Family pet respects

>> Say goodbye to furry companion by
knowing its cremation will be classy

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Averil Robinson

Age: “50-something”

Occupation: Founder of Pet Friends

Bio: This magnanimous Alexandria, Ontario gal hails from a distant land called the United Kingdom, “where pets are really revered.” Coming from a long line of dog breeders and veterinarians, Averil had been working in the local fashion biz when one of her beloved pets passed away and she discovered that “there was nothing here, nothing secure, nothing regulated” with respect to pet disposal in Quebec. Forced to see her baby “disposed of in an unsavoury way,” Averil right then and there decided that she “was going to change things” and opened up Pet Friends out in St-Lazare. Now, come that terrible day when you’re forced to put Fluffy out to pasture, you can do so comfortable in the knowledge that Averil, whose “whole life is devoted to rescued animals” and her Pet Friends organization will make sure the ol’ Fluffmeister’s remains are treated with dignity through a “secure” cremation or burial. “Animals are not lower on the totem pole in any way, they’re equals and should be respected as such. Pet Friends is not a business but a service of compassion, filling a need for the aftercare of these precious little people.” Contact her via www.petfriends.ca.

Something you’re not allowed to do in Quebec: Bury your pet in the backyard, or anywhere for that matter, in keeping with the province’s “strict” environmental regulations. By law, vetrinarians either have to send Fluffy’s remains for “general disposal” or cremation.

The difference between having Fluffy’s corpse disposed of through Pet Friends as opposed to the more traditional dumpster method: “ We always wrap them in a beautiful blanket, put them on a stretcher—it’s really quite beautiful. We can arrange for you to witness the cremation ceremony online, and then we return your pet in the choice of urn you’ve picked out from our Web site. What’s nice about cremation is that people move a lot, and you can always take the urn with you no matter where you go. Many of our clients put in their wills that they want to be buried with their pets alongside them. Also, we realize families need emotional support during this very painful time, the loss of a pet, so we have grief counsellors we can refer people to as well.”

Given that one’s pet is, um, generally kind of dead by the time it’s being taken to be cremated, why does Pet Friends place so much emphasis on “security”? “It’s the security of knowing it’s actually your pet being cremated, that it’s going through the same system of cremation that humans do, that it’s been numbered, put in a cremation log and that all the information regarding its cremation has been recorded and is readily available.”

Have any recent Asian immigrants ever come to her door during the cremation of a German shepherd asking her what’s cooking that smells so goddamned good? Not yet.

Last book read: Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover’s Soul, by Canfield, Hansen, Becker and Kline.

Musical preferences: Rachmaninoff, Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Words of wisdom: “Treasure the life of your pet, because it’s truly precious—and short!”

Comments: dimwit@hdot.net