Bury my pets ashes with me
We are regularly asked if people can have the cremated ashes of their pet buried with them and often the answer here in the UK is unfortunately no, so we love this bill that has just been passed by two committees and is ready for a floor vote by New York Senate in the USA.
Assemblyman James Brennan (D-Brooklyn), who sponsored the measure in his chamber, pointed out that 62 % (72.9 million) of US households have a pet.
“With this increased ownership has come a significant shift in the desire of New Yorkers to have their pets interred in their grave, crypt or niche,” he explained in a memo supporting the legislation.
The bill excludes cemeteries affiliated with religious institutions. A separate regulation enacted by the state in 2014 allowed pet cemeteries to accept human remains. The new bill allows cemeteries for humans to accept pet remains. And the new bill doesn’t just allow dogs and cats, it covers all pets.
Only a few states have laws on permitting pets and their owners to be buried together. Pennsylvania allows cemeteries to have one section for humans, one for pets and one area for both.
Here in the UK more and more options are opening up for pets to be buried alongside their owners, and rather that it being a ‘new trend’ as many are arguing it is in fact the resurrection of an extremely old tradition. The Pharaohs of ancient Egypt were buried alongside cats, monkeys and birds because they believed animals shared an afterlife with humans. Anglo-Saxon nobles were interred with their horses. A 1991 excavation at Sutton Hoo found a grave pit containing a young man and a stallion.
We really hope this bill passes and that many more states follow their example.
For the full article article in the New York Post click here