You’ll find headstones for all kinds of animals at South Florida’s pet cemeteries — cougars and mountain lions, monkeys and macaws, dogs and cats, hamsters and even rats.
A few of the graves also hold the remains of human owners whose final wish was to be buried alongside their pet, said Randy Temkin, owner of the Broward Pet Cemetery in Plantation.
For grieving pet owners, a burial service provides a way to cope with the loss.
For a price that can run into the thousands of dollars, they get access to a private viewing room; a burial service for family and friends that can be as elaborate as they like; and peace of mind knowing they can stop by any day to visit the grave of their dear four-legged friend.
The cats, buried side by side, have headstones that say: “Loved Through Eternity.” Both headstones have a Jewish star.
Mintz, whose parents forbid him from having pets as a child, said he was worried he’d never be able to visit the cats if he buried them in the back yard and later moved.
Pet burials have become so popular, Tri-County is planning to add a mausoleum to its pet cemetery later this year.
Most pet funerals are small gatherings with up to 10 people, but a much bigger crowd came to say farewell to Homer, a pig with a weight problem who captured the hearts of shelter volunteers.
Homer came to Tri-County as a 5-pound piglet and became a permanent though corpulent tenant until he died last year.
Goldsmith gave the eulogy.
“We had a lot of volunteers who had fallen in love with him,” she said. “I cried. We all cried.”
For some animal lovers, no expense is spared.
“One woman spent $6,000 on a headstone for her dog,” said Maureen Kane, a manager at Pet Heaven Memorial Park in Miami.
Some bring in their own clergy to lead the graveside service, with family members reading poems, singing songs and sharing funny or touching stories about their pet. Cherished items – a favorite toy or bone – often get tucked into the casket before it is lowered into the ground.
One animal lover had 42 pets buried at Pet Heaven over the years.
The cemetery has an estimated 4,000 graves, including seven with the cremated remains of human owners laid to rest with their pet, Kane said.
State law prohibits human cemeteries from accepting the remains of pets, but some pet cemeteries accept the remains of humans, with one caveat: The humans have to be cremated.
That’s not an option for Mintz, the cat lover from Weston.
“It’s not something I would do, but I think it’s a nice thing they offer,” he said.
www.ThePetLossCenter.com
Burial costs: Starts at $730, includes gravesite, casket, headstone, labor for burial, viewing service and first year of maintenance. After that, yearly maintenance is $70 or a one-time fee of $850 for perpetual care.
Private cremation: Starts at $199, price increases based on weight of animal
Communal cremation: Starts at $90
Burial costs for cremated pets: $120 for the grave site and $107 for the headstone, no maintenance fee required
In this Jan. 27 photo, Suzi Goldsmith, executive director of Tri-County Animal Rescue in Boca Raton, visits her three pets that are buried in the pet cemetery on the grounds of the Tri-County Humane Society in Boca Raton, Fla. Dozens of pet owners across South Florida are opting to bury their animal friends at a pet cemetery, despite what some might consider the high costs.
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