Have you ever had a funeral for a pet? / LJWorld.com

Asked at Massachusetts Street on September 16, 2007

“No. The only pets I’ve had that died were when I was little. I think my parents just buried them. I haven’t had any pets die as an adult, but I’ll probably have one for them when they do.”

— Rachel Strelow, attorney, Lawrence

“I’ve never had a funeral for a pet. We had one buried in a pet cemetery, but we never really had a funeral for it.”

— Brandon Weber, Kansas University junior, Lawrence

“No. I’ve never had a pet die.”

— Erin Hamilton, optometrist, Shawnee

“Once for a goldfish. Just a few words, then drop it in and flush.”

— Wes Guernsey, liquor store clerk, Lawrence

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jonas 5 years, 8 months ago

Well, my question for Brandon is, did the pet come back? And. . . .was it EVIL?!?!?!

sgtwolverine 5 years, 8 months ago

Nope. I've never been that attached to an animal.

sunflower_sue 5 years, 8 months ago

I'm sure we've had the mandatory "funeral for the kids' sake" a time or two with very small critters. The pets I've had that I was really attached to, I said my goodbye's before the pet was no more. Then just burried them (along with their bedding and toys) while I cried. The kids have made notes/drawings to be burried with the animal...but I've always burried them while the kids were not around. I think it's kind of traumatic to shovel dirt on top of your loved one. Does that count as a funeral? I suppose it might in the non-traditional sense.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 5 years, 8 months ago

Once, more than three decades ago.
I made my family put on suits and dresses. I played "Rock of Ages" and "All things bright and beautiful" on the Hammond B-3, drawbars pulled out and the Leslie rotating at full speed. It was closed casket, as Brownie had been viciously and ruthlessly murdered. After a short eulogy, interment was under the third lilac from the left. Everyone tossed a peony flower in the grave as they walked by in single file, then I set the woodburned headstone. We had egg salad sandwiches (no crust, and quartered) at the luncheon following interment.

Brownie (the best hamster ever) RIP - 1973

ms_canada 5 years, 8 months ago

My darling Camille, (Siamese cat) died last year and I did not have a real funeral although I did cry when I buried her next to the house out back in the flower bed. She has a grave stone. she was 20 years old and I saw her into this world and out of it in my arms. Now I have Tazzy and she is the most loving of cats. How I will part with her I can't imagine. Animals can be very loving and good companions and anyone who has not experienced the love of a cat or dog is really missing out.

Pywacket 5 years, 8 months ago

R_I~ That sounds like a most charming funeral and was probably more comforting than many that have been held for humans. Thanks for sharing.

Ms C~ I had a meezer who lived to be 19 and was a most amazing and (obsessively) loving companion. Her cremains reside in a Folgers can in my pantry. At some point, I'll either discover the perfect urn or some forest or beach will speak to me and I will scatter her there. Or possibly I will mix the cremains with clay, turn it on a wheel, and she will become the perfect urn.

We have had lots of pet funerals. Come to think of it, the only animals I have lost have either been when I was a kid or after I had kids. The funerals seem necessary for kids. Mine were always right there, helping shovel the dirt in, speaking a few words, tossing in some flowers, then planting a mum or something on the mounded earth. I think it helps them to do that.

Godot 5 years, 8 months ago

It has been my experience that funerals make very poor pets.

tangential_reasoners_anonymous 5 years, 8 months ago

(I thot that I'd weigh in on this one, here, as doing so in a related "human" forum would likely invite an unending barrage of misguided replies.)

I understand attachment. I understand loss, and grief. (I understand grieving at emotional and physiological levels, when just traveling familiar paths can leave one unable to see through the tears... when the trick is just to keep breathing.)

Nevertheless, it should be observed that, when a loved one has shed the "mortal coil," so to speak, the body which remains is no more "them" than is the slab on which it is lain or the urn into which its ashes are poured. There is no ritual which can preserve them. There is no place to which one can travel to capture another moment with them. There is no "final resting place" that one need visit to recapture the moments shared.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 5 years, 8 months ago

Py, The pantry? I hope you are mostly awake before you start the coffee...

Kids do need to grieve for pets. My eldest devil spawn used to go out first thing in the morning and just before bed to "talk" to the Brittany, standing where I had buried her after I put her down.

sgtwolverine 5 years, 8 months ago

babboy, I am feeling much better today; it is always satisfying to demolish a rival like that, no matter what. But yeah, Penn State is next week, and that'll be tough.

And ND needs an o-line, but that's not all they need. That's just a bad team all around. The offense didn't do anything worthwhile, but the defense knew Hart would be carrying the ball on most plays and he still averaged over 5 yards a carry. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

OldEnuf2BYurDad 5 years, 8 months ago

"the Leslie rotating at full speed"

Oh, you are giving away your age!! I wonder if anyone but us even know what a Leslie is.

Right Thinker: You can borrow my 12 ga. Regardless of whether your dog lives or dies, you can't allow that to go unpunished. It's time to pop a cap.

been_there 5 years, 8 months ago

right_thinker Hope your dog recovers ok. Actually, now I'll have to move you up a notch or two. It's nice to hear about people who make a real commitment to their pets instead of treating them like disposable possessions. Something that happens way too much in a college town.

Pywacket 5 years, 8 months ago

Don't worry, R_I~ No chance of anyone drinking any strange Siamese brew.. The humane society (which, btw, will do cremation for much less than the vet's office will) sent her home in the can--nobody here drinks Folgers. (I mainline strong tea all day & spousal unit does iced tea or Coke.) All visiting (coffee drinking) relatives and friends also know about the kitty in the coffee can. Enough time has gone by that my sentimentality has become fodder for cruel taunts by the more heartless among them--they know very well what is in that can. We keep good coffee in the freezer for java drinkers, in hope it will last longer. Not that they deserve it.

Come to think of it, I have a lot of strange things in my pantry.

juscin3 5 years, 8 months ago

We had a little pom that we bought that was in bad shape. I took him to the vet, got him all well, then 4 months later he was kicked or stepped on by a horse. We had another guy bury him for us because we were too attached to him. He put a head stone on his grave, then finally after about a week I went over to it, said my goodbye's. It was really hard for us. I kept thinking that I could hear him whimpering for me to come and get him. Though it's been 9 months ago that this happened, I miss the lil guy.

PrincessConsuelaBananaHammock 5 years, 8 months ago

Right thinker -- we have a cairn terrier as well -- wonderful little dogs with lots of spunk. Best wishes to yours that he recovers from his injuries -- and I wouldn't blame you for seeking a little justice on the beast who hurt him. As far as this OTS question goes, all I can see in my head is the goldfish episode of The Cosby Show with the whole family in their Sunday best gathered around the toilet for the services!!

Pywacket 5 years, 8 months ago

OldEnuf and R_I~ I don't know what a Leslie is, but one time I found a one-celled Hammond organism..... in my shoe!

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 5 years, 8 months ago

Py, Think "Steppenwolf" But, Zappa aside, you have not lived until you have listened to "The Alley Cat" played on a Hammond with a Leslie. Its a Creech!

GretchenJP 5 years, 8 months ago

This is such a sad conversation. My fiance lost his best friend... his beloved cat... about 7 months ago. He dug the hole but couldn't bring himself to put him in it so I wrapped him in a sheet... gave him a kiss... and buried him for him.