|
Memorial Memorial Services Planning and
Resources
By Karen S Musselman
There is a trend today of planning pet memorial services
after the death of a beloved pet. The service is often
beneficial to children and adults alike, as they've
often lived and played with the animal for years. As
such, our pets often become such a close and meaningful
part of the family that a pet memorial service can be
just as important as a funeral or memorial service for a
human family member or close friend.
There are a couple of ways you can plan pet memorial
services and just as with any memorial service, it may
depend on your budget and your ability to make it
through the planning part. If you're thinking you may
have a difficult time planning a service yourself, you
can either contact a pet funeral home to handle the
preparations, or you can simply have a private service
or ceremony for your pet and ask family or friends to
help with the details.
If you're having your pet cremated, you will need to
contact a pet crematorium or a pet funeral home to
handle those arrangements. If you're simply going to
bury your pet on the grounds of your residence, you
should be able to just handle that yourself, or have a
family member take care of arranging the final resting
place for you.
There is also the option, although it may be quite
costly for some people, to have the pet preserved by a
professional taxidermist who specializes just in pet
preservation. This isn't like the taxidermy done on wild
game like you'd see done with deer or bear. There is a
special process that's required immediately after the
death of the pet in order for the preservation process
to be done effectively.
While some people may not feel comfortable having their
pet visible, looking as though it's just sleeping, many
choose this option as a way to stay close to their pet
after its passing.
If this option is chosen, pet memorial services can
still be conducted either prior to the pet going to the
taxidermist, or after.
Choosing a Pet Funeral Home
Pet funeral homes are becoming more popular today as
more pet owners decide to have memorial services for
their pets and arranging for their final resting places.
As with human funeral homes, arrangements for pet
memorial services that can be handled for you might
include:
Arranging for the pet's cremation or burial
Picking the pet up from its home or vet
Providing a place to hold a memorial service
Preparing the pet for a viewing or visitation prior to
burial
Additional supplies such as pet caskets or cremation
urns
There are some pet funeral homes where the owners and
staff are knowledgeable grief counseling and support and
can offer direction for additional resources after the
burial or pet memorial services. This may be especially
helpful for children or in the case of a pet being more
than just a pet, as in the case of a disabled person
needing to rely on the pet for some daily tasks.
Because the concept and business of pet funeral homes is
still so new, there may not be one where you live and
you may need to plan your own memorial service instead.
If this is the case, here are some ideas to help your or
a family member take care of the arrangements.
Decide if the pet is going to be cremated or buried
Purchase the pet casket or cremation urn
Decide on a day and time for the pet memorial service
The location of the service can be indoors or outside,
depending on the time of year and the weather
Set up the viewing area with a table to set the casket
or urn on, some photos of the pet and its favorite toys
Have pet memorial bookmarks at the viewing or service
area for friends and family to take with them
Once the area is set up for the memorial, your family
and friends can either stand or sit and read some
special poems or verses, offer some fun stories or
experiences they had with the pet.
Remember, pets are so often a big part of the family, so
it is normal to grieve when they've passed on. And
having pet memorial services often allows people the
opportunity to grieve and remember the fun they had with
their pets and a final opportunity to celebrate the
pet's life.
About the Author: Karen S Musselman owns All Occasion
Custom Laminated Bookmarks, and designs pet memorial
bookmarks as well as bookmarks for funerals and other
memorial services. She also designs custom laminated
bookmarks for weddings, baby showers, graduation parties
and many other bookmarks for a variety of events or
occasions. |
