever asked for pets ashes ?

marystar

i have heard of this in america , along with pet grave-yards etc .. am i the only person in ireland, that feels strange not knowing whats happened to the body of my dog that had to be put asleep yesterday? ...
he had a seizure at about 15.00 yesterday & seemed to go blind/deaf & not know who anyone was,kept walking into the wall,at 20.20 had another worse,foaming at the mouth and shaking on the floor,& my parents had to rush him to the emergency vets at ucd(who were very good by the way) they came out to the car with a strecher & took him inside straight away,as they were expecting him,calmed him down and put him on a oxygen machine and everything for a few minutes,offering to try & save him,but with cancer &(we think)heart attack & brain hermogehe at the same time,my dad told them to put him asleep.he was drugged up & not in pain,im so glad about.
my dad stayed with him when they were putting him to sleep, but then that was it ...
dad got a bill from vets for euthanaisa & cremation in brackets then (no ashes returned )made me think do some people ask for them or what?
my dad told me he wasnt asked did he want them or not,but the way it was printed on the bill made me wonder,because the price was beside it.would it cost more to have ashes returned & therefore do people do this?
i would have liked to have them,because he seemed to die violently although they said wasnt in pain,would have like to put the ashes,maybe somewhere out of sight in the house where he liked to sit ,its seems more peaceful,then what seemed a violent death and then not knowing what happened to the body ,last time i seen him was when he was rolling on the ground howling ... would like for him to be resting in peace. even if i knew what happens to your pets ashe in ucd emergency animal clinic

Tabitharose

firstly sorry that you lost your dog.

secondly to answer your question, you can either have a mass cremation, where your pet is cremated with others, and not get the ashes back, or you can get your pet cremated on their own, and ask for the ashes back (which is more expensive) I know alot of people who ask for the ashes - you can get them in a small sealed box (we have some here of family pets that are gone)

Alun

I had a similar experience at the UCD Belfield vet clinic with our cat Tigger, who died there back in 2002 just after they'd first opened. We made arrangements with the receptionist for him to be cremated, filled in all the forms etc., didn't hear anything back from them for a week or so, and when I inquired as to what had happened to him, nobody seemed to know, or worse even care, what had been done with the body. It had been a long nerve racking illness for both him and me, and it really pissed me off quite honestly. I'm guessing he was just bundled in anonymously with a load of other pets and carted off somewhere for mass cremation or disposal in some way, but I just don't like to think about it.

marystar

my dog was rushed off yesterday ... ucd knew they were coming, & had people there to take him straight away, so im glad he wasnt hanging around a surgery , that might have happened with a ordinary vet so i was told , even though dog was having heart attact/brain herm .. & im grateful to ucd for being open when every other place in the phone book even the nspca wasnt answering their phones at 20.30.
if he was put in with other pets, then what do they do with the ashes of all the pets ? my dad says he wasnt asked anything about ashes .. my whole family thinks im nuts for even thinking about the ashes , but i would really like to know what happened , becoz the last time i seen my normally really calm/friendly/lovely dog he was not himself at all .. if even i knew they had some kind of graveyard or whatever for any pets that died in their clinic at the place .. so i could maybe go there sometime that would be at least something ..

marystar

i suppose i m too late to get the ashes back now .. he died last night .. prob was cremeted today ( i dont even know ) they have prob disposed of ashes already , nearly rang them today to ask.. i got through but then i hung up because i felt stupid .. & then felt too sick & nervous to ring again ...

Irish-Lass

In my house we have seen a few animals being PTS we got one cat cremated and he is sitting on the shelf in the sitting room in a lovely wooden box with his name on a brass plate and we have a picture of him beside it, if people think its strange when they come in tough its our house and he was our pet. When anything happens to the other members of the animal clan they will also be cremated and come back home.

Attol

We have our dog's ashes in our living room. I wasn't at the vets at the time so not sure about the procedure of getting them back but I'm sure you could try call them just in case to ease your own mind?

Calibos

My Mum brought my Aunts new Shih-Tzu pup(The Sister of the pup in my Thread) to the Vet for a check up the other day. While there she was told that the ashes had arrived from my Aunts previous dog called Sooty(not a bad pun, the dog really was called Sooty!) who was euthanised about 2 months previously.

So mum brought the ashes home with along with the pup. They came in a lovely little carved wooden box with a brass plate with Sooty's name engraved on it. Twas very emotional for my Aunt.

Anyway Marystar, I would give the Vet Hosp. in UCD a ring. Maybe your pet might still be in the Morgue and hasn't been sent of for cremation yet. You could get them to amend the forms to Cremation & and Return of Ashes. You'll probably have to call in with the extra cash though.

Laura~

Hi Marystar, so sorry for your loss. I just called Dublin Animal Emergency Clinic at UCD for you. I explained what happened on Thursday night, that you were not there in person to explain your wishes, and they said that they *MAY* be able to identify the ashes for you. They are all bagged separately. They may not, but they are certainly willing to give it a go if you contact them with information about your pet, before there is a collection. They stores ashes in a safe place while awaiting collection and there are a number of factors in identification (don't want to post too much detail about their procedures) but do not feel silly about calling them ! There is a lovely helpful lady there at the moment. So, if you feel up to it, give them a call.

Laura~

Marystar,

Like you, I too would like to take this opportunity to commend the Dublin Animal Emergency Clinic for the great work that they do. I have had occasion to use the clinic twice over the last few years, with my cat, both times on a Sunday morning. They treated her well and with respect and dignity (very important to a cat, the old dignity). Records promptly sent on to our own vet for follow up.

bex654321

yep you can ask for them!!! its illegal to bury your pets but you can ask for the ashes. the only problem is that most of the time the animals are all done together at the end of a week or day or whatever so you have to remember it might not be all your dog sorry about your dog but it was best in the circumstances... when you put the animal down you have to straight away ask that you recieve the ashes it can't be an afterthought!!!!

marystar

bex654321 wrote:

when you put the animal down you have to straight away ask that you recieve the ashes it can't be an afterthought!!!!

i always said i would like them , even before he died .. i was told it sounded crazy and they would no way ask ... when he died i can see how my dad might have forgot to say at the time .. but i was goin call on friday .. but my family dont like the idea of the ashes in the house anyway ...
i had a weird dream thursday night when he died. i always thought that vets surgery was all white with machines & things everywhere .. i had dream my dog was lying in pain on a silver bed & i could read his mind & he was wondering why everyone had left him .. this made me said & think of getting the ashes .. if dogs have sprits or ghosts or whatever, at least he ll know i came to bring him home.
the freaky thing is when i looked at the virtual tour in ucd animal clinic on their webside (after i had the dream) .. the silver empty room , with one silver table to the left is excatly how it was in my dream .. & not what i thought the clinics looked like before ..
i would like to know what they do with the ashes becoz i dont know if people want them here ,, do they scattered them somewhere or what ?