Dog / Pet Passed Away - Services Available

Ricketytruck on 31/07/2022 - 17:01

I’m wondering if you could tell me about the services you used when a pet passed away. For context our dog passed away and we are devastated. The vet has handed us a brochure of the options such as cremation, urn packages etc. I think it’s the biggest load of bs that this brochure has zero brand name, and no pricing so I can’t look for reviews, decide what fits our budget and it makes an already average situation more stressful for me. I have found a website that I think is the one the vet uses and it’s on the other side of the country.

Anyway wondering what experience you might have if you’re comfortable talking about it.

Pets

Comments

  • Muzeeb on 31/07/2022 - 17:04
    +18

    Sorry for your loss.

    If you own your home just bring the pet home and bury them.

    • dust on 31/07/2022 - 17:07
      +11

      I've had friends who have buried pets at the base of plants/a tree so that their decomposing bodies can provide nutrients for the plant/tree that will live on as a way to remember them.

      • Muzeeb on 31/07/2022 - 17:25
        +13

        That's what we do. The tree is booming with 3 dogs, 2 cats, a rabbit, a kookaburra, a tawny frogmouth and a magpie (the last 3 were just regular wildlife birds that we found dead on our block over the years)

        • AlienC on 02/08/2022 - 17:02

          Officer we found the notorious pet sleeper.

  • GordonR on 31/07/2022 - 17:07
    +4

    Guinea pig #1 - shoe box, hold “funeral”, bury deep in garden, plant commemorative flower above

    (Note, technically against council regulations to bury animals)

    Guinea pig #6 - hand over to vet for disposal (free service provided by our vet)

  • Gronk on 31/07/2022 - 17:19
    +1

    Sorry to hear, we were in the same boat with our 15yo cat a few weeks back and we ended up going with a company named Eden Hills for the cremation and memorial, they're based in Scoresby.

    Took about a week to turn everything around but when the time comes they'll deliver everything to your door.

  • Heaps for Cheaps on 31/07/2022 - 17:23

    I checked your location and found you are in Victoria. Googling shows a few links to cremation services.

    You can go direct with Bethganie for instance. You don't have to get their urn, and can cremate into a temporary receptacle until you find something suitable…

  • AustriaBargain on 31/07/2022 - 17:32
    +1

    When my last cat died the vet had a small fee for disposal of the body, and it included a small urn with a candle holder. I think the vet does this to keep you loyal to them because pet owners are always going to buy more pets when they die and a lifetime of vet fees is worth a king's ransom.

    • Ricketytruck on 31/07/2022 - 17:43

      We asked and a basic cremation package for ours is $380 which seems like a lot. They do disposal cremation for $90 but you don’t get the ashes and it’s a group cremation. Your vet sounds lovely but you raise a good point. Ours didn’t charge us for the paw print they did.

  • try2bhelpful on 31/07/2022 - 17:47
    +8

    If we have to get a vet to put down one of our animals we ask the vet to dispose of the remains. Everything that was our pet has gone when they died. Rather than spend money on the dead we prefer to save our money to spend on the next animal we get. My view is we owe our pets a good life and a good death. Once they have gone you can’t do anything more for them. Make your own commemorative headstone and plant a bush in their memory. It tears us apart every time we’ve had to make the decision but, when we are ready, we adopt another animal we can love and look after.

    My condolences. It really is a loss you feel keenly.

    • Ricketytruck on 31/07/2022 - 17:57
      +1

      Yeah it’s a good point. I should have mentioned we also have small children which means we’d ideally do something that would make sense to them too, whatever that is

      • try2bhelpful on 31/07/2022 - 21:44
        +2

        I would get them involved in making the memorial. What do they want to remember about the cat? Get them help pick out the bush and help tend it.

        The man and I have been together 40 plus years and we are currently custodians to cats number 6 and 7. It hurts like hell every time we have to put one down but the joy we get from owning them is worth the pain of losing them.

        Don’t let the pain you feel now stop you getting a new kitty, sometime.

      • [Deactivated] on 31/07/2022 - 23:32
        +2

        For kids I would ask them to draw a picture of them with their pet, depending on their age I'd ask them what their favourite memories of them were and write them down with the picture (or get them to write it if they're old enough). For kids too small to draw/write you could print and stick a picture of them with their pet in the middle of the page and have them decorate around it. It just focuses their attention on remembering the pet and will provide them (and you) a nice keepsake in memory of your beloved dog.

