People can create very strong bonds with their pets. The bonds can be so strong that some people want their pet’s to remain with them even after death.
If you’re planning ahead and thinking about your own disposition, you may decide that you want your pet’s cremated remains to be placed with your own. That is possible in many cases, but it is something that needs to be worked out in advance. Below are a few things to think about so that you and your beloved pet get to rest in peace together.
Storing Pet Cremains and Human Cremains Together
The easiest way to ensure your pet’s cremated remains stay with your own is to choose an urn that can hold them both together. You can either:
- Select an urn that’s large enough to hold all of the cremains. Most urns are made to hold the cremains of an average sized adult. That works out to be around 200 cubic inches. However, you can find urns that are up to 300 cubic inches. That would easily allow for the cremated remains of a 200-pound person and large dog.
- Choose a companion urn. Companion urns have two compartments so that one receptacle can be used to separately hold the cremains of two people – or a person and a pet.
- Choose two separate urns that are kept together in a larger receptacle of your choice.
What you choose is completely up to you and how you plan to store the cremains. However, you may want to consider if more than one pet will end up in the urn with you. Whether or not your pet has already been cremated you can get the urn in advance so that you have a receptacle you know will work.
Burying Human and Pet Cremains Together
Pet cremains can be buried alongside human cremains in many cemeteries, although that depends on the cemetery’s policies. Typically, a pet’s cremains must be buried in a plot with human remains in order to be in a cemetery. For example, in New York State cemeteries can’t create sections for pets or allow pets to be buried in a plot on their own. That can only be done in a pet cemetery that’s solely for animals.
Putting Pets in a Columbarium Niche
A columbarium niche is another option for storing cremated remains. In most cases, a pet’s cremains can be stored in a columbarium niche. The one hangup could be the size of the niche. You’ll need to make sure that the receptacle(s) that you choose can fit inside. Columbarium niches are often 9” tall x 9” wide x 9” deep or 12” tall x 12” wide x 12” deep. There are also larger companion niches that are designed to hold two urns.
At Direct Cremate we can help you pre-arrange direct cremation services so that resting in peace with your pet is possible. Give our team a call or text any hour of the day to make arrangements.
