As morbid as it sounds, the death of a beloved pet and trying to figure out what to do with it, is something all pet owners have to face.

Growing up, my parents consented for us to bury our loving pets in the back yard. For that matter, and in most cases, they even helped with the burial. We also grew up in the country which probably made it easier. For those folks that live in the city, it's probably a harder situation to deal with.

Back to where I was_ By the time I was old enough to leave home, we had a complete plot in the back yard for all the pets we've owned. They ranged from many species and sizes. There was dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, mice, birds, turtles, and even fish. Yes, I said fish. We were smart enough to know that if you flushed your fish down the commode, it didn't go out to sea.

It usually depended on the type of pet we were burying, to whether or not we had some sort of service for them. With the dogs and cats, we always made sure they were layed out into a nice sized box, with their favorite items such as a blanket, toys, food dish, and even some food. Then we would wrap the box in a large or several large garbage bags before placing it into the ground to be buried. This was more so to keep other animals from possibly smelling it through the box and dirt, and later digging it up.

We made wooden crosses constructed of sticks tied together with wire. Placed flat rocks at the foot or head of the area as markers, and a small handful of flowers. If you stood back to view it all, it really did look like a cemetery, so we finally named it Pet Cemetery_ after Steven King's Novel.

Some folks sometimes desire to keep their pets right with them, and so they have them cleaned and stuffed by a taxidermist. It is best to put the pet on ice and keep it frozen until you get it to the taxidermist, or make plans to get it there right away. For a long time, I considered this with one of my dogs, which when I first acquired it, my husband brought it home to me in his pocket. That's how small she was. She liked it so much, I ended up wearing large sweaters until she was a year old, because she always liked to sleep in the pockets. She was the runt and the noisiest of the litter, and no one wanted her.

This little dog was more than just a furry child as some may call them. She was with all heart and soul a guardian to me. She wouldn't let people touch me if I was holding her, and on a few occasions if I decided to take her with me anywhere, I had to be very careful because she didn't like people of different races. After that, I decided it was best to keep her home until I returned, but I found out from neighbors that the dog cried continuous until my return. I had to believe them, because the dog was hoarse and had trouble barking when I finally entered back in the house, and it got so excited to have me back home, it would wee-wee all down the front of me when I picked her up from crying. And let me tell you, this dog had real tears rolling down it's face. It made me cry.

She only grew to be 8 years old, and passed away shortly after having pups of her own. I knew she had been ill soon after, but I wasn't sure why. I took her to the vets to see what they could find and suggest, and what they told me, broke my heart in two. She had liver cancer and there wasn't anything they could do for her. We took her home, and she passed away quietly in my arms about 4 days later. It was so traumatic for me, that I asked my husband if we could get her fixed up and stuffed, so that I could always have her with me. We kept her body frozen so it didn't decay, but by the time it was time to take the dog to the taxidermist, I realized that this would be selfish of me and decided to bury her in the front yard, with an alter included. Many people believed I needed to see a doctor because of this, but all it was, was complete love for an animal that loved me just as hard.

So you see, different people have different perspectives on what to do in this situation. But you must decide these things for yourself, and not let others push you into something you really don't want. Everyone is different in his or her beliefs and what they think is the right thing to do, or whether it's proper or improper.

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