When a pet dies?

Orla K

I'm reading through national geographic and there's a part about animal mummies. It's got me thinking what do you do when your pet dies? I haven't had a pet in years, I suppose these two are my first pets rather than family pets and then my father did something with the animals, I can only remember a few ones got burried in my uncles but I think that stopped his dog might have dug them up.

(none of the cats are that sick, I'm just wondering what people do or do you even think about it before it happens?

lrushe

My last dog died 3 years ago and she was cremated. She sits in a mahogany box on the fireplace. I've had many dogs in my life and loved them all dearly but she was one of those 'once in a lifetime' dogs!!!

Acoshla

My family has had 3 cats, they are all buried in our garden, two under a little stone bench that has a few feet of walled in earth under it and another a few feet away. My mom stencilled a silhouette of a cat onto the wall under the bench as a sort of "headstone" when the first cat was buried there.

I haven't been able to bring myself to go out to it since our last cat died nearly two years ago, I was abroad when she died and still feel like I let her down not being there as she suffered a very slow and very painful death

robbie_998

i couldnt bring myself to cremate an animal or person for that matter.

there really should be some kind of pet cemetery like what they do with people.

i dont think i could ever bury a pet in the garden... knowing their there wouldnt freak me out but would make me sad.

Magenta

I don't want my parents to sell their house because we have so many beloved pets buried in the garden. I'd be afraid someone would dig them up by accident.

I know this probably sounds crazy, but that's the house I grew up in.

liah

We buried my first dog in our backyard under an apple tree. The second one who died (not our second dog), we had cremated.. she sits by the kitchen window on a shelf now.

Miss her.

lorebringer

robbie_998 wrote: »

there really should be some kind of pet cemetery like what they do with people

There is a pet cemetery in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle Park - I think it is people buried with their pets. Not too sure if it is still in use but it's nice to go around and read the headstones.

Magenta wrote: »

I don't want my parents to sell their house because we have so many beloved pets buried in the garden. I'd be afraid someone would dig them up by accident.

I know this probably sounds crazy, but that's the house I grew up in.

Totally understand - my parents have lived in the same house for my entire life, myself and my siblings were raised there along with all of our pets. It would be too weird if they moved.


We cremated all of our pets when I was young (except for the masses of goldfish that went down the toilet) and they have been scattered in my parents back garden. There has been a odd cat or two buried there too, I would have been very young and only have fuzzy memories of these. Would still go down the cremation route if one of my current pets died (replacing the parents back garden with my own).

gypsygirl

lrushe wrote: »

I've had many dogs in my life and loved them all dearly but she was one of those 'once in a lifetime' dogs!!!

I too love all my dogs but I've had a few "Once in a lifetime dogs" Tzar was a little Collie/terrier, he died about 15 yrs ago aged 5, he was a really smart and funny dog. Isis my rottwieller/doberman, gone 9 yrs now, died age 13, amazing dog, still get tearful when I think about her. Now I'm really lucky to have two "once in a lifetime dogs" at the same time, Molly is a 12 yr old Shepherd/Doberman, super smart, getting old but still definitly Top Dog, and Ella, 7 month old rottie, not too smart, quite destructive but soooo loveable.:D:D

GalwayKiefer

lrushe and liah, where did you get them cremated if you don't mind me asking?

Out family dog died a few years ago and we buried her in the back garden under the trees. Some sort of animal (country area) made an attempt to dig her up so we put fencing around her grave and mesh over it so that nothing could get to her.

Howitzer

It's possible to have the ashes of a pet crushed into a man-made diamond...
http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/beloved_pets_main2006.aspx (one of many that offer this i'm sure)

Sounds like a nice idea - a constant memorial to keep close with you.

YOURFACE!

Magenta wrote: »

I don't want my parents to sell their house because we have so many beloved pets buried in the garden. I'd be afraid someone would dig them up by accident.

I know this probably sounds crazy, but that's the house I grew up in.

I know! when we were moving from our old house to the one my parents live in now, I was devastated about leaving the cats we had buried there behind. I was only little and I cried for days, it still makes me sad when I think about it.

When my last cat Ginger died about 4 years ago, I had her cremated. She now sits in her spot on the mantle piece in a beautiful mahogany box beside our last dog Bessie who has an incredibly ornate ern my mum insisted on getting for her. I know they are safe there. All of our other beloved cats are buried in the garden and each have a tree named after them.

