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Did you creamate or bury?

13K views 59 replies 45 participants last post by  Nurse Bishop 
#1 ·
Makes me sick having to post about this. I am having someone with a backhoe come and get a plot ready for our ailing herc.
Just wondering I read alot how having cremation done helps having the same remains close. Never dealt with this..it's rough . .
 
#3 ·
So sorry you are dealing with this. I'm all for cremation. I just had to have an African Grey cremated last week.
This time of year, the ground is frozen, I've had two dogs pass away the weekend before Thanksgiving(different years) and one we buried. It wasn't deep enough, the ground was frozen and hard to dig. After that, I'd never bury a pet again, even in Summer.
I'm fortunate that there is a local crematorium that is fairly inexpensive.

I have photo's of the pets next to their cremains, though I don't know that I enjoy dusting that top shelf.
 
#4 ·
Losing a loved pet is extremely difficult, watching them decline is even harder... Ice buried all mine, and have little Graves with momentos from their lives. Flowers and sometimes a little grave marker. They are around the arena where I would train, so I know they are always nearby in thought and overlooking an area they loved..
 
#15 ·
How old was he? �� I'm sorry...
He will be 11 on March 3rd. Happened all of a sudden. Not sure what it is yet, looks like DM. Primarily impacting his ability to urinate. There is alot of weight loss, and also light hints of DM symptoms on his rear legs- Definitely not displasia.

Hes comfy at home. He mostly just lays down now, I take him out often so he can move. Thankfully i have vacation time over the holidays

Its strange as im not sure if this will come to us deciding his quality of life is gone totally, or if we wake up one morning and find him sleeping. Since the ground is freezing up i had to get the plot set up since I cant call this contact on a whim whenever it happens.

Thanks for all the kind words and support. It helps coming here. Yesturday as he refused to leave my car, I sat with himin there for hours, crying and holding him. I thought we would lose him then. Must of been just after effects of the catheter process/ anesthesia.

He is peeing so much better with the new medicine dosage, so not as worried about a bladder rupture now.

I would never want another breed. Gosh a friend was over showing us pics of there 1 year old GSD. reminded me of Herc just so touching when you think of their cycle of life, pretty much like ours.
 
#7 · (Edited)
i have done both. it's never easy but cremation is by FAR easier than burying. the last dog we buried was a very long time ago, i watched my husband dig the grave until his head disappeared...he couldn't stop digging because that would mean that he had to put our Echo's body in the ground. Never, ever again. Ever. If you have a choice, choose cremation and you will never regret it.

I'm so very sorry for your profound loss.

ps...i've looked for a post that says he has actually gone to the bridge, but don't see anything. thinking of you, take care.
 
#37 ·
I'm just going to tag on here and say yes!

I only buried one day barely a year old and I made a mistake that cost him his life. :(

Burying him in our back yard crushed me. And then we sold that house! I was physically and psychologically incapable of leaving him behind! So without a court out he was exhumed by me and put in a box and he came with us!

My other three we just had cremated from the start. With Stewie I was to shell shocked to think clearly.

The worst part of owning a dog is the day they leave us. :(
 
#9 ·
We've done both, Huskies in the back under the peony bushes, which are now known by the dogs' names, and cremated. I think the kids "got it" both ways, they would visit the peonies and sleep with the collars of the cremated ones. The beagles ashes went to the local hot dog stand whose fries he adored...I prefer burial for the dogs, cremation for me.
 
#10 ·
I prefer burial, however, we have acreage and soft enough ground (except during winter), as I can make their spot beautiful (we will be getting a gsd puppy fountain (a pup getting a drink from the fountain) for my most recent loss (May of this year)) for his grave. My others have markers and flowers.. They surround me everyday :) I have asked the Lord for them to meet me in Heaven, - guess we will see when the time comes ;)

I don't believe she has lost Hercales yet, he is just on the decline :( My prayers are for you and your family and of course Hercales...

God bless,
Misty
 
#11 ·
I ultimately had Blue cremated when she passed a few years ago.

I considered burial. But there aren't many pet cemetaries in the area, and the ones that exist charge a very high premium to have a plot there. I considered burying Blue on my property. However, when my grandmother died and her house sold, they developed the spare lot and in the process unearthed 60+ years of cats and dogs that had been buried there. I thought about that and decided I wouldn't want that to happen to Blue if I ever sell and move.
 
#12 ·
I cremate my dogs and cats, have a cabinet with their ashes in it, kinda morbid but when I 'go' those ashes are going with me.

I'm sorry your going thru this with herc:( hugs to you all
 
#14 ·
I wouldent say morbid, mine are all on the mantle, when it's my turn, then they will all be with me
 
#13 ·
I wound up not worrying about the remains and just paying the county fee, after my cremated ashes wound up in a cabinet and my most treasured items became the pawprint in plaster....

Each of us is different and does what comforts us most.
 
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#16 ·
We kinda did both for my mom. She was cremated as were all our previous pets. My sister got a capsule like thing that we all could write something on and we put my mom, grandma and the pets in it, then buried that. That way it can be moved. They were placed under a stepping stone/marker in front of a foutain.

 
#18 ·
About burial vs cremation:

In the past, the dogs I grew up with and the dogs I had as a young adult were buried in my parents' yard. Both died last year. Now the house will be sold, likely torn down, and a large building put on the whole lot. It pains me that the graves will be disturbed.

When we knew the end wasn't far and winter was approaching, we dug the grave ahead and covered it with boards.

