“Death is not the end. Forgetting is.” – Coco. What should pet owners do when the pet they raised with their own hands suddenly passes away one day? The greatest hope of pet owners is that their pets can stay by their side and live in peace until old age. Although they are prepared for the pet to leave one day when they decide to raise a pet, when that day really comes, the sadness and reluctance still cannot be stopped. Holding a solemn and warm farewell ceremony for the pet and seeing them off on their last journey becomes the last thing pet owners can do for their pets.
The reporter visited five pet memorial parks and found that the park environment is clean and tidy. The funeral places in most memorial parks have a warm decoration style and are committed to providing warm funeral services. The cremation price ranges from several hundred to several thousand yuan and is charged according to the pet’s weight (in catties). Most memorial parks are open 24 hours and can arrange door-to-door services.
Pet funeral director Peng Lin said, ‘For pet owners who have lost their pets, what they need is not only funeral services, but more emotional comfort and support. Many times we will spend a lot of time chatting with the owners, and this process often lasts for several days, months or even years.’ For funeral directors, such a profession requires them to have more stable emotions and a stronger heart.
In Changsha Muchong Memorial Park, in addition to farewells for common pets, the park can also provide funeral services for exotic pets such as snakes, turtles, parrots ‘Mango’, dwarf hamsters ‘Zizi’, squirrels ‘Mianmian’, and little hamsters ‘Xiaotuanzi’. ‘The departure of my kitten ‘Dengdeng’ makes me very heartbroken. But in this cemetery specially built for pets, I have found a gentle way to say goodbye. The environment here is quiet and tree-lined. Every time I come here, the sadness in my heart is slowly resolved. Thank you to the pet cemetery for giving me a place to commemorate and say goodbye, so that my sad heart can find some support. Here, I see many people like me. We all understand that although pets have left our world, they will always be a warm existence in our hearts and a part of our own families. If you have also lost a beloved little life, come here and feel it. You can really find a little comfort.’ As one pet owner said. This state of mind is extremely representative – in recent years, people attach importance to their emotions with pets, respect the dignity of life, and psychologically show a transition from ‘having a proper burial after death’ to hoping for ‘a peaceful departure’. With the progress of society and the improvement of people’s living standards, pets have become important members of many families. More and more pet owners choose to hold decent funeral ceremonies for their pets. Generally, the scale of the urban population is proportional to the number of pets. The larger the population, the greater the number of pets owned, which in turn promotes the growth of demand for pet end-of-life services. According to the data of China Industry Research and Pu Hua Industrial Research Institute, the market size of China’s pet funeral service market has grown from 701 million yuan in 2018 to 1. 825 billion yuan in 2023, more than doubling in five years. The number of pet dogs in China has exceeded 100 million. If calculated according to an 8% mortality rate, the number of pet dogs that die each year also exceeds 8 million. In 2022, the number of new enterprises entering the pet funeral industry reached 979, the highest value in recent years. In the first quarter of 2023, the number of newly established enterprises continued to grow rapidly, indicating that the market heat continues to increase. Peng Lin said, ‘The pet funeral industry has emerged in the past five years. In fact, as early as 2013 to 2015, my friends started to do this job.’ In the next 5 to 10 years, the pet funeral industry will be in a period of growth and explosion. According to industry insiders, the degree of standardization in the current pet industry is not high. Less than 10% of pet stores have a complete standardized process. This is also one of the reasons why there are relatively few chain stores in the pet funeral industry.The pet funeral industry is still in its infancy, with industry standards not yet fully developed. According to data from Tianyancha Professional Edition, as of now, there are more than 42,000 institutions in China involved in pet funeral services. However, due to the relatively low industry barriers, market service quality is inconsistent and prices are chaotic, with some businesses operating illegally, such as cremating multiple pets in one furnace, illegally disposing of animal remains, and using substandard cremation equipment.
Therefore, pet owners should conduct thorough research when choosing pet funeral services to avoid being misled by excessive business promotion. If a business refuses on-site visits under the pretext of ‘privacy’ or ‘intense industry competition’, only accepting online consultations, pet owners should remain cautious and deliberate carefully. To ensure a smooth and dignified final journey for small animals, pet owners should carefully discern various services and choose a truly trustworthy memorial park, allowing them to rest in peace in another world. “The gauze light and shadow in the farewell room, returning to nature.” Funeral director Peng Lin said that they receive the bodies of small animals on average every day. When the reporter arrived at the funeral park, despite the bright summer season, the wall of beloved pet photos and messages from pet owners inside the hall were filled with a sorrowful atmosphere. In front of the table in the waiting room, many pet owners left written messages during the process of waiting for the cremation of their pets, expressing their thoughts and grief. “Nian Nian, it’s me, don’t be afraid, I’m here with you. I can hear the sound of the furnace burning, I will always be with you, and later I will take you home.” “Sister really misses you, can you come to my dream, baby is the most obedient, come to see your sister, all the words your sister wants to say are in the letter, remember to find a friend who can read to you.” “In a sense, this is the first time I have seriously raised a dog, but things are always sudden, and I blame myself for not taking good care of you. Love is always feeling indebted, you won’t blame me, right?” “Pets are little angels, they choose to trust a human who is more than 10 times larger than themselves and entrust their entire life to you. They are a part of my life, but I am their whole life.” With the severity of aging and the decrease in birth rates, the number of pets per person increases, and the role of pets in the family may become more and more important. Pets gradually become a ‘family member’. More pet owners will choose pet funerals, using warm funerals to let small animals ‘leave with dignity’. A touching farewell in the voice of a pet in the memorial park: “I really love you, the fur I left in your bed will tell you that I really love you, the footprints I left on your book will tell you that I really love you, the scent I left on your clothes will tell you that I really love you. ”When the petals of March in the mountain city fall on the land where I am buried, I know that it is the spring clothing you put on me. In fact, saying goodbye is not only bidding farewell to the deceased, but also saying goodbye to the time we spent together. Life is limited, but memories are long.