Estate Planning

Funeral Industry Update: Doggie Edition

By Hull & Hull LLP

As, no doubt, everyone is aware, Wednesday was National Dog Day in the United States.  In Atlanta, they celebrated the day with a special groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction of the latest addition to the Deceased Pet Care family. 

For those who do not know, Deceased Pet Care operates funeral homes and crematories with the mission being to allow people to 'celebrate, honour, remember, and cherish' their deceased pets. 

Operating out of Georgia, Deceased Pet Care offers pet funeral home ceremonies, cremations, and the opportunity for the pet to be buried in one of the pet cemeteries the company owns.  It also offers various funeral 'accessories', such as caskets and grave markers.  For those who want to avoid the stress of grieving a pet while trying to plan the funeral, the company offers 'pre-need planning' for those who wish to plan in advance. 

The extent of the services the company offers is really quite impressive and its website is easily as sophisticated, if not more so, than many of the more traditional funeral homes (i.e. those who offer services for dead people).

Although it might seem like the emphasis on pets (either through commemorating them or for providing for them in the estate planning process) is relatively recent, Deceased Pet Care has obviously been well ahead of the curve – it is a family run business which has been operating for thirty five years. 

And this year, it surely should be proud – that funeral home they've just broken ground on in Atlanta will be the largest of its kind in the United States.

Have a great weekend!

Megan F. Connolly 

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on August 28, 2009 (boomark / email).