Hi there.
I'm doing some research on whether or not companion animal/pet owners generally mark the death of their pet with some kind of ritual? I would be interested to hear what you did?
Did you have your own private ritual? If so, why? Did it help?
Did you bury/cremate - if so why?
Would it have helped to have had some type of formal religious ceremony that would have been available (in a similar way to a human funeral) provided by a member of the clergy?
Do you believe animals go to heaven?
If so, what makes you think that? I appreicate it may be difficult to complete some of these questions, but I would still be interested in hearing your thoughts.
Thanks.

I have Shadows ashes, he passed in Feb this year. I intend to scatter them at his favourite place which was the sea side, but I am not ready to do this just yet so at present he sits on a table in his corner where his bed was.

When George died we buried him down the garden but this was a mammoth task because he was a gsd. The chap from Elsyan fields who came to fetch Shadow said that it was no longer legal to bury an animal in the garden.

I would not particularly want a service or anything, just a get together of family is what happened with us, looking and crying over old photos and telling stories of the dogs life. Normally accompanied by a lot of whisky! Bit like a normal funeral gathering really.

I do believe animals go onto a better place and know I will have a reunion with them one day, and it will be great!

Hi there.
I'm doing some research on whether or not companion animal/pet owners generally mark the death of their pet with some kind of ritual? I would be interested to hear what you did?
Did you have your own private ritual? If so, why? Did it help?
Did you bury/cremate - if so why?
Would it have helped to have had some type of formal religious ceremony that would have been available (in a similar way to a human funeral) provided by a member of the clergy?
Do you believe animals go to heaven?
If so, what makes you think that? I appreicate it may be difficult to complete some of these questions, but I would still be interested in hearing your thoughts.
Thanks.

Anyone care to compose a rite for the disposal of a stick insect? A requiem for a goldfish? Funeral mass for a headlouse?

<grin>

I don't believe in an afterlife and don't generally have any sort of ritual to mark the passing of any of my animals, apart from possibly toasting to their life as I did with Merlin.

I really don't like traditional funerals anyway (to the point that I don't plan on having a funeral at all for myself) and would much rather have a humanist life celebration if having anything.

The chap from Elsyan fields who came to fetch Shadow said that it was no longer legal to bury an animal in the garden.

I did not know this?? I have 2 cats, a hamster, my dads canary and a huge french lop all buried in my garden! I've never lost anything bigger than that, but my husband and i have both said that when Blade the GSD's time comes, we would want him in our garden (although i appreciate the hard work that would take)

I did not know this?? I have 2 cats, a hamster, my dads canary and a huge french lop all buried in my garden! I've never lost anything bigger than that, but my husband and i have both said that when Blade the GSD's time comes, we would want him in our garden (although i appreciate the hard work that would take)

I didn't know this was the case with small animals but it certainly is with large animals now. You have to have proof of disposal and can no longer bury them. This has been bought in to reduce disease spread and avoid any drugs that the animal may have been administrated entering the food chain.I'm not sure what the rule is with small animals or how it would be policed though.

Well most of our cats, a couple of gerbils, a cockatiel and several stick insects are all buried in our garden but now it's mainly hard surfaced, I dunno what I'll do. When they passed on, I buried them wrapped in a cotton towel and sprinkled flower heads on them before covering over with soil. Then I lit a tea light and let it glow til it burned out. On the anniversary of my cats' deaths, I light another tea light in the place where that cat is buried. I'm not religious.

It's going to be hard to come to terms with it when the dobermutt goes over the rainbow bridge, which I hope won't be for many years yet, but we wont be able to bury her in the yard. What we may do is sprinkle her ashes at Padley Gorge and at the seaside, because those are the places she has always had the most fun

Adolf the cat is at the top of our garden and the fish Wanda and Nemo are wherever the toilet flush goes to :blush: but I'd like to have these cats cremated when their time comes (they're my mum's so can't say) and I intend to have the dogs cremated...

As to what do with the ashes I'm not sure but I just know I won't be living here for the rest of my life and the chances are my mum won't be so I don't want them buried in the garden having to leave them behind when I go.

I'd like to be able to scatter them but really not sure atm, Eddy's a velcro dog that likes to be near you all the time so it seems wrong to scatter his ashes whereas Takara's a completely free spirit (although she does like to be around us) and it seems only right to scatter her ashes but I don't want to!

I don't think I really believe in an afterlife tbh, I used to and I still 'like the idea' of rainbow bridge, it's very comforting but I'm not really sure what I believe now.

I wouldn't want a ceremony particularly, I've never really been like that - I'd just like to make sure I'm able to look over their lives and smile at some point. (Although right now, they're destroying something downstairs so it won't be all smiles!!)

thanks for these - keep them coming.....

The only pet I have buried in my garden is my rabbit Clover, most of mine I say my goodbyes to at the vets :sad:
I never bring them back or their ashes, although I wish I had done now with a couple of them so that I could have sprinkled them in places they loved to be.
I usually light a candle, say a few words and let them go with the smoke (yes ok I'm mad) and think about the pet for a while, have a cry... or in my case a fortnights worth of crying.
I also plan to have a special part of the garden as a memorial area to my lost pets with a plant for each and a seat to sit on in the summer, a quiet place just to sit and think of my long lost friends and feel close to them for a while.

We have only had one pet (a yorkie) die so far, and when she died we had her cremated, and took her ashes to scatter at her favourite spot in the country. I have the odd picture around the house of her, but I personally found that making a cross stitch picture of her comforting.