There comes a time in every pet owner’s life when our beloved pets will have to be laid to rest. Most of the time, they pass peacefully at a ripe old age, surrounded by your family, but what are the next steps after this? There are a few ways to make sure your pet is properly taken care of after their passing, here are just some of them!
Disposing of pet’s remains
If you’re an owner of a small pet such as ornamental fish, birds, and hamsters, they can actually be properly bagged and disposed of in your trash cans. According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), as long as your pet is carefully wrapped and placed with other bagged general waste, they can be brought to the waste-to-energy (WTE) plants and be disposed of.
However, the WTE plants are not made to cremate larger animals such as dogs and cats, and should instead be brought to pet crematoriums for a proper service and burial instead.
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Types of pet cremation services
There isn’t just one type of cremation either; in Singapore, there are about three ways to go about with cremating your pet. They are:
- Communal cremation
- Individual cremation
- Private cremation
1. Communal cremation
In a communal cremation, your pet will be cremated along with other pets, their ashes mixed together. You won’t be able to attend the cremation and the ashes won’t be returned to you either. Instead, they will either be scattered with the rest of the ashes in the sea or buried in a community burial ground.
2. Individual cremation
During an individual cremation, your pet will also be cremated with other pets, but a partition wall ensures that their ashes will not be mixed with the others. Even though you still won’t be able to attend the cremation, you’ll be able to collect your pet’s ashes to be kept in an urn or buried.
3. Private cremation
If you and your family are able to provide the funds for a private cremation, your pet will be cremated in a private cremation chamber with your family in attendance. The ashes will be placed in an urn for you to bring home afterwards as well.
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Whichever cremation service you choose, it all depends on the affordability and your personal preference. Communal cremation is cheaper and ranges from anywhere between S$20 to S$428, while private cremations can go up to S$160 to S$695 and more. It’s best to discuss this with your family beforehand to ensure a quick and easy process when the time comes.
Pet cremation services
There are a few companies in Singapore that help with pet cremation, though some also offer other services such as sea ash scattering and creating keepsakes like pendants.
Here are some of the companies:
Mandai Pets Sanctuary
Cremation services: From S$21.40 to S$695+
Pet urns: From S$128 to S$188
Keepsakes: S$68
Address: No. 5 Mandai Road S(779391)
Contact numbers: 64560533 / 96163449
Mobile Pet Cremation Services Pte. Ltd
Address: T81 Seletar West Farmway 5, (S)798061
Contact number: 9455 6355
Paws to Heaven
Pet urns: From S$148
Keepsakes: From S$128 to S$338
Address: 2 Bukit Batok street 24 #01-14 Skytech Building S(659480)
Contact number: 8719 9991
Sanctuary Pet Cremation
Cremation services: From S$115 to S$580
Address: 10 Neo Tiew Lane 2 S(718813)
Contact number: 96330991
Rainbow Paradise Pet Cremation
Cremation services: From S$118 to S$548+
Pet urns: From S$28
Keepsakes: From S$28 to S$48
Address: 81 Sungei Tengah Road Singapore 699005
Contact number: 8862 7922
Photo by thongden_studio on Freepik.com.
Though a pet’s death can be heartbreaking, we can at least rest easier after making the proper arrangements for their remains. Whether you choose to keep their ashes or have them scattered, it’s the memories and time you spent with your pet that are the most precious!