The Mahouts in Sri Lanka are about the only people on earth who can truly count on "a friend for life". They start their relationship with their elephant when both are young, and they are expected to stay together for their remaining 50 years. And maybe get a shot at having the same partner in the next life!
For the rest of us, animal friends have a shorter time to share with us. With advances in Medical treatments and Surgical rescues, better Nutrition, plus the more leisured existence most of our pets enjoy, cats, dogs, birds and fish can live to extraordinary ages. The Oldest Cat in the World retired to Brisbane with his owners at 25 years old, and lived till 36!
However, the average life span of a cat is still 13 years, with achievements of 18 - 20 years becoming more common. Still short of the three score and ten we're allotted...
So the issue of the loss of a pet friend is becoming closer to our emotional core, and people are looking for ways to commemorate their relationships with their pets, once the pet has passed on. There are a growing number of services to assist with this, and the following brief outline is to show you some of the options (it is a bit overwhelming right at the time of a loss).
For most people, burying your pet in your backyard is the simplest memorial, and is especially popular with cat owners. There are also different caskets available in many sizes now, from elegant sturdy cardboard to beautiful mahogany, or a simple blanket that the pet adored does just fine. Metal and wooden plaques often mark the grave.
The next most common option is individual cremation, and there is a plethora of services in this area. All of them will collect your pet either from home or from the veterinary surgery, and will return the ashes either to your home or to the vet's again. Many people prefer the latter as it gives them time to prepare themselves for the actual act of collection, as there is strong moment of finality associated, and the vet's has a known and friendly environment. I find people often wait a couple of weeks after the ashes are returned before they come in. The ashes always take 4 - 7 days to be returned.
Definitely. The pet is taken to the crematorium direct, identified by tag and description, placed in a marked container and sent through just like a human cremation. The details are not to everyone's taste, but can be obtained upon enquiry. The ashes can then be returned in a variety of boxes and urns, though most people want a simple version as they like to scatter the ashes or bury them.
There is The Animal Memorial Cemetery out in St. Mary's, which has been going for 50 years. It has beautiful gardens, the pets are buried individually with a variety of commemoratives, and their graves are well-tended. It is a place of great peace and serenity - there are no family feuds buried here... There is an annual maintenance fee for some of the more exotic graves, but no animal has ever been exhumed (even after owners have died, their pet remains at peace). You cannot, however, have your pet or its ashes buried with a human, nor sent out of the country (sadly).
For the owner, there are Bereavement Counselors, with a friendly ear and true understanding of the depth of feeling people now have for their pets - sometimes the cat outlasts three marriages these days! These are professional councilors for those truly in need, ph. 0425 281 424 or www.davidfoote.com.au
Then there are Memorial Donations and Legacies. The thought here is to benefit other pets by funding research or rescue venture. The Cat Protection Society is funded mainly by memorial donations (and each one will have a memorial written in the triannual magazine as acknowledgement) and bequests from wills. The Australian Companion Animal Health Foundation is administered by the Aust. Vet. Assoc. and allocates donated funds to specific research commitments (yes you can say where you want your money to go within reason) for the benefit of companion animals. This project is one of the only sources of funds to research the problems of pets for the pet's sake. Most government and industry money goes to human-related research and any benefits for pets are a bit random. Current research is tackling diabetes, cancer and heart disease in dogs and cats. Sydney Uni Vet Hospital also accepts donations and commemorates them with plaques in their waiting room, while using the money to advance veterinary expertise.
And yes, what happens to the pet left at the clinic for burial? There are now strict rules about pet burial, so they are collected promptly and buried, just with other pets, in a special site in Duffy's Forest. In the end it is the memories that have greater value than gold - can it be perhaps that memories are the bit of spirit left behind?
PLEASE PHONE US AND ASK IF ANY OF THE ABOVE HAS RAISED ANY QUESTIONS. It is an important area, and one which has not been well represented in the past. Truly, "only time can give you an old friend."