Goodbye to a dear friend: Barcelona offers funeral services and incineration for pets

goodbye-to-a-dear-friend:-barcelona-offers-funeral-services-and-incineration-for-pets

An owner with her pet

An owner with her pet

It is all personalized and allows the owner to keep the ashes in a specially made ballot box or convert it into jewellery

Recently opened, Barcelona has the first funeral parlour that works exclusively with pets. It is an ancient demand, in which mascot owners wanted to make a personal and more ‘human farewell’ to their loved ones. The building has two private rooms where you can meet up with relatives and friends to dismiss collectively and say goodbye to your pet. There is also the choice to witness, if you want to, the incineration process. Always in privacy and in an intimate and absolutely empathic atmosphere.

One of the innovative things of the company is that you can keep the ashes of the mascot in a personalised funerary ballot boxes: they can include a picture of the animal and you can also choose from different materials (wood, ceramic, porcelain) and shapes. You can even transform these ashes into candle holders or jewellery, all made of biodegradable materials and with an environmentally-friendly production process.

The ashes of the mascot in a personalised funerary ballot boxes

The ashes of the mascot in a personalised funerary ballot boxes

This “Pet Mortuary” was created by a company specialized in animal incineration, Ineco, to respond to the growing demand from society for a service of these characteristics in Barcelona area. The success of the initiative, the first ever made in Catalonia and one of the first in Spain, has been so great that in just six months the company has made more than 200 incinerations since its opening. On average, the number of burials that the funeral home serves ranges from one to six a day, although the facilities are prepared to accommodate from eight to ten daily.

Cats and dogs are the most incinerated animals, but also reptiles like iguanas and snakes, and also rabbits or tropical birds.

It is important to point out that in order to have access to these services, a veterinarian’s approval is required. The professionals may be able to inform you about this possibility. That is, the owners cannot benefit from this service on their own.

 Barcelona has the first funeral parlour that works exclusively with pets.

Barcelona has the first funeral parlour that works exclusively with pets.

Apart from the express authorization from the veterinarian, the details of the dismissal are decided by the pet’s owner. You can decide if you want to see the animal before the ceremony for a last goodbye, bring its favourite toy, and even decide if you want to witness the incineration process. Another personalized service is the choosing of the urns, made specifically for pets. They include drawings such as the footprint of a dog or a cat or a space to put a picture of the mascot, which will undoubtedly be greatly missed.

Altogether, you can now find in Barcelona a funerary company which offers all pet owners the same level of care and compassion that their animal counterpart has devotedly given to their human companions during the pet’s life. Just because most of us realise that lots of times, the pain suffered from the loss of our best friend, (which can be a dog, a cat, an iguana or a bird) is equal to the suffering of a family loss. Warmth and compassion always makes things easier and better.