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You are here: Home / ash scattering / Like the Son He Never Had

Like the Son He Never Had

July 2, 2007 urngarden.com

Florida passed a piece of legislation that allows humans to be buried with their pets. Previously, funeral homes were prohibited from handling animal remains and ashes of humans and animals could not be co-mingled.

At the Best Friends Animal Hospital at Gateway, office manager, Rainy Hoy, said about half of their clients take home their pet’s ashes. “They just want to keep them. They’re like family to them,” Hoy said.

Fort Myers resident Joe Castrogiovanni wouldn’t consider euthanizing his 2-year-old dog Barkley to put him in the casket, but he would consider saving Barkley’s ashes.

“It may be a little weird, but he’s like the son I never had,” Castrogiovanni said.

Jay O’Shaughnessy, funeral director for Anderson Funeral Home of Fort Myers with more than 30 years’ experience, said he has received requests from clients wanting their loved ones to be buried with remains of their pet.

“It’s not a real new deal. We’ve done stranger things than that,” he said. “It’s always the family’s idea.” Complete article here.

He’s right, it’s not unusual. Urngarden has received several requests for urns large enough to contain the pet owner and the ashes of their cats or dogs. Or couples that have left instructions for their children to bury their ashes in the back yard with the family pets.

We had a dog, dear Bonnie, that I always thought I’d have taxidermied so we could enjoy her to the end. She died on a camping trip and had to be buried on the spot. Looking back, I’m glad we didn’t have the opportunity to get her stuffed!

Now, my two precious pups I’ll probably sprinkle somewhere, or maybe I’ll save their ashes to be packed into a mortar shell with me!

Filed Under: ash scattering, Confessions, cremation, Memorial Service Ideas, pet urns, Pets Tagged With: florida funeral legislation, pet loss, pet urn, pet urns

Reader Interactions

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  1. Random Linkage at Life in the Garden says:
    July 12, 2007 at 11:47 PM

    […] Last week we wrote about customers that want to be buried with their pets.  Today, we spoke to a lady who was putting her pup down and wanted her pet to be interred with her. She bought one of Terry Bloodworth’s beautiful blown glass pet urns. […]

  2. Warm and Fuzzy Pet Ramblings at Life in the Garden says:
    December 14, 2007 at 5:52 PM

    […] And then the pet owners that have instructed family members to include the ashes of their beloved pets to be buried with them. […]

  3. Freaky Friday at Life in the Garden says:
    February 9, 2008 at 9:02 AM

    […] The day before she had told J about our meeting and how special the necklace was because when she died she wanted to be buried with her “baby” close to her heart. […]

  4. Executive Function at Life in the Garden says:
    February 15, 2008 at 10:52 AM

    […] Also kudos to my friend Joel, who is a great guy and was dearly missed when he made a mid-life career change. Did he have any idea he’d be in FRONT of the camera, rather than behind it when he made the move? Now he’s in the hot seat and doing a great job. And then: A Kind Word From A Client: Thanks again for the necklace. It was very special to her and meant a lot to me (and to the other loved ones) that she had it on during the funeral and was buried with her. Splint (her beloved dog) is now with her always. […]

  5. I Slept With Elvis at Life in the Garden says:
    September 3, 2008 at 7:25 PM

    […] the bird urn his owner selected. While my client prefers a traditional burial for herself, she has instructed her kids that Elvis’ ashes will be placed in her casket when the time comes. A Home for […]

  6. Rich Pets at Life in the Garden says:
    September 22, 2008 at 7:45 AM

    […] often buried cats with their owners. And Florida recently passed legislation allowing pets to be buried with their […]

  7. Love Me, Love My Dog | Life in the Garden says:
    April 24, 2011 at 5:26 PM

    […] Deal breaker for D. […]

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