Will probably do the same thing for the two dogs we have now...but they are only 9 months and 1.5 years so I'm not going to think about it for too long!

getz

there are a lot of pet cemeteries in the UK,three of my dogs are buried in them,when my sister inlaws dog died she loved it so much she had it put in a urn and it was kept on her mantle piece,when she died,the undertakers,and grave diggers turned a blind eye,so the brother inlaw could place the urn with her in her grave,

metaoblivia

I try not to think about that because hopefully it's a few years away. But I'd like to bury her in the backyard of my mother's home because she seems to like that area whenever we go visit.

There used to be a pet cemetery right behind our family home. There were headstones and even a few mini mausoleums. All kinds of pets were buried there: dogs, cats, fish, birds, horses, pigs, rodents of all kinds. When we were younger we used to go exploring there. It's since been abandoned for a few years and everything is overgrown. It's kind of creepy but very interesting.

I actually remember a thread like this a few years back on an African Grey Forum . Somebody was told that when their African Grey dies , they have to eat it.

So they posted on the forum to see if it was true. Problem was , this was so outlandish that people kept the facade going and told them it was true. It lasted a few weeks and other people actually got caught up in it and even caused some arguments .

With regards to my pets, if they die, they are gone and all i need is the memory .

granturismo

lorebringer wrote: »

There is a pet cemetery in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle Park - I think it is people buried with their pets. Not too sure if it is still in use but it's nice to go around and read the headstones.

It was used by the Earls of Ormonde for some of their pets. They moved out in the 1930s and hasnt been used since. Posh per cemetery but yes it is a nice spot.

spurious

Deleted User wrote: »

With regards to my pets, if they die, they are gone and all i need is the memory .

That's how I looked at it with my little bloke - when he was gone, he was gone.
After 18 years, I didn't need ashes or a grave or similar.
Mind you, little did I know his hairs would hang around the house for months, bless him.

Clare Bear

We have a little patch of field behind our house with a little gate going in to it, that's where all of our dogs are buried. That sounds bad that there's quite a few but my parents have always had at least 3 dogs at a time since they got married nearly 40 years ago. My father started it 50 years ago when he lost his first dog when he was a teenager. It probably sounds morbid but it's a lovely garden, there's trees all around it and a tree where each dog is buried and a garden seat. It's a very comforting place to go and sit and it's nice that we could dedicate something like that to them.

lrushe

GalKiefer wrote: »

lrushe and liah, where did you get them cremated if you don't mind me asking?

Out family dog died a few years ago and we buried her in the back garden under the trees. Some sort of animal (country area) made an attempt to dig her up so we put fencing around her grave and mesh over it so that nothing could get to her.

We got Daisy cremated in Brayvet Animal Hospital in Bray, its weird because I've buried many pets but having Daisy cremated feels like she's still always around!

liah

GalKiefer wrote: »

lrushe and liah, where did you get them cremated if you don't mind me asking?

Out family dog died a few years ago and we buried her in the back garden under the trees. Some sort of animal (country area) made an attempt to dig her up so we put fencing around her grave and mesh over it so that nothing could get to her.

Sorry, I can't be of much help-- this was back in Canada.

convert

lorebringer wrote: »

(except for the masses of goldfish that went down the toilet)

I actually buried my goldfish in the garden when it died... I didn't like the whole idea of flushing it down the toilet.

All the dogs have been buried in the garden beside one another, except for the one who chose a specific spot to die in the garden, so we buried her there.

Macroom Man

lrushe wrote: »

My last dog died 3 years ago and she was cremated. She sits in a mahogany box on the fireplace. I've had many dogs in my life and loved them all dearly but she was one of those 'once in a lifetime' dogs!!!

Me too.
I hope when one of us goes that the ashes will be placed in the coffin and "our baby" will be always be with us.

Dee_animallover

Clare Bear wrote: »

We have a little patch of field behind our house with a little gate going in to it, that's where all of our dogs are buried. That sounds bad that there's quite a few but my parents have always had at least 3 dogs at a time since they got married nearly 40 years ago. My father started it 50 years ago when he lost his first dog when he was a teenager. It probably sounds morbid but it's a lovely garden, there's trees all around it and a tree where each dog is buried and a garden seat. It's a very comforting place to go and sit and it's nice that we could dedicate something like that to them.

God we were the same! There must be 50 cats and dogs buried in ours - we always had a least 2 dogs at a time and lots of cats. Last one buried was a stray cat that I had taken in but unfortuantly got killed on the road only about 2 months later.

I have since moved to my own house and will start my own little pet cemetary when the time comes (hopefully not for a long while ) . I think its lovely as our pets ARE part of our family without a doubt.