[Dailydrool] Cremation at home. Some tips

[fatfencer]

Given that we have been horribly fleeced by medical bills over the past 2
years. We simply couldn't afford to spend another $500-1000 cremating EACH
dog. Nor do we as a family believe in burial. I apologize in advance if you
don't agree with this or find this method offensive for some reason.

My intent isn't that at all, but rather for those on the Drool to find a
cost effective, meaningful way to have a beautiful ceremony for your dog, to
honor him or her as well as can be done by any 'pet mortuary'.. AND you get
your own dog's ashes back, without question.

It's best to dig a hole in the ground about 3'H X 3'W X 2' deep. I have big
bassets!

you will need at minimum 7-8 of those gas station bundles of wood.

Also a gallon of citronella oil. and some of those long, long matches.

In addition its helpful to have a pipe about 4 ft-5 ft long with some holes
drilled equidistantly along its length.

A fireplace log holder.. makes placing the body more dignified.

So what we did is wash the body with soap and water and used herbal
fragrances/antiseptics to help keep the body pristine. Then we wrapped the
body in his favorite clothes and then we dug the hole.

we laid the pipe down the length of the hole and attached a hair dryer to
blow air. This makes the fire burn much hotter. Make sure the flexible
plastic hose is not near the fire. We covered it in clay dirt as that
insulates things from heat just fine.

We laid 6 pieces of wood perpendicular to the pipe and covered them with
citronella. This makes the fire start quickly. On top of this we add the
fireplace log holder or a pine shelf. This holds the body in an
appropriately respectful manner.

Then the body is laid onto the shelf/log holder and carefully immersed in
citronella oil. Be sure to rub some gently on the face, or on the sheet
covering the face. Be liberal with the citronella. You should use at least a
half gallon here. Especially if you wrapped the body as we did.

Begin to place 2 bundles of wood upon the body, spread them out randomly but
cover the body as much as possible.. and then some more.

Take a long match and light thru any hole you can find, the BOTTOM 6 pieces
of wood. As that gets going, light the top, which by now has been liberally
doused with citronella oil. You should have only a 3rd of a gallon
remaining.

Light some candles, play some appropriately sad music, pray, tell each other
stories of what you remember. It'll bring your family closer.

I live in a typical no yard Arizona subdivision on like a 10th of an acre.
because you dig the hole into the ground the fire stays really, really hot,
especially with the hair dryer blowing air in. This alone cuts the time it
takes to cremate in HALF.

Also, because of its low profile, it looks like a regular fire pit fire
would. After the 1st 10 minutes, you can't even tell that this was a
cremation. Just looks like a regular fire pit fire.

It was a tremendous burden lifter to realize I could honor my baby dogs'
life just as well as any paid for service could have.

By the way, I know this works. This isn't some hypothetical rambling. I've
done this prior as a hobbyist blacksmith. With the forced air, the internal
temperature is in excess of 1800 degrees.

Lastly, if you don't do anything but light it and wait, you will have some
relics, some bones that are crumbly to the touch. I don't mind this but some
might. If so, as the fire starts to die down you may wish to only have
ashes. In this case just use a stick to manage the fire towards one corner
of the hole, push everything into it and add additional wood, citronella.

I personally don't mind the relics. When they were younger they liked to
mouth on my arm during play time, like pretend biting. So I have some teeth
and jawbone parts to add to the urns. Again, if you want all ash, just add
more fire at the end.

I really do hope this helps you. It certainly helped me and my family.

PS: When you add citronella to a already flamey bit of coals... you will get
a WHOOOOOSH of fire and a mushroom cloud. A little dab will do ya.
Seriously, like an 1/4 ounce is enough to add to parts of a fire that aren't
burning as you would like it too. Please observe ALL fire safety issues.
Have a fire extinguisher handy or at least a water hose. Don't do this by a
wooden fence. Our house is adobe, Our fence is concrete brick. Our back yard
is pure clay and rocks. I am NOT liable for your use of this, nor am I
suggesting that you must do this in exactly the way described above. You
should do it YOUR WAY and in the safest way possible. You and you alone are
responsible for using the above information that was provided for sole
purpose of education and discourse, e.g. don't sue me if you burn your house
down. If you have never made a bonfire in the past. Consult someone locally
who has. make sure you keep your leftover citronella and wood sources away
from the fire. Please observe all local fire ordinances, etc. yadda yadda.
:-)
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