History of Cremation

The loss of a beloved pet is something pet parents naturally find difficult. As a lifelong friend, pets are remembered for their selfless love and unfaltering loyalty towards their masters. Upon their demise, the grief-stricken pet parents and his family often preserve mementos or raise a memorial to remember their lost friend. History reveals that throughout the centuries pet parents placed the cremains or ashes of their pets in pet urns, and these pet urns were generally buried with due respect and love in pet cemeteries. An archaeological team discovered a very old pet cemetery in Palestine. The cemetery was established between 539 BC and 332 BC (during Persian rule), and has the remains of thousands of dogs all from the same period.

Pet cremation or pet burial has been popular over the centuries, and further gained momentum in America during the 19th century. Hartsdale Pet Cemetery and Crematory is one the oldest and well-known pet burial and memorial grounds in the US. Established in 1896, Hartsdale Pet Cemetery and Crematory, which is located in Westchester County, New York, has more than two thousand pet graves. Here, pets can be buried in pet caskets and pet urns, and the graves are marked with memorial markers. At present, there are about seventy thousand pet burials in Hartsdale Pet Cemetery and Crematory. Many burials are marked with grave markers and custom memorial stones.

The Le Cimetière des Chiens D’Asnières-Sur-Seine in France showcases the carvings of a St Bernard lifting a child. It is said that the dog (called Barry) sacrificed himself in an attempt to save people in the Alps. Under such hazardous weather conditions, he was able to save forty people, but died while trying to save the 41st person. People can also spot the tombstone of a German Shepherd, a police dog who sacrificed his life in action, and is remembered as a hero.

There is another popular pet cemetery in the United Kingdom. It is located at Brynford, near Holywell, in Flintshire. Developed on a sprawling 7½ acres of landscaped gardens, this particular cemetery has tea rooms, a chapel, and a visitor center.

The demand for pet cremation over traditional pet burials has increased in the last few years. There are some who scatter the remains of their pets, though the majority prefers to preserve the ashes of their pets in functional pet urns which can be kept at their home. Now, when a pet dies, the pet parent can choose pet cremation to dispose of the cremains of his or her pet. After pet cremation, the cremains can be stored in shapely containers called pet urns, which are available in a variety of sizes and shapes.