Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Honoring a Beloved Pet



As many of you may know, I lost my cat of 21 years at the end of January.  Now, I know many of you are like, whatever, it was a cat.  But I ask you, what has been by your side almost every day of your life for the past 21 years?  Who has listened to you cry and laugh?  Who has laid by your side when sick...every single time!  Who has been there when you had your first boyfriend, the first fight with a boyfriend, prom, college keg parties, met at you at the door after your first day at your first "real" job... The list goes on and on.  Anyhow, she was a really cool cat too and many of my friends and roommates who weren't even fans of cats liked Hannah. 

I really have a hard time with cremation.  I don't know why but something about burning a fuzzy- wuzzy animal just weirds me out.  However, with my current ever-changing living arrangements, I didn't have anyplace to bury her.  So, I made the decision to have her cremated and it was really hard.  When I picked her ashes up, I was pleasantly surprised by the care they had taken.  Her ashes were in a pretty tin box with a flower and the box was put in a velvet bag with a nice card.  It wasn't freaky or weird at all.  Then when I got home I actually kept the box near me alot.  I know, I think it is kind of odd too but until you lose someone/thing important, you don't know how you will mourn.  She was by my desk during the day and under the other pillow at night.

This wasn't a long-term solution and I wanted something to put her ashes in.  Holy moly, there is a business idea...have you ever looked for an urn?  I don't want to offend anyone but the ones they have for pets are generally very tacky and god-y.  Pure awfulness!!!  However, I also don't want to put her inside on a shelf and I didn't know where to scatter her ashes.  The people who mentioned the ocean, if you were a cat and couldn't swim and hated water, would you want your ashes put in the ocean??

Finally, after many hours of research, I fell upon Precious Pet Memorials.  It was perfect!  They basically are rocks in different sizes that either come as an urn or just a memorial.  They look perfect outside in a garden or under a tree without looking too "cemetery" like.  The urns are a little pricey but they are solid rock.  Mine is 67 pounds yet only cost $60 to ship.  Victoria Secret costs more to ship a bra!  Customer service is awesome, I think it just a family operation and they are very understanding of what you are going through.

Sorry for the glare - haven't put it outside yet.


In a flower garden

Losing a pet or anyone you care about is hard.  Have you found any great ways to remember yours?

3 comments:

  1. Kandace - This made me cry! You put it perfectly how us animal lovers feel about our beloved pets. I lost my dog of 15 years this past June. It was such a rushed,heart-wrenching decision that I couldnt think about bringing home her ashes.But just as Spring has begun in Boston, I have been thinking about her more and more (she Loved the outdoors as dogs do) and wished I did what you did. Bring home the ashes and create a wonderful memorial stone for her. You did the right thing for sure! My husbands family pets all have those marked stones in the backyard together. They really are beautifully made. It always makes me wish I did that for T-Bone ;-) Hannah was a very lucky cat (to have you and to also lived soooo long!)
    - Amy Sirois bailey
    p.s. Is that your cat that jumped in a truck and ended up in NY???

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    1. Thank you Amy. No, it wasn't that cat, that was Zoe and she passed away from complications of an enlarged heart when I first moved to CA. You could always get a stone just to remember her by.

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