Tag Archives: cremation

Looking for a unique pet memorial?

SPACE DOGMany people either bury their pet or have it cremated and keep the ashes on a shelf in their home. However, if you like extravagant gestures and have recently lost a pet, we’ve found something that might interest you. Celestis Pets advertises “the most unique pet memorial service in the universe” and it certainly sounds like it. The company offers memorial space flights for your pet’s ashes. You can choose to just send them to space and back for less than $1,000, send them around the earth with an orbit voyage for about $5,000 or, if you feel very extravagant, send them into deep space or to the moon for $12,500. For more information about people as well as pets, check out our website www.diesmart.com.

Do you want to stay next to your pet forever?

The Virginia legislature recently amended state burial law to allow cemeteries to provide designated spaces for burying pets in caskets next to their owners.

Prior to passage of the new law, cremated remains of a pet could be buried in the casket with the deceased or the body could be interred in a pet cemetery adjacent to one for humans.  An example cited in an article in the Martinsville Bulletin prior to passage of the new law is Noah’s Ark, a pet cemetery, that is adjacent to National Memorial Park Cemetery in Falls Church, VA.

The new measure is intended to help people who think of their pets as family members and who want them buried with them.  The law specifies that pets and owners cannot share the same grave, crypt or niche and the pet section of the cemetery has to be clearly marked.

Now that the measure has passed, a couple can buy three adjacent plots – one for each of them and the one in the center for their beloved pet. 

A few years ago, the New York legislature passed a law allowing humans to be buried in pet cemeteries along with their pets.  However, pets still cannot be buried in cemeteries intended for humans.

Burial of a pet with its owner after death is a topic that has spurred a lot of discussion and emotions but very few states up to now have tried to deal with this issue.

For more information about end of life planning, go to www.diesmart.com.

Turn into a Tree after You Die!

By 2025, it is estimated that more than 50% of all the people who die in the United States will be cremated. Gerard Moline, a Catalan artist and product designer, has come up with a very creative solution for what to do with the ashes. He has patented the design for the Bios Urn.  It is a biodegradable urn made from coconut shell, compacted peat and cellulose and inside it contains the seed of a tree. Once the deceased’s ashes have been placed into the urn, it can be planted and then the seed germinates and begins to grow.

What do you think? Would you like to leave behind a tree as your legacy?
For more information about funeral planning, cremation and burial, go to www.diesmart.com.

Is planning your own funeral a good idea?

You may not know when you’re going to die, but you know for sure it will happen.

A little advance planning of your own funeral — or that of a loved one — can make that traumatic time when you die a little easier on your loved ones.

Pre-planning funerals is getting more common as many people prefer to decide on the details of the last celebration of their life themselves. If you decide to do this, talk to your parent or spouse or other family and friends about your funeral wishes at an appropriate time, probably not during an argument or over a holiday dinner. Tell your adult children what you’re thinking about.

Here are some things to consider:

1. Are you thinking about a standard viewing and funeral?
2. Do you have a cemetery plot?
3. Would you prefer cremation?
4. Do you have enough money to pay for big event?
5. Do you want your death notice to read like a biography or will you be satisfied with a published statement of your dates of birth and death?
6. Do you want a video or slide show to be shown during visitation hours? Or do you want a photo board to help mourners remember earlier times?
7. Do you want masses of flowers or would prefer that money be donated to a charity instead?
8. Is there something special you want at your funeral – like your grand piano or motorcycle?

All of the above comes at a cost. A funeral varies depending on the services provided. Cremations generally cost about $4,000. A burial the day after a viewing can be as much as $10,000. The cost of cemetery plots today begins at about $900, but can be several thousand dollars in a major metropolitan area. And you can spend $8,000 or more on a casket.

If you decide on cremation, your ashes can be placed in an urn and then in a mausoleum, or stored or disposed of however you wish.

Whatever you decide to do, if you preplan and let your loved ones know your wishes, you know that your last celebration of life will be the way you want it to be.

For more information about funeral planning, go to www.diesmart.com.

Planning a Pet’s Funeral

Many people complain about funeral costs when they are deciding what to do about dear deceased granddad or mom; they think costs are too high and ask for cheaper options. But when it comes to a beloved pet, no one complains about what it costs to bury or cremate it. Cost is rarely even discussed. Rather the pet owner decides what he or she wants and then just pays for it.

National Pet Memorial Day was celebrated in September. According to the International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Crematories,  it was a day to “increase awareness of the many options available to memorialize pets”. Less than ten years ago, pet aftercare facilities were almost nonexistent. People just didn’t talk about what to do with their deceased pet. Today, there are more than 700 pet aftercare facilities nationwide and the number is growing. According to Tom Flynn, president of Hillerest-Flynn Pet Funeral Home and Crematory in Hermitage, PA, it’s a rapidly growing business. His profits have increased by 25% every year since he began offering pet burials in 2006.

Nobody really knows what demographic is responsible for the industry boom. Some think it’s baby boomers, who turn to a pet after their spouse has died or their children have left home. Others think it’s people in their 20’s and 30’s who have delayed or opted out of becoming parents and have decided to get a pet instead. Still others think it’s older women who never had children. Or the very wealthy. But, in actuality, Ed Martin, Jr. of Hartsdale, NY Pet Cemetery and Crematory, says they “get everybody: men, women, rich, poor, young, old.”

A pet funeral can be expensive, with a bronze grave marker costing almost $1,800 and a velvet-lined casket in excess of $1,100. Did you know that in addition to pet burials and cremations, you can arrange things like pet blessings and candlelight vigils? Some companies offer even more services than you’d find at a human funeral home.

In addition, there are unconventional options as well. Although it sounds very weird, some people opt for freeze-drying their pet’s body which can cost as much as $3,000. And a company in Elk Grove Village, IL called LifeGem, has a process that uses carbonized ashes from cremated remains to create synthetic diamonds. Prices run from $2,490 to $25,000. The process originally was intended for humans but pet owners started requesting the service for their pets so frequently that it’s now 25% of LifeGem’s business.

If you’re looking for unusual ideas, a place to start might be Peternity, an online store like Target, but for pet grieving.

Whatever you decide when planning what to do with your deceased pet, be like everyone else. Don’t think about price. Just decide what you want and pay whatever it costs.