Pets at Peace

Pets at Peace is a small family owned pet crematorium run by myself, Jeanne, and my partner Stephen.  I am passionate about all animals and have a great understanding of the needs of those owners who, at a very difficult time wish to have their pet cared for with dignity and respect. Having owned dogs and other pets all my life I have always had the unpleasant task of deciding what to do with them when they sadly leave us.

Most pet owners feel they have no choice other than to either bury their pets in their own gardens, which isn’t always practical for many owners, or alternatively take their deceased pet or terminally ill pet to the vet surgery to be euthanised, and then rely on their vets arranging disposal for them.

The sad fact is that unfortunately most vets do not know themselves what happen to the remains and if they have been individually or mass cremated so there is no 100% guarantee that the ashes are those of the owner’s beloved companion.  Pets can be stored for up to a week or more at the vet’s premises before being collected (along with the clinical waste) and taken to pet crematoriums in other counties. Then the ashes can take even longer to be returned to the vet, and then eventually the pet owner will collect from the vet.

Several years ago I took my own dog Leo to our nearest pet crematorium, which we stumbled on whilst taking him to hydrotherapy sessions at the same premises.  However this was over 65 miles away for us  (an hour and a half travel time each way).  A lot of pet owners in West Cumbria would not be able to travel that far. They would also perhaps not know of the options available to them. After all, we wouldn’t just leave the hospital to choose a funeral service for our human family, we would have a choice of where to take them.

According to the RSPCA, 44% of UK households have pets, many with more than one pet.  I thought at the time – what if we had such a facility on our doorstep here?  It is a very personal dignified affordable service. We see it as a labour of love, as opposed to making large profits.

I like to think that it is a last act of kindness we can do for our companions – they have provided us with their unconditional love all these years.