URGENT Q - can I take dead dog from LHR to SYD to bury?
#16
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 973
I wished we could bring our dog's body back to Sydney to bury him along with our cat and another dog. Every time I was in the garden, I always looked at their graves and said hello to them. They are buried beneath our deck in a nice sunny place. They were never far from us. I am a bit weary about cremation because I do not know if we can be sure that the pet funeral place would treat them with respect - after reading stories ...
#17
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It really depends on where you go to for the cremation. I personally took Angel's remains to Hartsdale Pet Cemetary in Westchester, NY where they had a private viewing room so we could say our goodbye's and then you hand your pet over to the staff and wait for the ashes. The staff there were wonderful and in a way it helped me bring a little bit of closure.
Last edited by RSSrsvp; Dec 24, 2012 at 3:38 pm
#18
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 973
It really depends on where you go to for the cremation. I personally took Angel's remains to Hartsdale Pet Cemetary in Westchester, NY where they had a private viewing room so we could say our goodbye's and then you hand your pet over to the staff and wait for the ashes. The staff there were wonderful and in a way it helped me bring a lille bit of closure.
In London, we had to leave our baby with the vet and they would arrange for the cremation. Vet said it would take a few weeks before we could collect our baby's ashes (it has been 10 days since we had vet put our baby to an eternal sleep, and we have not heard about the ashes). We did not know any pet cemetery here, so had to leave everything to vet. If it were in Sydney, we would certainly lay our baby to rest in our backyard - so we could always say hello to him when we were in the gardens.
#19
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Ten days sounds like a long time although many vets schedule a weekly pickup for cremation. I would call the vet and find out what the story was. In my case I personally drove to the pet cemetery because I didn't want to wait for my vet to handle the matter and I wanted to personally say goodbye.
#20
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 973
Ten days sounds like a long time although many vets schedule a weekly pickup for cremation. I would call the vet and find out what the story was. In my case I personally drove to the pet cemetery because I didn't want to wait for my vet to handle the matter and I wanted to personally say goodbye.
Hubby is back in London from Australia tomorrow (Christmas day). I will ask him to phone vet after Boxing day. I am too distressed to call.
#21
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 973
Hubby came back to London on Christmas morning. He phoned vet on 27 December and was told our beloved Coco's ashes were ready for collection. We picked up the urn from vet that evening. Our other dog was with us and she thought we were visiting Coco in the vet hospital - which broke our hearts.
There was a certificate which said he was individually cremated on 18 December (we had vet put him to an eternal sleep on 15 December). There was also a pamphlet about the pet crematorium (in Cambridge) with its web site. I went to the web site to have a look and it said we could have brought Coco's body to the crematorium to say our personal goodbye and pick up the ashes an hour later (like RSSrsvp did for his Angel). Vet did not explain this to us, which made me very upset.
Vet practices in the UK are very different from those in Australia. In London we have to register pets with a particular vet before getting treatment and when we want to change vet, it becomes like a fight between them. It was difficult to get a second opinion. In Sydney, we could take our pets to any vet practice, no question asked. Also, in Sydney we could take our pets directly (no referal was required) to a university teaching vet hospital where the equipments are modern and pets are seen by lecturers / professors. In London, university teaching vet hospitals only accept pets on referals from vets.
I have placed Coco's urn on a shelf on top of our computer and I wept every time I looked at it. We have not been able to come to terms with our beloved Coco's loss at all. Hubby has encouraged me to put together an album of our favourite photos of Coco over the last 10 years, and to write a book about his life (for us to remember him).
There was a certificate which said he was individually cremated on 18 December (we had vet put him to an eternal sleep on 15 December). There was also a pamphlet about the pet crematorium (in Cambridge) with its web site. I went to the web site to have a look and it said we could have brought Coco's body to the crematorium to say our personal goodbye and pick up the ashes an hour later (like RSSrsvp did for his Angel). Vet did not explain this to us, which made me very upset.
Vet practices in the UK are very different from those in Australia. In London we have to register pets with a particular vet before getting treatment and when we want to change vet, it becomes like a fight between them. It was difficult to get a second opinion. In Sydney, we could take our pets to any vet practice, no question asked. Also, in Sydney we could take our pets directly (no referal was required) to a university teaching vet hospital where the equipments are modern and pets are seen by lecturers / professors. In London, university teaching vet hospitals only accept pets on referals from vets.
