written by a person, not a computer
5 minute read
Hello fellow animal lovers, I’m sorry you need this content.
Losing your four legged family is so difficult, I’m genuinely sorry for your loss whether it just happened, or is approaching. About a million of us go through this each year, that doesn’t make it easier, but know that you are not alone. If you need to learn the basics of pet cremation, I recommend you read the post titled The Basics of Cremation.
If you are seeking pet funeral services in and around the San Diego area, you have only a few choices, but they offer some truly astonishing options.
The San Diego area is the 8th largest metro area in the country with a population of just over 3 million. While your immediate association with San Diego is likely to be their world famous zoo, wild animal park, and marine animal park, culturally, San Diego is like Los Angeles, with a population that is affluent, diverse, unique, and loves their animals. The uniqueness and affluence of the population is reflected in your pet cremation and funeral options.
My goal is to provide you with empowering consumer information, not to advertise for anyone, or malign their business, so no names will be used, but it isn't difficult to figure out an individual business if you wish to. Despite the areas population, there are relatively few business that provide these services, so I'll be reviewing 3 today.
Location 1, Sorrento Valley area- This business offers almost every service that a family with a deceased pet could want. They offer burial, cremation, a pet mausoleum, and a pet columbarium. We will begin with classic private cremation which does include an urn.
Private Cat 270 Medium dog 305 Large dog 390
Columbarium storage Cat 1100 Medium dog 1200 Large dog 1340
There is also likely a modest yearly fee as well.
After cremation, if you wish to take the ashes home you may, but they offer another service as well, permanent storage in the columbarium. A columbarium is a room or building with niches to store funeral urns.
You may have never heard of this before, but places like these have been around since cremation became an option. Most are offered by churches, so that parishioners can select to spend their eternity in the company of those who were in their faith community. Not everyone who dies wants or has children to take their ashes home to treasure forever.
Columbariums are much more common in the Far East, especially Japan. Japan's burial costs are extreme due to the cost of land, so cremation is chosen by nearly all families. With all that cremation, having places to formally store ashes forever is necessary and a common choice.
We still need to get to the other options funeral and mausoleum. Their mausoleum is full for now, so there are no prices. On to funeral. They offer all inclusive pet funerals, with a service. This is unusual, there are lots of pet cemeteries in the US, but very few who will treat your family to a human style service.
Funerals are priced based on the size of your pet, as a larger pet will take up more space. A complete funeral for a small animal will cost near $7000 and a large animal closer to $8500. This does include the digging and filling of the hole, an attractive casket, and a real service. Headstones are not included in this price, a basic headstone starts at 350, but it is easy to spend 4 or even 5 figures on one. There is a modest yearly care fee a well.
These costs will be shocking to most. But I'm not saying it's out of line. A great deal of the cost of burial is the land, which has to be cared for forever. If you live in this area you know that a standard 3 bed, 2 bath home can cost a million dollars, and some far more. These costs are proportional to the cost of of other kinds of real estate, only your family can say if it is worth it to have a real funeral, in a beautiful space that you can visit anytime, forever.
Location 2, Central San Diego- This business offers aquamation only, and is advertising it as a greener option, which is absolutely true. They will pick up the pet from your residence for about 100, but your choice of urns costs extra.
Private Cat 200 Medium dog 250 Large dog 300
Location 3, East Clairemont- This business offers aquamation, in home euthanasia services, and other options that are among the most unique I have come across. In home euthanasia costs about 400, and is completed by a licensed vet in accordance with CA law. For aquamation the costs include an urn, local pickup, and paw print making these prices a good value in my opinion. Pickup from longer distances is available for additional costs.
Private Cat 275 Medium dog 275 Large dog 325
It is the taxidermy services that really make this business stand out. I have to be honest, I don't think these choices are for everyone, but they could be for you. They offer the cleaning and preservation of your pet's bones, just the head, or the whole skeleton. They can be returned to you with the bones artfully arranged, or "articulated" meaning posed. Prices for this range from 200 for just a single bone, or 2000+ for a whole skeleton. I imagine that a large animal will cost more as well and know that this is a slow process taking a year or more in some cases.
If just the bones isn't right for you, they offer other portions of the body preserved too. You can save just an ear, foot, tail or your pet's coat if you'd like to still be able to connect with how they felt to touch. Plan on several hundred to 1000 for a service like this.
Summary
The San Diego area is diverse, unique, and features both posh apartments and open ranchland. Land is expensive here, which easily explains the very high funeral expense, though the standard pet cremation costs are less than other affluent cities.
-In San Diego, you have every pet funeral option! Burial with real funeral, cremation, aquamation, and pet preservation (taxidermy).
-Most were individual family run businesses.
-Only one location publicly advertised their prices, but all were forthcoming on the phone.
-Though I chose not to get into the weeds with added services, some crematoriums offer additions that will quickly escalate the price. If you want a fur clipping, nicer urn, plaster paw print, cremation casket, to view the cremation, etc. the price can rise rapidly. However, there is no tax on services in CA.
-A private cremation for a cat will likely cost between $200 - 275
-A private cremation for a medium dog will likely cost between $250 - 305
-A private cremation for a large dog will likely cost between $300 - 400
-A professionally managed pet funeral and burial will cost $7000 - 8500, plus headstone
Sometimes people are in a rush to make cremation or funeral decisions. Slow down. Consider your options carefully, once you make these choices, there is no going back. Your four legged family will be fine lying in state at home for a day or two if that’s what it takes to do this right. You can check out this page for an eBook on how to have a pet funeral at home.
Written by Peter of Pawsitive Memorials, I"m sorry for your loss.
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