On February 24th, Samoyed ‘Beibei’ lay on a small bed in the farewell room. Next to it, on the table, was a portrait of ‘Beibei’, a few candles, and a card on which its owner, Tian Tian, wrote: ‘It’s really hard to see you like this. In the next life, we must definitely still be family. My Beibei, you accompanied me for a while, and I will always remember you.’ The 14-year-old ‘Beibei’ passed away due to illness.
After the farewell ceremony, ‘Beibei’ will be cremated… It is understood that in our country, 3 million pets pass away every year, with nearly 10,000 pets leaving this world every day on average. In recent years, with the rise of the ‘pet economy’, the pet funeral industry has emerged, and ‘pet funeral directors’ have also risen with it. In November 2022, Shandong girls Yan Zhen, Xi Ruo, and Zhang Hong co-founded a pet funeral shop to clean the bodies of deceased pets and accompany the owners to send off their beloved pets on their last journey. Now, they have been in the industry for nearly two years and have held farewell ceremonies for thousands of pets. In their view, holding a farewell ceremony for pets is a dignified farewell between the owner and their beloved pet, marking the end of this precious relationship… 24/7 Service All Year Round for a ‘Dignified Farewell’ On the early morning of the seventh day of the first lunar month, at 3 am, Yan Zhen received a call from a stranger, ‘She told me that when she came back from the New Year’s holiday, she found that her cat seemed to be in trouble, and asked if I could bury it. ‘ Shortly after hanging up the phone, Yan Zhen drove alone from Jinan West to Jinan East, instructing Xi Ruo and Zhang Hong to prepare the ceremony site and related supplies. For them, it is common to transport pets across half the city; and from receiving orders to pet farewell ceremonies, it can happen at any time, 24/7. ‘There is no work without hardship, we are online 24/7.’ After becoming pet funeral directors, they have long been accustomed to staying up late with full energy. ‘Recently, the weather has been changeable, and there are many sudden deaths of dogs and cats, accounting for seventy percent of the cats we cremate,’ said Yan Zhen. ‘However, their owners cannot accept the sudden departure, which is a great blow to them.’ When the pets are brought to the studio to start the farewell ceremony, it is already morning, and by the time all processes are completed at 9 am, the three of them hardly stop for a moment. Since starting business in November 2022, the pet funeral shop has taken more than 1,300 orders and has helped thousands of owners to bid farewell to their beloved pets. At the beginning of each ceremony, the first thing pet funeral directors do is to clean the pet’s fur, dry it, and comb it, trying to restore them to their usual appearance. To soothe the owners’ sad and lost emotions, Xi Ruo and Zhang Hong will set up a warm body farewell room for the pets, fill it with lotus flowers and toys that the pets usually like, and conduct a transcendence ceremony for them.Each farewell ceremony takes about half an hour to an hour. The most difficult part is not cleaning the remains but comforting the owners’ grief. For many people, pet cremation is the most difficult part. However, through the listening and comfort of pet funeral directors, pet owners become willing to share stories about their beloved pets, which gives them a glimmer of comfort. In the funeral room of the store, disinfection and cleaning equipment is very complete.
There are also professional funeral tables and farewell ceremony supplies. The walls of the studio are covered with photos of pets before they were alive. A special area is also set aside as a storage area. The shelves are filled with ‘heavenly letters’ written by owners to their beloved pets. ‘Generally, when we receive a customer’s call, we will go to pick up the furry child and bring them to the store for cleaning. According to the owner’s choice, some are dry-cleaned and some are washed with water. Then we conduct deep cleaning on them, including ears, nose and other parts. After that, we contact the owner for the farewell ceremony, and finally cremation.’ Yan Zhen said. At the end of life, some pets will have incontinence. ‘The smell of their feces is particularly strong. Especially in summer, some remains have already changed when they arrive at the store. Cleaning requires overcoming certain psychological fears.’ But what Yan Zhen and others find most difficult is not cleaning the remains but comforting the owners’ grief. ‘I remember once, a pet owner was reluctant to part with her dog. The farewell ceremony was interrupted several times and lasted for more than five hours. She was so sad. That dog accompanied her throughout her youth.’ They think that pet funeral services are not simply for the deceased beloved pets. More importantly, it is about providing spiritual care and emotional counseling for the ‘bereaved’ owners. ‘The significance of this profession is largely to help pet owners find spiritual comfort. While doing our best to let people love life, we also learn to face death and farewell.’ Xi Ruo said. Kindness, love and understanding of pets are the keys to entering the pet funeral director profession. ‘Some people ask me if I’m not afraid of doing this line of work? In fact, this is a process of helping others and oneself. When death and love meet, as special ‘ferrymen’, we hope that pet owners will not leave too much fear but beautiful messages or blessings. Be happy to meet one’s beloved pet in this life.’ Yan Zhen said. Entering the pet funeral director profession currently does not require an exam. But Yan Zhen thinks that more important than taking an exam is having love. ‘For this profession of pet funeral director, there is currently no issuance of qualification certificates or the like. I think as long as you have love and as long as you are kind, you can become an excellent pet funeral director.’ Yan Zhen believes that people who keep pets include students, the elderly, office workers and freelancers. The common point for them to choose pet funeral services is not economic conditions but being willing to spend on this matter.Pets are a very important family member to them. Therefore, they should choose the most reasonable and acceptable plan to complete this final farewell.
In the store, they have specially designed a wall on which are pasted various photos of pets before their death and messages from pet owners. ‘Many people come to the store in tears and leave in tears. After the farewell ceremony, some customers will ask for some souvenirs, such as cutting some hair from cats and dogs, or making a pendant with ashes. This is to better keep pets by their side.’ Xi Ruo said that holding a farewell ceremony for pets is a decent farewell between the owner and the beloved pet, drawing a full stop to this precious relationship. ‘Even when life leaves, it is worthy of blessing.’ Pet burial teaches them to face parting. Before becoming pet funeral directors, Yan Zhen was a business department manager at an insurance company, and Xi Ruo was working at an airline. After starting a business, they both resigned from their jobs and only focused on doing this one thing well – pet funeral services. ‘When opening the store, I was in the pregnancy stage and it was also quite hard. My family is very supportive of me. They think I can start my own business. And so far, the business is still considered successful. They are also proud of me.’ Yan Zhen said that although the threshold for entering the pet funeral director profession is very low, the upper limit is very high. ‘Because its service is customized and related to very sensitive emotional needs. If not done with care, it will become a very pure cremation service provider rather than a pet funeral director. ‘ Every time they face the sad emotions of pet owners, they will also feel sad. ‘Many guests will be at a loss when facing the death of their pets. Some pets die suddenly and they cannot accept it. We then guide the pet owners to recall their first encounter with the pet, the first time they took it home, its name, habits, hobbies, etc., to soothe their emotions. Sometimes we also cry as we talk.’ Yan Zhen thinks that the most important thing about pets to people is companionship. ‘For example, if you raise a hamster. It can’t talk, but it will accompany you when you work overtime to write manuscripts and become a part of your life. If a pet dies, a part of your life will also be missing and you will be unaccustomed to it.’ ‘The departure of pets has let me know what loss means. When they are still around, accompany them well, cherish the present time, cherish the people around you, and live a good life and strive to live. ‘ Xi Ruo said that being a pet funeral director has extraordinary significance for them.