I cremated the dogs and cats in the more recent past. I found it difficult when the ashes came a month later. So I found a crematory that returns the ashes within a week at most. They also offer private cremation while you wait. I did this for my last GSD.

Unless it's an emergency, my vet will come to my house to do an euthanasia. Then you have the choice of keeping the body for a few hours or overnight and bringing the body to the clinic where it will be frozen until the crematory van comes. Or the vet takes the body with her/him. Carrying the body of a GSD takes two people, very different from carrying the dog while alive. I think it helps to understand the procedure and the choices.

And, as I understood Jocoyn said, some people let the body go, and do not bury or keep ashes. Whatever feels right is right.
 
#21 ·
Definitely cremate. We don't have enough yard to bury anyway, and what if we moved? Cremains can move with you, and even be buried or cremated with you.
 
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#22 ·
Yes, it's rough but unfortunately an inevitability. However, since it comes with the stewardship and sharing your life with a dog, to each their own on how they choose to preserve the memories of their buddy.

For me, my responsibility ended after holding them in my arms for the last time as they were liberated from their suffering and hardship. Once the essence and spirit of the dog has left their body...they are no longer what they were...now they are just flesh and fur.

The memories will always remain close and in my heart regardless of where the remains of their bodies end up...

FWIW...might sound stupid...but my opinion again. Grieving over what will occur in the near future with a dog on a very limited time span, might be something to think about in the most selfless of ways. Since, I choose to believe our furry companions are well aware of our attitudes and moods, telegraphing our sadness and sorrow while the dog is still alive, sends signals to the dog which might not be in the dog's best interests. At the very least, confusing to the dog and at worst, making the dog misconstrue our feelings as the dog has done wrong. I have always tried to steel myself against the inevitable having to say "goodbye" to my dogs towards the bitter end....I'd like to think my dogs, in spite of their hardship, went to the end, knowing how wonderfully happy they made me and didn't have to deal with the burden of my sadness. There is plenty of time for tears and our own personal grief after we have led them to the end with all the love and wonderful attitudes they have grown so accustom to over the years.


Once again, to each their own.

SuperG
 
#23 ·
I either bury my pets at my brother's farm, back in his woods, or have them cremated. I don't keep the ashes. Unfortunately I have had to make this decision too many times this year. The not so fun part of my pets getting old. I love them while they are here, I care for them and give them a good life. They will never be gone as long as I am here to remember them. They live on in my memories
 
#24 ·
I've done both. My first pair died when I was renting. They got burried in the yard. (In town.) I didn't know about cremation then, (heck it was so long ago they might not have been offering it), and I didn't have the money. It wasn't until dog #4 died that I knew about cremation. It was winter, the hard ground was frozen even harder. In Arkansas, I had three cremated because I was not going to leave them there in the land of humidity, tick and fleas.
I found digging the graves for the ones I burried to be what I needed to do at the time. Driving one two hours to the crematoria/um was the right thing, too. She loved to ride, she would have enjoyed the trip if she were alive.
 
#25 ·
i was just going to pay the vet to dispose of the body when i lose one. i don't own land and i agree keeping ashes is morbid. i don't think its morbid that other people do but i wouldn't want to hold on to any person or animals ashes. i guess it will be up to my wife though. when the cats go i'll prolly just put thm in a trash bag and put out with the trash.
 
#28 ·
I agree with a sudden spinal injury rather than DM. Dogs who suddenly start to go down and lose control over bowel and bladder tends to make me think of IVDD with a disc protrusion rather than DM.

Though I had a plan for 3 years about what to do with my Kenai when I lost her. She was cremated and the urn that I ordered for her is decorated with some of her hair - so the pattern of black on it is a part of her. She resides on my desk with her paw print, the paw print of my parent's golden who was her companion, a picture of my family with my grandmother and the few keepsakes I have that were hers. <3

I also have a necklace that has a small pawprint urn with some of her ashes within it so that a part of her is with me always. Perhaps some see it as morbid, but I have literally had panic attacks if I misplaced the necklace for a time. It also has a heart with a little fake diamond in it which was the final gift I got from my grandmother the Christmas she passed away a few days later. Both of these things are treasures to me and a part of two of the most influential things in my life. My very first and heart dog, and the grandmother who showed me how to be humble, kind and giving. <3
 
#29 ·
We just had our Mono cremated, we have him and our Jazzy on our mantle in the living room...I agree with the people on here who say whatever feels right is right, everyone has their own beliefs, personal ways and such...I'm so sorry you are going through this, my thoughts are with you...
 
#31 ·
In the last five years I have had to pts one elderly basset hound (15) and two old cats ( 21, 22), and I leave their bodies with the vet for disposal. It's a hard day, but we make it a happy one for the animals, and stay with them right to the end, holding them and talking quietly to them until their die. I have never felt any particular qualms about leaving them for disposal though, dead is dead to me, they're gone. I will do the same when Archer's time comes and our last remaining cat dies. I don't usually mention it as people seem to think it's heartless or something, but I feel it's how we treat our animals when they are alive that counts, not when they're dead. To that end, I'm also leaving my own body to science when I die, hopefully I will provide some use that way (my father-in-law is doing the same, so we've talked the process through and it sounds far preferable to a funeral and all that jazz).

Whatever you decide, it's hard when you know the end of their lives are near, and all I can say is try not to worry about the after and worry more about the now: give them peace and kindness and love them for all that they have given you and all that you can give them, that seems to me a better way to approach that which we must all approach.
 
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