If you own a pet or have ever owned a pet you will understand this post better than those who have never had a pet.
I started my Monday off by making funeral arrangements for Ms. Tunie. She is being taken care of by Best Friends here in Albuquerque. Best Friends is a pet crematory owned by French Mortuary. When your animal companion passes on you call Best Friends 24/7 and they will come and pick up your pet or you can take them yourself to the cemetery. Since Tunie was so tiny I took her over myself.
When we were younger and our pets passed away we just buried them in the backyard, in fact my parents literally have a “Pet Cemetery” in their backyard. We buried everything dogs, cats, hamsters, birds, rabbits, chickens, and a flying squirrel. But in today’s society our pets are considered a family member. Especially to me since they are the only living things I have in my house. These are like my furry little children. Burying her in the yard or worse tossing her in the trash just was not an acceptable option. In my opinion she deserved to be honored just as much as any other family member who passed away.
So I got to Best Friends and handed her over in her little basket wrapped up in a little pink blanket. Then the decisions start, luckily there are not many decisions to make. There are 3 options for cremating a pet. 1) Cremating them by themselves. This means that they are the only animal in the crematory at the time. The remains are then returned to you in an urn. 2) Segregated cremation. They are put into their own ceramic bin and cremated with other animals. The remains are kept separate and are then returned to you in an urn. 3) Group cremation. Several animals are cremated at one time, the remains are grouped together, and the mortuary scatters the ashes.
Since I could not see them wasting the energy it would take to cremate her alone I opted for the segregated cremation. Once that is done you then choose the urn. I had already done this over the weekend at my location. I picked a very simple but pretty white marble urn for Tunie. I wanted something that was understated but personal to me. It will take about 2-3 days for everything to be finalized and she will be returned to me.
The funny thing is while you are making these decisions and seeing the cost that is incurred you find yourself saying “Am I really doing this?” “Am I really arranging a funeral for a hamster?” For me the answer was “Yes, I am!” The other thing I found interesting was I watch families make arrangements all the time; I greet them at their worst. I listen to them talk about their loved ones and more times than not I regret that I did not get to meet this person when they were alive. All of this I can handle with peace and decorum. But, when it was my hamster it was totally different. I cried for 2 days straight, even at work. And, if you know me you know I do not cry in front of anyone. So for me to break down in public is just unheard of. But, she was my family, she was in my care and this was the last thing I could do for her. So when I get my little hamster back in her urn I will place her where I can see her everyday. I want to remember what a great soul she was and also remember that she was given to me in order for me to learn how to forgive. Since I was not able to figure it out while she was alive I will continue the lessons.
I do promise not to make everyone attend a memorial service for her. I did think about it for a second or two but decided that was just asking too much of my friends and family. So you can sign with relief now.
Posted by
Cynthia