Local Funeral Home Now Serves Pets

By Allison T. Williams
Staff Writer

Dogs and cats aren’t just pets.

Many people come to think of their tail-wagging, four-legged creatures as family, said R.N. “Blake” Baker IV, vice president of R.W. Baker & Co. Funeral Home and Crematory. So when they lose their pets, they tend to grieve like they’ve just lost a best friend.

“People care a lot for their pets.” Baker said. “For many people, they become an extension of their families.”

In the years since the funeral home opened its crematorium, the funeral home has had to turn down numerous requests to cremate people’s animals.

But that’s about to change.

The Fifth-generation downtown Suffolk Funeral home has branched off into a new direction and established Nansemond Pet Cremation Services. The business, based at Baker-Foster Funeral Home in North Suffolk, has purchased a new $80,000 pet crematorium, equipped to handle animals up to 300 pounds, and is ready for business, said Baker.

Right now, veterinarians whose clients choose cremation send the animals to one of the Hampton Roads Crematories – one in Virginia Beach, another in Newport News, Baker said. Having a facility in Suffolk will be a more convenient option for western Tidewater veterinarians and pet owners.

Each pet brought in will be cremated individually, unless the person asks for the less expensive mass cremation, Baker said. A Mass cremation would involve several animals; consequently, the urn of ashes given back to the pet owner would also include the ashes of other animals.

Cremation is on the upswing nationwide, both for people and their pets, Baker said. The national average for pet cremations is about 25 percent; although cremation rates in Virginia hovers at about 20 or 25 percent, that figures surges as high as 50 percent in more densely populated areas, such as New York or California.

“Those are figures that are going to continue to rise,” said Baker, citing economics, family mobility and a better public acceptance of cremation as contributing factors.

The Web site, PetPeoplesPlace, recommends that people consider how they want to handle their pet’s death before it becomes an issue.

“The death of a beloved pet is a very stressful event in anyone’s life,” according to the Website. “Peace of mind comes from knowing exactly what will become of your pet’s remains and marking a choice that feels right.”

Benefits of cremation includes the ability to keep your pet’s ashes at home or scattering the ashes around a special brush or tree planted in the animal’s memory, the Web site said.

Eventually, Nansemond Pet Crematory will begin offering people the opportunity to put their pet obituaries online via its Web site, Baker added.

For more information, call 483-2273.