I have placed Coco's urn on a shelf on top of our computer and I wept every time I looked at it. We have not been able to come to terms with our beloved Coco's loss at all. Hubby has encouraged me to put together an album of our favourite photos of Coco over the last 10 years, and to write a book about his life (for us to remember him).
#22
Join Date: Dec 2012
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My deepest heartfelt condolences on your loss. Coco was obviously very loved and cherished. By placing his ashes in your garden alongside your other beloved pets, you will always have him close by. And of course, forever in your hearts. I lost my beautiful dog a few months ago and I kept a bit of her fur which I clipped just before we let her go. All the best in the New Year.
#23
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 973
My deepest heartfelt condolences on your loss. Coco was obviously very loved and cherished. By placing his ashes in your garden alongside your other beloved pets, you will always have him close by. And of course, forever in your hearts. I lost my beautiful dog a few months ago and I kept a bit of her fur which I clipped just before we let her go. All the best in the New Year.
We did exactly what you did with your beautiful dog. The last night Coco was home (before we brought him to vet to put to an eternal sleep) we cried over him and told him how much we have loved him and would miss him. We then cut a bit of his fur to keep to remember him. It has been so hard to let go.
#24
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1
Wow, it was worth it to register to reply to you! Did you get word about Australia allowing the cremated remains into the country?
Someone told me that deaths work just like burns. They will never heal back to the way they were before, but the pain will eventually fade and the memory of how you got it stays.
When my Boston Terrier Spike went across the rainbow bridge I didn't have a place to bury him (a since-estranged relative helped) but I kept his tags and collar. When our three go wife and I plan on cremating and keeping the tags to place on their photos. Could be something nice to place on the urn.
Someone told me that deaths work just like burns. They will never heal back to the way they were before, but the pain will eventually fade and the memory of how you got it stays.
When my Boston Terrier Spike went across the rainbow bridge I didn't have a place to bury him (a since-estranged relative helped) but I kept his tags and collar. When our three go wife and I plan on cremating and keeping the tags to place on their photos. Could be something nice to place on the urn.
#25
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 973
Wow, it was worth it to register to reply to you! Did you get word about Australia allowing the cremated remains into the country?
Someone told me that deaths work just like burns. They will never heal back to the way they were before, but the pain will eventually fade and the memory of how you got it stays.
When my Boston Terrier Spike went across the rainbow bridge I didn't have a place to bury him (a since-estranged relative helped) but I kept his tags and collar. When our three go wife and I plan on cremating and keeping the tags to place on their photos. Could be something nice to place on the urn.
Someone told me that deaths work just like burns. They will never heal back to the way they were before, but the pain will eventually fade and the memory of how you got it stays.
When my Boston Terrier Spike went across the rainbow bridge I didn't have a place to bury him (a since-estranged relative helped) but I kept his tags and collar. When our three go wife and I plan on cremating and keeping the tags to place on their photos. Could be something nice to place on the urn.
Australian quarantine laws are probably the strictest in the world. So, the answer we got from all sources was an emphatic "no" - we could not take our dog's body back to Australia. They all said we had to cremate him and bring his ashes back.
When we were living in Sydney a few years ago, we had a Canadian neighbour (an expat) rented a house 2 doors down. He has 3 beautiful boxers and he said to me that he has made a will that if his dogs predeceased him, he would cremate them and that when he goes, all his dog ashes should be buried with him. I thought that showed how deep the strong bond / love between people and their pets.
Reading another thread in this forum about pets crossing the Rainbow Bridge, makes me wept as I feel for people who are in the same situation as us. However, being able to share our loss and feelings gives me comfort in knowing that our pets (cats or dogs or other animals) are an important part of our families and lives. Hubby always said a house is not a home unless there also lives a pet - because no matter how bad a day in the office, when he comes home there is always a pet waiting to greet him and to take away his stresses.
#27
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#28
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#29
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 973
She is 9 years old - so she had been with our 10 years old boy all her life. They got on really well, and were almost inseparable until now. When we go on driving trips outside London, we always bring the urn containing our boy's ashes in the car with us.