Pet Memorials and Pet Burial Laws

Early advocates of animal welfare believed in public education as a useful tool for training children to be kind to animals. By the 1840s, Sunday schools sometimes taught lessons promoting kindness to animals and by the 1880s, the American Humane Education Association and other groups recommended organized classes for adults and children and promoted community events with pets. The oldest operating pet cemetery in the United States, known as the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in New York, was established in 1896. Of the thousands of pets that die each day, less than 200 are buried in pet cemeteries. Many people simply place the cremains of their beloved pets in special pet memorials such as unique pet urns, or even special dog urns or cat urns.

Today, over sixty per cent of American households have pets. We spend an estimated $34 billion dollars each year through the pet industry, including services, goods, and the animals themselves.

Pet lovers know – there's no decision more difficult than euthanasia. However, often times this is the right choice for a pet. Today's humane procedures offered at modern veterinary clinics have advantages over prolonged suffering due to the illness of a pet. Whether it's a natural death, an accident or illness, when that day comes, people need to be prepared. Local or county ordinances determine whether or not a pet can be buried on someone's property at home. These laws were set up due to due to the health hazards caused by other animals trying to dig up pet remains.

With more than 600 active pet cemeteries in the United States, some of them operate on a full time basis and are dedicated to both the cremation and burial of pets. Many of these pet cemeteries operate in conjunction with other pet related businesses such as boarding kennels, grooming salons, training centers or veterinarian clinics. And surprisingly, even some human cemeteries have portions of their grounds set aside for pet burials.

It's a pet owner's responsibility to determine the disposition of their pet's body. If a pet is left at a vet clinic or hospital, it can be sent to a local land fill, sent to rendering plants, or incinerated, or sent to local pet cemeteries for communal burial. Owners may choose a local pet cemetery for a private burial. Most pet owners in the United States choose to cremate the remains of their pet after death. Burial on the owner's property or at a pet cemetery is an alternative option, and it may be either of the pet's complete body or of the pet's ashes. If the pet is large, it is significantly less expensive to choose cremation. When cremation is the choice, many owners decide to keep the ashes in the very nice pet urn.

There are state laws about animal internment. Most laws for pet cemeteries include both a cemetery and a crematorium. However, not all pet cemeteries have a crematorium since many veterinary hospitals own and operate their own. In that case, clinics typically work with a local crematorium when the owner chooses to cremate their pet remains.

A pet cemetery should be so deeded to insure pet owners that their remains will not be disturbed by land development, etc. They should also maintain a Care Fund, which human cemeteries must also maintain, to insure that funds will be available for the continuing maintenance of the grounds and roadways. Access should be kept open in the event of development around a pet cemetery. The land should be owned by the proprietors or cemetery corporation, not leased or rented.

State and local authorities also have the final say about where pet cemeteries are located, especially if they offer crematory services. Pet owners can find out what the state and local laws are in their area by either calling the local town business office or by visiting their state's official web site.

Once cremated, pet owners can choose from a number of pet memorial products including pet urns in which to place the ashes and honor the memory of their departed pet. There are companies like Peternity.com that are dedicated to pet memorial products that include wide selection of pet memorial items including keepsake boxes, dog urns, pet portraits, and more.

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