Is It Better to Bury or Cremate Your Pet?

What to Consider Before Making a Decision

The decision of what to do with a beloved pet’s body is a deeply personal one. It’s also not always easy to make in the moment.

When you’re faced with a loss that happens at home, or your vet asks about your preference at the clinic, your mind might go blank. Should you cremate your pet? Should you bury them? If you cremate them, do you want the ashes back? Will you scatter those ashes, bury them, keep them on the mantel or do something else with them? These decisions can leave you feeling blind-sided, and you might not know the best way to proceed.

As a pet cremation service, we can’t tell you what’s the right choice for your fur-family. But we can tell you some reasons why many people find that pet cremation is the better choice than burial for their circumstances:

You Don’t Need a Burial Plot

If you own your own property and the laws in your neighborhood allow it, you can bury your pet in your backyard. For renters and others without access to land, burial requires a plot in a pet cemetery. You need to pay for burial and may be responsible for grave upkeep fees, the same as you would for a human family member. In that case, cremation may be the cheaper option, and it provides greater flexibility.

You Can Take Your Time Choosing a Final Resting Place

Should your beloved pet be laid to rest in your garden? At your childhood home? A park where you played frisbee all the time? The mountain trail where you hiked together? If you choose pet cremation, the answer can be, “All of the above.”

Cremation allows you to lay your pet’s ashes to rest at a location meaningful to you. It also affords you time to keep their ashes nearby while you decide what to do, or even hold onto them permanently. You can always change your mind later, and you’re not locked into a permanent decision the way you would with a burial.

You Can Keep a Part of Them Close

If you are likely to move in the future, you may be distressed at the idea of leaving your beloved companion’s remains behind. If you choose cremation, you can keep all or a portion of the ashes with you and bring them to your next home. You can even choose a piece of pet memorial jewelry or another keepsake for holding their ashes and keeping them close.

Cremation Can Be Much Simpler

When you bury your pet, you need to worry about the logistics of burial. You need to be sure the grave is the correct depth, that you’ve chosen an appropriate container for their body, that there are no electrical or gas lines you could hit, and so forth.

If you’re buying a gravesite at a pet cemetery, you’ll need to make arrangements with the cemetery for the burial plot and casket, and you’ll need to find an available pet cemetery near you that has room. The cemetery may charge more depending on the size of your pet, so you’ll need to account for that in your planning.

When you choose cremation at Best Friends Pet Passings and Cremation, you simply have to choose which cremation package you prefer. We work with flat-rate prices, so you won’t have any surprises when the time comes. We understand that the loss of a pet can be devastating, and we want you to know you’re not alone at this time. If you decide that pet cremation is the right choice for your needs, call us at (803) 888-7095 to make arrangements.