Pet Ashes Caskets

After losing a pet, you may have decided to pursue a cremation and have your pet’s ashes returned to you in an ashes casket or urn. The question is, which ashes casket to choose and where do you keep them? You will most likely have the decision between keeping them in your home or burying them, either in your garden or a pet cemetery.

Materials

Each pet ashes casket or ashes urn can be completely different. With so many more options available nowadays, you can find a variety of styles and materials online. Which ashes casket you have chosen may dictate where you decide to keep it. The first thing to note is whether the material is biodegradable. If you would like to bury your ashes casket and have your pet return to nature, having a biodegradable pet urn will be a good option as the ashes will naturally become part of the earth as the urn composts. However, if you wish to exhume the ashes casket at a later stage you will want a material which is more robust and waterproof, preventing the breakdown of the pet ashes casket. For example, My Pet Coffin have a variety of woven pet ashes caskets which are fully biodegradable so will be suitable if you wish the casket to break down.

Burying an Ashes Casket

When burying your pet ashes casket, you will need to make sure the spot you choose is away from waterways and underground pipes. It will need to be away from areas that are likely to be excavated in the future so that their resting place is left undisturbed. The land also needs to be owned by yourself if you are choosing to bury it in your garden. Take a look at rules and regulations here. When deciding the size of hole to dig, measure your chosen ashes casket and dig a little wider to allow room for it to fit easily in the hole. The depth will need to be deeper than two feet if you are using a non-biodegradable urn to minimise the chance of disturbance. However, if you want the ashes to breakdown more easily, you may wish to bury the ashes casket nearer the surface where more biological activity takes place. You will then need to place the ashes casket in the hole and fill with earth. The alternative would be to have your pet ashes casket buried at a pet cemetery, where staff will bury this for you. Find out more about pet cemeteries in our previous blog post here. A list of pet cemeteries near you can also be found here.

Why Burial?

One of the benefits of burying your pet ashes casket is that it can be very fitting as it feels like a natural end to their life. The act of burying the ashes casket yourself can also be incredibly cathartic as you have actively participated in their final resting place. It also provides a designated spot, whether it be in your garden or at a pet cemetery, which is dedicated to remembering your pet. It can be somewhere you can go when you would like to take some time to think about them, rather than having a constant reminder in your home which could be painful for some people. You can make the burial site as discrete or as prominent as you like. If you would like an area that is a memorial to your pet, you could grow plants around the area in their name, include a plaque or some ornaments that are sentimental.

Keeping it in the Home

There are also many benefits for keeping your pet ashes casket in your home. Keeping this on your mantel piece or a designated area inside means you will have constant access to your pet’s ashes whenever you like. You won’t need to worry about access to a cemetery or what the weather is like outside. Some pet owners will like to feel reminded of their pet every day when they walk by their pet ashes urn. They can be in pride of place, or on a discrete nook. Whatever feels right to the individual. Keeping this in the home also means that you can change your mind about what you would like to do with their ashes at a later date. If you have decided you would rather use some of the ashes for memorial jewellery or scattering, you can easily do this without needing to exhume the ashes casket. You will also have more flexibility with moving house as you will be able to take your pet ashes casket with you easily wherever, whenever you like without needing to exhume it.

Both options of keeping pet ashes caskets in the home or buried in the garden or cemetery allow pet owners to grieve in different ways. Not everyone will want to grieve in the same way, therefore finding the type of pet ashes casket which suits your situation is important.