[Dailydrool] Cremains--hounds mixed with humans

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

I too have left instructions with my nearest and dearest to mix our  
departed hounds' ashes with mine when I go, though who knows if  
they'll actually do it because some of my nearest and dearest are  
recalcitrant and contrary. We did that some time ago for someone who  
died, and it gives the rest of us comfort to know that our dearly  
departed is with that person's dogs both above and below.

Note that I haven't identified who died or even that person's gender.  
The reason is that many cemeteries don't allow the internment of non- 
human ashes, even when mixed with those of a human. If the cemetery  
found out what it had buried on its grounds, that person and the dogs  
would be disinterred and the family asked to take everyone's ashes  
back. So we all have to be quiet about it.

I find this very stupid because no matter whose ashes they are, hound  
or human, they're all equally biodegradable and nontoxic, for crying  
out loud. And it's not like the mixed ashes of two different species  
are going to even get a chance to do any biodegrading because they're  
sealed up tight in a leak-proof, nonbiodegradable container.

But stupid or not, cemeteries have their rules and their rights to  
disinter those who don't follow their rules. So those of us who want  
our ashes to be mixed and buried with those of our hounds should  
check that the cemetery of our choice will permit such a thing. If  
the cemetery doesn't, then word must go out to everyone to not  
breathe a word about exactly who's being buried in Auntie Faye's  
plot. It's definitely not something to talk about on the day of the  
internment, or you could be having not quite the funeral service  
you'd planned.

Elizabeth