Pet Remains Turned Into Gemstones, Crystals
ANDERSON, Texas (AP) – More and more pet owners are opting to have their pets cremated. Although ashes may be scattered or kept as a memorial, technology has given pet owners new options, such as processing some of the cremains into a gemstone, crystal or, ultimately, a flower.
Live Oak Small Animal Pet Cremation in Anderson, with its old live oaks and wildflowers, brings to mind the idea of a heaven for dogs: a country farm for roaming.
The business was started about three years ago by Kerri Smith and Scott Mason. Now Kerri Smith’s father, Don, and her daughter, Nicole Vanecek, are partners. Both Mason and Vanecek are Texas A&M grads with backgrounds in animal science.
The group’s aim is to offer grieving animal lovers a comfortable place to deal with their pet’s passing.
“We all come from the animal industry,” Vanecek said, “and we got into this mainly for trust with our own pets. You know when you just don’t want to trust anybody except yourself doing the right thing (with your pet’s remains).”
Live Oak will pick up deceased pets from clinics or residences, and the “Small Animal” part of the name is a bit deceptive; Live Oak can cremate horses and goats as well as dogs of all sizes. (It cremated 1983 Kentucky Derby winner Sunny’s Halo.) Live Oak Cremation (www.liveoakpetservices.com) also sells urns and other containers for ashes.
The business does about 25 cremations per week, and the majority of cremations are communal, meaning several animals are cremated at the same time, separated by brick walls to ensure clients receive their pets’ cremains.
In 2007, Live Oak also did nearly 1,000 private cremations, a process in which a single animal is cremated. Vanecek and Mason said many owners want to be certain they’re receiving their own pet’s ashes, so many will witness the process.
Live Oak bases cremation costs on weight. For instance, private cremation for a pet weighing up to 25 pounds is $115; if the pet weighs 26 to 100 pounds, the cost ranges from $115 to $195. Cremation of larger pets is about $265. Communal cremations at Live Oak are typically less than $100.
Live Oak client Helen Garcia of College Station said that having a caring cremation facility is important to her. “When you have an animal, it’s like adopting a child. It’s a lifetime proposition, and so that’s the way I look at it: vet care, good food and end-of-life care.”
Garcia has had ferrets, a cat and two rottweilers cremated. Her “rotties,” Lady Rogue and Nyla, were cremated at Live Oak after their deaths at age 12. Before, she said, her pets had been cremated at the Brazos Animal Shelter in Bryan and at a Conroe crematory.
Garcia cremates her pets for several reasons. “It’s like they stay closer to you. And when I go, they go with me. They will go in my coffin, so to speak.”
Having a portable remembrance fits her lifestyle. “I’m retired military,” Garcia said, “so I moved around a lot. I never wanted to leave their graves (behind so) I did not know how they were being treated.”
Some Live Oak clients are opting to have a portion of pets’ ashes turned into gemstones, crystals or soil for planting trees or flowers.
“We had a couple who were getting married, and their pet passed,” Vanecek said. Life Gem, a company whose products are distributed through Live Oak Cremation, turned a portion of the pet’s ashes into a diamond that became part of “a beautiful wedding ring.”
On display in Live Oak’s waiting room are paperweights, crystals and jewelry, all made with the remains of much-loved pets. They are examples of the different options pet owners have to commemorate the life of their pets.
Through Life Gem, clients can have remains turned into diamonds for about $2,500 to $25,000. The process takes about six months and uses only a small portion of the pet’s remains. Vanecek said many clients ask Live Oak to keep a tablespoon or so of ashes in storage in case the owners choose to memorialize them in some way.
Live Oak also serves as a distributor for My Crystal Companion, which creates myriad crystal objects paperweights, faceted crystals, plaques and more from remains. The process takes six to eight weeks, and items start at $300 to $1,200.
Another option that Live Oak offers is handled through Floramorial, a company that makes soil that converts “cremation ash into a planting medium to grow a decorative plant, bush or tree as a living memorial,” according to the Web site www.floramorial .com.
Other pet owners may decide to keep a bit of their pet’s ashes in a portable, thumb-sized urn. Vanecek has remains from one of her pets in one of these tiny urns so the container can stay with her in the car or when traveling.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