        When our cat passes away we plan to take the cheaper option for disposal of her body with the vet and spend the money that we would have spent on a cremation on taking a big box full of cat food and litter to our local rescue centre, where we adopted her from, as a gift to them in memory of her.

    • suzley on 01/08/2022 - 11:05

      That's true, but I think they are then disposed of as medical waste which does not sit right with me. It is an individual decision.

      • try2bhelpful on 01/08/2022 - 12:23

        I tend to go the other way. I wish I could be disposed of as medical waste. Hold a memorial wake, by all means, but nobody needs to be in close proximity to my dead body during it.

    • SF3 on 31/07/2022 - 23:57

      ^what a foot-in-mouth comment…

  • c64 on 31/07/2022 - 18:27
    +1

    dig a hole in back yard sounds cheapest to me

    • AdosHouse on 31/07/2022 - 20:41

      Not if your property is sitting on hard ground/clay. Physio bills are a killer.

  • Belv on 31/07/2022 - 18:30
    +1

    Get a shovel and dig a hole …..

  • Benoffie on 31/07/2022 - 18:49
    +3

    In SA there's limited cremation services for pets. Large majority of animals are sent to either RSPCA or AWL from vets anyway. Contact them directly and avoid any temptation to donate extra.

    Just for price comparison

    https://awl.org.au/cremations-options-and-prices

    • Ricketytruck on 31/07/2022 - 19:28

      That’s helpful to see thank you

  • morse on 31/07/2022 - 19:17

    So sorry for your loss. We used https://www.petangel.com.au but I don’t remember what it cost
    I still miss my doggo 9 months on. All things death related are expensive.

    • HelpMeiCantSee on 01/08/2022 - 10:25
      +1

      This is the thing, sure it can be expensive, but you don’t remember the price, you remember the pet. I’m all for memorial stuff

    • Heaps for Cheaps on 31/07/2022 - 19:31
      +3

      Why, do you want to put yourself in it with the other garbage.

      • Pcosmic on 31/07/2022 - 19:32

        No, for the useless brochure

  • newbo on 31/07/2022 - 19:51
    +2

    Here the vet will outsource it to the local Animal Welfare League. They generally get a different rate so it might be the same price/cheaper/more expensive.
    You can pick up the pet and bring it to the local AWL yourself.
    There's two type of cremations done, group cremation and private cremation.
    The size/weight of the animal can influence the cost.
    We've purchased a large urn from the AWL when doing it and when another pet has passed, we send the urn in also and they bag and place the ashes of the recently passed pet into the urn.
    It isn't physically difficult to move the bag of ashes from their plastic container to the urn, but it can make it a bit easier if you aren't ready to handle the ashes yourself.

    • mudvin on 31/07/2022 - 21:35
      +3

      Go and play with your iphone, clearly you have never loved an animal

      • terrys on 01/08/2022 - 08:14

        I remember when we held a tangi for a dear friend. There had been a large storm, and we had enough driftwood for the hangi fire to cremate a cow.

        He was Viking stock.

        I'd happily discuss whether or not we were showing respect when the inevitable suggestion was made.

        There's a lot of insight people are giving here when they are attributing the motives they would have when parsing other peoples' textual statements.

        Back to the topic - My dog is memorialised with a passion vine, whereas the cat offered the best possible start to grapes.

  • USER DC on 31/07/2022 - 22:45

    sorry for your loss,

    But it reminded me of this

  • SydStrand on 31/07/2022 - 23:41

    I think it’s the biggest load of bs that this brochure has zero brand name, and no pricing so I can’t look for reviews, decide what fits our budget and it makes an already average situation more stressful for me.

    You know, you're allowed to just ask. If you really want to organise this yourself, just google Pet Cremations + your city. Most can do private pick ups (for a fee). Unless you also have freezer space, you better get on this ASAP or ask your vet to hold onto the body.

    • Ricketytruck on 01/08/2022 - 08:06

      Yes the vet has the body now. I did want to just ask but their hours on the weekend are limited and I ideally wanted to do it when I could find a moment away from the kids.

  • tallkid123 on 01/08/2022 - 08:06
    +3

    My 14 year old dog died on the vet operating table a month ago.

