How did you dispose of your dead animal(s)

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How did/would you dispose of your animal's dead body?

  • Use vet services to dispose of it

    Votes: 9 5.2%

  • Bury them on my property

    Votes: 109 62.6%

  • Cremate them and keep the ashes (or scatter them)

    Votes: 44 25.3%

  • Bury them at a pet cemetery

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other- please explain

    Votes: 12 6.9%
  • Total voters
    174
All my pets have been cremated except fish (flushed) and hermit crabs (buried). In general I am very against burial for animals AND humans, but the hermit crabs were too large to flush, so...
The only pet's cremains I have kept have been my closest kitty, he is in a beautiful carved wooden box. I'm with the other poster who said if I kept all the cremains I would be overrun.
 
Megan said:
For right now (and some people won't like it) the chins go out with the trash, unless they are someone who is extremely special to me. I just can't bury each and every one that passes here, my yard would be filled with animals. When they are up the farm they'll most likely go on to feed the wild animals like the rest of farm critters.
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Same here. It's just not feasible to pay $100/chin for group cremation or find the time to bury each and every one. The larger the amount of animals, the higher the mortality rate and that is just the unfortunate truth. I wish I could bury each and every one of my pets that pass or afford for them to be cremated, but reality says I can't do this. It would only take a few years to fill up the small backyard we have and I need to save my chinchilla fund for living, breathing chinchillas that may need surgery or other medical costs.
 
I bury the small animals(chins,cats and small dogs). My large dog, I cremated and then buried the ashes under a tree. I will probably do the same for my current retriever when it is his time. I have been where I am now (3 acres of land) for 40 years so I have had quite a few animals during that time.
 
*cough*
Some people chose to memoralize their pets by stuffing them. I'm not one of those, but I do believe in saving the pelts.
I know someone who was advertising making tiny teddy bear plushies out of the furs to remember beloved pets by. I perfer that idea to keeping an urn of ashes.
 
Small animals get buried, unless they had to be put down at the vet, in which case the vet usually takes care of the body.

When my horse died suddenly this past April, I had to have the rendering truck come and get him. It was my only option since burial was impossible.

I've never had an animal cremated.
 
When I was a kid we used to bury our hamsters, ferret etc. Now I have my critters cremated. I have Chili the chinchilla in a nice little blue urn on a shelf next to his favorite chew toy and my beloved kitty Soleil is on a shelf next to one of her favorite toys along with cards from the vet's office. She had a lot of medical problems and had a special relationship with the vet, so the cards are special to me. I also have a memory box for Soleil that has a lock of her fur, pics and her, and her collar in it. When I go, Soleil's urn will be going in my coffin.
 
I've done a little of everything...I have put small/stillborn kits out with the trash :( I have buried older ones and I have saved a couple in the freezer who I would like to have pelts to remember. I don't think Id have any of the chins cremated - I would probably have the dogs cremated. Haven't crossed that bridge yet with the dogs. Just flushed a fish yesterday - poor Hocus lol. I also don't want to be buried...I dont like the idea that my body would rot and tree roots might come into my coffin...I'd rather have my ashes spread in several of my favorite places.
 
RDZCRanch said:
Same here. It's just not feasible to pay $100/chin for group cremation or find the time to bury each and every one. The larger the amount of animals, the higher the mortality rate and that is just the unfortunate truth. I wish I could bury each and every one of my pets that pass or afford for them to be cremated, but reality says I can't do this. It would only take a few years to fill up the small backyard we have and I need to save my chinchilla fund for living, breathing chinchillas that may need surgery or other medical costs.
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Same here. I did have one rescue, which was special to me, cremated, but the other chins that have died here have been wrapped up in an old towel (for some decency, I guess, we've always just done it that way) and go out with the trash. When my original four chins die, they will be cremated as well, but for the others, I'd rather spend the money that cremation would cost on vet bills for the next rescue that comes in. I would bury (rather than throw away), but I live in an apartment at the moment, and it's illegal to bury anything where my parents live.
 
