607. Cremation of pets

FOR THE INFORMATION OF TOA PAYOH VETS' PET OWNERS

I spoke to the cremation man today regarding the cremation process which is similar to that in human cremation at crematoriums.

1. A common misconception is that cremation results in ashes. The output is 3-5% of the bodyweight, mainly bones in pieces. Skulls and big bones do remain. In hamsters, the bones still are present too.

2. For common cremation, the pets are placed in slots separated from one another by a partition. The ashes and bones are from each individual and not mixed.

3. For private individual creamtion with ashes in the urn, the fees are higher.

4. For owners of medium to large canine breeds, it will need a very big urn to store the skull and big bones. This is not the practice. Therefore, the bones in medium to big breeds are crushed by a machine to become ashes which can then be put into the small urn for the owner. For small breeds, bones may be present amongst the ashes.

5. Cremation is done by Singapore government-approved companies.