My best friend of 17 years, who happened to be a cat (and yes I don't care how stupid that sounds),…read moredied in my arms after 6 months of renal failure several weeks ago.
It sucked. Hard.
The only thing that sucks harder than having a beloved companion die at home is realizing you now have a deceased friend in your arms and now what.
Our wonderful cat vets at Completely Cat Clinic recommended Paw & Remember. My Mom called them (it was the crack of freaking dawn on a Monday - awesome way to start the week) and a very nice lady said, yes, of course, come by and we can help you.
I sat in the car and hugged my girl while my Mom went in and dealt with the logistics; they had me come in, and the staff was so kind! Like, hey, good morning, here's a sobbing woman hugging a dead cat in a towel! Hi! But oh man they handled it beautifully. They asked me questions about my cat, gave me tissues because I was a complete disaster, and, when I was ready, I handed her off to a very nice woman who carried her body over to the crematorium.
They do individual cremations here; if you're like IN LOVE with your pet like me, that stuff matters, and they take a number of steps to assure you the cremated remains in your lovingly hand-stenciled box (that broke my heart - free of charge, her name stenciled all beautifully on the box) are those of your best friend and not just sweepings of whoever happened to pass that day.
They provide you with a care package when you come back to pick up your pet's ashes. It has a little memory book to fill out, with a little bag of fur they clipped from your friend, and a pamphlet about grieving with numbers to call if you're just totally in need of someone to talk to about your loss.
Hi, I'm sobbing my way through this review, more than anything because I was so genuinely touched by the kindness and sensitivity of their staff. What lovely, gentle human beings, performing such an unfortunate but helpful service, in literally *THE* kindest, most loving way possible.
It's surprising to feel comforted and so well taken care of by strangers when you're enduring such a personal, hard to articulate loss, but these are the best strangers possible. I can't recommend them highly enough. It's a sad job but I am so grateful these wonderful people are here to do it.