Had yet another interesting couple of meetings the past few weeks on the topic of “pet death care.” In one meeting, my good friend and colleague, Jodi Clock, mentioned being a part of a funeral professionals meeting taking place here locally. Once again, when the topic of pet death care came up, a few people were saying “we’re still watching what’s going on with that.”
Being “old” preneed sales representatives, we both found this topic interesting and at the same time amusing. Oh, not amusing as in funny but amusing in the fact that we both have heard this statement countless times before.
Flash back a few years ago to what the industry rags were saying. “Preneed – is it here to stay?” Or maybe this one ,… “Do families REALLY want cremation?”
And here we are in 2011 knowing full well the truth of these two topics of preneed and cremation. Not only are they here to stay but they have significantly changed the death care industry. For those that were courageous enough to embrace these topics, the early adopters, their businesses have seen some unbelievable times. For that that didn’t embrace these “trends,” their business have also seen some “unbelievable” times. Some stood by and watched the trends to see where they would go, putting themselves in a position of being reactive to their consumers needs. For others, instead of just watching these changes, they embraced the changes, became some of the first-to-market businesses with these offerings, and have been proactive in managing these and other changes that have affected the death care industry.
Now, to my second meeting. This one was with the Indiana State Police. Rare I have a positive meeting with these guys – but this one was! They called and asked if I would assist them in creating the protocol for funerals for K-9’s that could be rolled out nationwide to other police K-9 departments. And, not only did they want assistance with creating these protocols, they wanted to know if there was a nationwide network that would assist when this type of tragedy happened.
I was incredibly willing, honored and excited to assist. Guaranteed that these protocols will be phenomenal! Again, what an honor to be a part of such a large project.
I found it interesting that others are watching this space of “pet death care,” too. Not surprising though.
Now, all I have to do is tap into my network to see who’s doing more than just “watching.”
