It is all of your pets bones that you get back. Your pet ash is really the bone ash of your pet, as everything else has turned into carbon dioxide and water (in the case of complete combustion) and disappeared up the chimney. Sometimes metal remains from a pet’s collar or orthopedic surgery are found and can be returned with the ashes if requested. However these metal parts are usually discarded as they block the cremulator which the bones go through to turn them into a fine ash.

No – it is the residues of embalming chemicals that are not good for the environment.

Sometimes pet owners request to have a favourite toy or blanket cremated with their pet. The refractory floor which makes up the hearth can be damaged by metals such as collars, plastics and glass so it is preferable that these objects do not go with the pet for cremation. PVC plastic gives off dioxins (poisons) as it burns, and wool insulates the pet and prevents it from burning fully. Flowers, and a small amount of paper or cardboard from cards and photos are fine to include with the pet.

Yes, any number of pets can be put together for cremation as long as the owner does not want the ashes separated for each of the pets. They can also go into the same container.

Yes. The little plastic chip burns up to nothing on cremation. However if the pet has a pacemaker (although this is not common in NZ), then it cannot be cremated unless the pacemaker has been removed.

Your pet will remain in the chiller before it is cremated. We do not have a freezer so your pet will not be frozen, but sometimes pets arrive to us frozen and they will be cremated in this state.

We sometimes receive requests for a declaration letter to present to customs upon leaving the country with the cremains of a pet. We have never had customs contact us or request such a letter, but we can certainly supply you with one if only for peace of mind.

People have many different reasons for either cremating or burying their pets and it often depends on the size of the pet, and the person’s circumstances as to the decision they make. However, many pet owners realise that they may not stay in the same place forever, in which case if they have buried their pet on the property, it will be left there when they move.

Yes, as long as your pet was buried in a plastic bag or such to contain them then you will be able to exhume them and have them cremated successfully. We have cremated animals that have been several years in the ground before they were brought to us for cremation.

The wood can be treated with any sort of furniture polish such as Pledge or Polishing Oil. We sometimes stain the engraving if it has been lasered into the wood to make it show up more clearly, and we use a little meths on the wood to take off the smoke produced during the engraving process.