I have thrown a few kits out with the trash simply because it was winter. Otherwise I bury them on my property. The one thing I dont do is put them in a box or anything. That way the decompose and basicly fertilize the soil. Then in a few years I can bury something else in the same place if need be. One time I had a rescue who had a premature kit that didnt make it, so I gave it to a friend who had a snake. Not a pretty picture but it was that or throw it away.

I dont like the idea or burial but Im not too keen on cremation either. I want to totally sure that Im not alive before Im cremated. I mean I dont want to wake up on fire or something(yes I know how strange that sounds) but its like a nightmare of mine. I could always have my head frozen like Walt Disney.
 
I've always buried my pets. I buried my Peri last year by the bamboo and I have buried kits there as well. A part of me wishes I still had a part of him... he was the one who started everything here (he was my first breeding chin).

I saw someone once with a chinchilla fur rose made out of the pelt of their beloved chin. I know some may find that gruesome but I think that could be a nice way to remember their chin. I think I would feel better about that than cremation. I have this fear of fire and so I think that's why I would hate for any of my animals to be burned and destroyed...
 
I have done different things-my best dog ever was cremated and I have the ashes in a box, another dog was buried, chickens were tossed out in the field for the coyotes, rabbits either tossed in the field or fed to the dogs, goat kid went out in the trash, guinea pig buried in the woods, hamster tossed out in the woods. Just depends on where I was, time of year, and what else was going on. My horse, I plan on having a few bracelets made of her tail hair this year for my and my daughter, just in case. When she passes away (hopefully not for a long time) I would love to donate her body to a zoo or someone who foxhunts with hounds, or take her out in the woods. I believe that bodies should go back to the earth if possible. My dad buried his cocker spaniel in a tin box back in the day, to each their own. I would love to have my chins pelt after they pass, even though it is a bit gruesome. Do the pelts have to be treated any different than say a rabbit?
 
I have my childhood dog and cat cremated and I carry them with me. I don't intend to keep them forever, just until I find a suitable place for resting. I'll likely do the same with my boys. The day will come when I will be able to plant all of my fur babies.
 
My grandparents live out in the country on three acres and since they've lived there, all our pets are buried by their big oak tree and barns.
 
Most of our animals have had to be euthanized, and we just let the vet deal with disposal.

The only one we actually buried was a parakeet.

I also had a few parakeets pass when I was in an apartment, so I unfortunately just had to throw them in the dumpster.
 
I have always wished I could have my pets that have passed cremated so that I could always keep them with me, but I have always found a place at my home to bury them. It is sad, because we have moved and I had to leave two of my babies behind, but they are always with me in my heart. I have two at my current home, which I know I will move from one day as well. All my pets that have passed have been hamsters and chinchillas, so when I have to face the day to have lost a dog (which I pray is not for a very long time!) I do not know what I will do at that point. You asked a great question though.
 
I have a Dog...name...romi...for my dog...i will use cremation urn...and will keep all the memory secure... and also will use funeral urns...for my dog...
 
When I lived with my parents, we had a couple cats that died and they just let the vet take care of the remains.

Since I've lived with my husband, we've had one pet pass, Thimble, and since we live in an apartment and couldn't bury her, she went out in the trash (shrouded in a paper towel). I don't think we'll keep ashes, since that would be a lot to keep, but I have a few ideas for alternative memorials. I like tattoos a lot and I think for pets that are particularly close to me, I'll get a tattoo in their memory. I may get a thimble tattoo soon to commemorate Thimble, and when my cat passes on, I think I'll get a tattoo of a rooster toy that was her favorite. I'll also probably get a tattoo for Chinchy when he passes on, haven't decided what I'm going to get yet though.
 
I buried Hamlet in a nature sanctuary. I know it's illegal, but I rent an apartment and couldn't stand the thought of sending him off to be cremated. I visit him occasionally. The sanctuary is made up mostly of invasive plants, so we found it kind of appropriate to bury my hedgehog there, since he's not native to america.
 
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