Dog Funeral Homes

While driving in Portland the other day I saw a first time site. It was a dog funeral home. That's right, a funeral home for Fido.  I never knew such things existed.  on the past most pet a owners let the vet dispose of the deceased dog boy, or they simply buried Fido in the back yard. No wonder I was scratching my head (or maybe I just have fleas) when I saw that dog funeral parlor. Undaunted, but not willing to howl at this revelation, when I returned home and I logged on line to see what this was about.

Do people today really equate their digs to humans so much that they give them a formal heavenly sendoff at a funeral home? I found one such place to use as an investigator model, Wayside Waifs, and went  about my investigation. According to Wayside, "Wayside Waifs has been helping families for generations with compassionate aftercare for cherished family pets. Your friends at Wayside Waifs truly understand the pain of losing a family pet.

We are here to support you during this time of sorrow and help make final arrangements for your pet." So those dog funeral parlors are not new.  Here are the services offered by Wayside, all of which will take a bite out of Fido's owners.

*Cremation- The site says most pet owners who bury Fido there have him cremated either individually with his ashes returned to them in an urn or instead, have a communal cremation. Just like Uncle Harry or Aunt Mildred.
*Urns and caskets- just like the human burial sites they sell these for dogs, at the same over inflated prices as human vessels.
*Cremation burials- again, this apes human cremations. A cremation burial for Fido includes pet cremation, casket, granite headstone, the plot and interment.
*Burials- This includes the plot, interment, casket, granite headstone, and a one-time grounds maintenance fee.
*Pre need services- Wayside Waifs encourages pet owners to visit Pet Memorial Services to make final arrangements for Fido in advance.  It's a big profit maker for the Dog parlor.

The site says they will pick up Fido's dead carcass from the vet for a mere $85, if that service is desired.  A waste of money, they think! Not according to the dog parlor folks at Wayside. "When your pet passes you will have the peace of mind knowing that plans are in place to take care of your pet", they state. It appears that the dog burial sites are merely shifting from human burial to pet burial.

All these services copy human funeral home services. Human mourners need not bay at the moon in sorry at Fido's passing. They can visit the Wayside cemetery during daylight hours, seven days a week, including holidays. In an age when funeral services are disappearing because of a lack of human stiffs to bury, why not shift to pet burials? After all, funerals for humans are in sharp decline and humans do seem more found of their pets than they do of Grandma Rose.

Not only does "every dog have his day", these days on dog burial day there is not distinction between canine and human.