When a beloved companion passes, it can be wrenching. This may especially be true when others neither understand nor are sympathetic to your grief.
During such intense times we seek comfort through private rituals and the arrangements made for a loved one’s remains. When a companion animal dies, cremation is the most common practice, but a natural home burial is also commonplace – for those with yards. For those of us without land who prefer burial, the option for a natural burial in a cemetery is nearly nonexistent.
Pet cemeteries – most of which are not deeded with permanent protection status – provide plastic caskets, metal containers. If wood caskets are offered, they are usually stained and varnished, lined with polyester, and placed in the ground among plastic caskets and metal containers.
While we may typically associate animals with nature, in death many of our beloved companions are denied the option of being laid to rest in a natural grave.
The Green Pet-Burial Society joins the green burial movement in ushering in a new period when we can
- Find new connections to the natural in life as well as in death
- Easily access alternatives to toxic environmental practices and products that characterize contemporary aftercare
- Commit our bodies to the preservation and restoration of natural places
- Provide an option to all those who find comfort in bringing their loved ones to their natural home
photo credit: flickr.com, Anita363, P9120002
updated December 19, 2010
