[Dailydrool] Important question

[Elizabeth via Dailydrool]

When I knew our Jane Basset’s train was getting close to its station, I started looking for a pet crematorium. I called several and found one I liked. It will pick up the bodies from either the animal’s home or its vet’s office. We had to take Jane to an ER to be euthanized. The ER offered to hold onto her body for the crematorium it used, but we wanted her home one last night. They put her body in a plastic trash bag, which I wasn’t happy about. I didn’t want bits of plastic mixed in with her ashes because Jane was definitely not trash. But I was reassured the plastic would evaporate before that happened, and it did.

When our Elsinore died at home with the help of her hospice vet, I chose the same crematorium. I wrapped her body in a blanket and drove it there myself. It was July in Nashville, TN, so time was of the essence. But in the hour between her death and her body’s arrival at the crematorium I didn’t detect any leaking. Both she and Jane had eaten so little in their final days that I’m not sure there really was much of anything in them to do a whole lot of leaking.

I’m one of those who feels better about driving my friend’s body to the crematorium myself and watching it be placed in the oven. It probably goes back to when my dad died and those news reports we hear periodically about human crematoriums doing a less than stellar job with keeping cremains separate. I didn’t get to see my dad's body go into the oven, so sometimes I do wonder if the ashes we got back are really his or somebody’s grandma or a combination of people. It’s not easy watching a furry friend’s body going into an oven, but doing so gives me a little reassurance that the ashes I get back will be theirs. It also helps me with closure. 

When Jane died I was very glad I had done my research ahead of time, discovered what my options were, and made a decision I felt good about before I really did have to make the decision on what to do with her body. I was in no shape after either Jane nor Elsinore’s deaths to make such decisions. I think of it as doing the equivalent of funeral pre-planning for humans.

For those who plan on having their ashes mixed with those of their bassets, be aware that some human cemeteries won’t inter mixed ashes even in hermetically sealed containers. I don’t know why. I think it’s stupid. When we’ve all been burned up, human carbon is indistinguishable from animal carbon, and it’s not as if an animal’s ashes are going to add considerably to the overall volume to be interred. But those are the rules. So it’s good to check it out with your intended cemetery ahead of time. If it’s against that cemetery’s rules and you still want to do it anyway, you’ll need to be surreptitious about it and ask the few who know you’re not being buried alone not refrain from saying anything, especially during the graveside service where employees’ ears will be nearby. 

Elizabeth