I spent the day in the field yesterday with a wonderful pet funeral home client. We had a spirited ?Lunch and Learn? session at a fabulous veterinary clinic ? educating them on what pet parents are wanting in the loss of their pet, the various options available in memorialization products, and the grief process in general.
And, much like any other session that I have with veterinarians, I was ?intrigued? by their description of ?cremation.? Descriptions such as ?you put the thing into the machine and it comes out the end? to ?the pet goes down a conveyor belt and comes out at the end in a bag that contains the ashes.? I continue to be amazed at these descriptions.
I?m not shaming the veterinarians or the vet techs for having this view of how cremation is done. However, what is disturbing to me is the fact that the majority of pet cremation facilities are using the veterinarians to ?sell? their cremation services ? and this is how the clinics see/explain this process! Can you imagine in the human death care industry to have a funeral director professional within your facility that would explain cremation like this to a family?
Here?s a New Year?s resolution for you, if you are working with veterinarians/vet clinics in your pet loss business, take some time this year and make sure that they are educated on WHAT they are selling. Trust me ? I see more and more litigious situations within veterinary clinics from pet parents who feel they have not been told ?the entire story? with their precious pet. Be proactive and be a professional resource to the clinics, if that?s your customer.
And, if you?re not comfortable with ?telling the rest of the story? and educating the veterinarians on what you REALLY do ? then maybe THAT should be your FIRST resolution,? making sure you are operating under the highest of standards, morals and ethics.
About Coleen Ellis
In 1998, a chance encounter with a pet parent facing the death of her beloved pet was a defining moment for Coleen, and the birth of her vision of how to best meet the needs of pet parents as they plan for, experience, and cope with the death of their beloved animal companions developed over the following few years. In 2004, the catalyst for bringing her vision to reality was the death of her then 14 year old beloved Schnauzer mix Mico. Within months, she founded Pet Angel Memorial Center, Inc.