    I then immediately paid $400 to get him cremated and his ashes placed inside a cute little urn next to my in-laws front door.

    In my case, my dog died suddenly and $400 to me was not enough to go looking around for bargains or a discount elsewhere.

  • 82norm on 01/08/2022 - 08:10
    +1

    Sorry for your loss. It boils down to how much you want to spend. You could pay a kings ransom and get some ashes back that could come from a wood fire heater….how would you know? Everything needs to be put into perspective. Money spent could be towards a new pet. If you have a backyard and don’t mind burying in the yard, that’s your best option. We did that with our cat earlier this year and when I’m around that corner of the yard a quick hello, a few words….unfortunately he doesn’t reply 😂.

    • terrys on 01/08/2022 - 08:18
      +3

      When my dog died, I covered the grave for the first week with the towel the vet gave me to carry her home - they had offered a disposal service as part of the $120 euthanasia fee.

      The cat slept there for that week, even through light rain, only coming in to feed and offer me a little comfort.

  • ShannonN on 01/08/2022 - 08:54
    +2

    Losing a pet is always stressfull esp. with kids. It seems to be a cash grab nowadays all these funerals for animals and pet cemetaries. We always buried our pets in the yard, if wanted made our own services and planted a tree. Why is there a need to HAVE to go with some organised cemetary service or cremation? There is no legal reason as ther would be with a human death etc.

    Depending on the age of the kids it maybe very traumatising for them having all the "organised" proffesional services.

    Get the kids to make a wooden cross, pick a small tree that is hardy and wont die from lack of water, care etc. and hold your own little servie. its more personal, cost effective and its in your own backyard so close to vist "grave" for the kids

  • 2esc on 01/08/2022 - 09:27
    +1

    If you bury on your property make sure you bury deep.
    As the property I bought had multiple graves that we found when gardening. My mum lives out of town when her dog died he was buried in his favorite spot in the garden and buried deep as we didn't want a wild dog digging him up then we put a large rock 3ft diameter as a memorial.

  • HelpMeiCantSee on 01/08/2022 - 10:29
    +1

    Oh man, I am so so sorry. Our pets are so part of our family, even more so with children. Take your time and grieve them as you see fit.

    Personally, I think the money is irrelevant. It’s not cheap, but the way I look at it is that it gives me something special to look at every day and remember them. Love knows no bounds.

  • chichi on 01/08/2022 - 12:36

    We went with FurEver After Pet Cremation as they cremate separately and were reasonably priced. The people who run it are really lovely.

  • Ultimate Gattai on 02/08/2022 - 01:34

    At some point I just started getting my pets cremated as they eventually died, our vet referred us to a good pet crematorium, but I'm in Queensland, and the prices you stated are basically in line with my I paid from my pets for a basic urn/cremation.

  • Ricketytruck on 02/08/2022 - 05:59
    +4

    Thanks everyone. My partner has said he felt strongly that we cremate our dog so we’ve just done the most basic option with the box with ashes. I’ll make a little memorial in a shadow box with the kids.

    • try2bhelpful on 02/08/2022 - 07:01
      +1

      Sounds like a good solution. It is right to grieve the loss of a pet, they are a part of the family unit.

    • Heaps for Cheaps on 02/08/2022 - 12:35
      +1

      That sounds like a lovely memorial.

  • piglet1 on 06/08/2022 - 20:03

    I buried my previous pet but then we moved and regretted it after!! Council digged up the tree we buried her under years later and i'm sure she's gone forever :(

    2 of my pets unfortunately passed this year (one at home and another PTS at the vet), cremated both with Edenhills and it's a bit on the pricey side but really happy with the service as they are both pocket pets - it was around $300 per pet. Also made some memorial glass (https://memorialglass.com.au/) with their ashes.

    So sorry for your loss.

  • dwillia on 09/09/2022 - 18:18

    I have had 4 dogs cremated and they are each in a wooden box with a photo window.
    I did this due to the fact that I rent, I want to take them with me when I move.
    Also in some shires its illegal to bury pets in your garden

    I often walk past them and say hello.I find great comfort in having their final resting place on the mantle

    edit: cost was around $270 so quite reasonable considering they picked up and delivered the ashes - in perth I used Lawnswood

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