The business of saying goodbye<\/span><\/header>\nPet owners in the U.S. spend an estimated $70 billion a year on their (living) furry, feathered, and scaly friends, so it should come as no surprise that owners are willing to keep spending after their beloved pets die.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not just an American phenomenon. Numerous articles published in the last decade have highlighted how the private pet funeral business is experiencing a \u201cboom.\u201d Nowhere is that truer than in Eastern Asia, where elaborate Buddhist pet funerals can cost owners upward of $600. Kathleen Schaab, of the International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Crematories, says her group\u2019s membership numbers over 200 pet cemeteries and crematories in 15 countries, including China, England, Australia, France, Mexico, and Latvia.<\/p>\n
Closer to home, a Google search reveals that in New Jersey, more than a dozen businesses offer some combination of pet cremation and memorial services. That includes everything from cremation, candlelight vigils, and burial in a pet cemetery to jewelry made from cremains, sympathy gifts, and handmade urns. Steinman says the boom likely stems from the fact that people are increasingly treating pets like family members.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnimals aren\u2019t humans,\u201d says Steinman. \u201cBut with a lot of people now, they\u2019re not having children\u2014their dogs are their babies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n
After graduating, Steinman bought a dilapidated 1950s-era building that once housed a post office and spent three years renovating it. It cost her nearly $100,000 to purchase, transport, and install a retort, or chamber, in which an animal\u2019s body is placed during cremation. She also installed a body morgue\u2014just like those used for humans\u2014and decorated the welcome room and chapel in a homey, country store vibe.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything I do here is done the same exact way as I would do for a human,\u201d says Steinman. \u201cI have a chapel where families can hold a small wake and where they can watch me perform the cremation. Everything is private.\u201d<\/p>\n
When a deceased pet arrives on site, Steinman places it in the body morgue on its own shelf while the owner decides whether to cremate or bury their pet. \u201cThe difference between taking your dog to the vet versus coming to us is that the vet puts them in a typical white freezer. Usually all the animals go in there, and the crematory comes once a week to pick them up,\u201d says Steinman. \u201cI had a body morgue made for me. It\u2019s just a little shorter, and I put [pets] in there on a shelf, alone, with respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owners who choose the burial route can select from biodegradable, animal-sized caskets made of corn husk. Those who choose cremation can watch it be performed, either through a large window in the chapel that looks into the crematory or by streaming it online from the comfort of their home. The process takes anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours depending on the animal\u2019s weight. Once complete, the owner can either take the skeletal remains that are left or have them reduced to ashes and placed in an urn, some of which are handmade by Steinman on site.<\/p>\n
Regardless of which option they choose, owners can also hold a small wake where they can request a priest and invite family to say goodbye. The pet is cleaned when necessary, and laid out for viewing, much like at a human wake.<\/p>\n
The process provides tremendous closure for pet owners, some of whom travel from as far away as Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New York City. In turn, Steinman tries to personalize the experience based on the pet\u2019s personality. If someone describes their cat as a princess, for example, Steinman might make the urn pink with a crown on top. She also offers taxidermy services for animals smaller than 18 inches, as well as disinterment services for pet owners who are moving and would like their previously buried animal cremated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes in losing a pet, you don\u2019t expect to be as upset as you are,\u201d says Steinman. \u201cBut when you think about the unconditional love and everything that pet gave you all those years, it hits you\u2014sometimes even a little harder than the death of a human can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dawn Berman \u201983, \u201900M and her husband, David \u201981, have gone to Forever Remembered twice, most recently after losing their 10-year-old golden retriever, Molly. Dawn says they were sold after their first experience and plan to return in the future when the time comes to unfortunately say goodbye to their other pets.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Jen] has a great way about her that helps even in the worst of times, so I didn\u2019t hesitate to go back to her because it just helped a bad experience be as tolerable as it can be,\u201d says Dawn. \u201cIt helps with the grieving process to actually be able to have a private time and pay respect to the pet, and it helps to let go and bridge the life-to-death process.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pet funeral and cremation business is a busy one these days (see sidebar). Steinman says that calls from owners who lost a pet come in around the clock, and that, on average, she performs 50 private cremations each month. But she makes it a priority to get the cremains back to families as quickly as possible. \u201cWe return everything within 24 hours,\u201d she says, adding that owners also leave with a small booklet that contains the animal\u2019s prints, whether nose and paw prints for a dog or a tail and feet prints for a lizard.<\/p>\n
While she uses her degree from Monmouth to poignantly educate pet owners about the cremation process, what Steinman is most passionate about is being able to offer her clients a private and personalized experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how rich, how poor, how educated you are\u2014if you have a pet, at some point you\u2019ll have to deal with loss,\u201d says Steinman. \u201cSo, I give everyone the respect they deserve and take them through this process one step at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From betta fish to boa constrictors, Jen Steinman \u201910M helps grieving pet owners deal with the loss of a beloved companion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":4208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"thumbnail":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/pet-cremation-300x200.jpg\")
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