Pet Praise Memorials

A Holiday Gift From Pet Praise To You!

2010-12-18T10:36:00.000-08:00

As a simple gift, we would like to share with you a school project by Ciara McKenzie, my 5th grade granddaughter, who lives in Garner, NC. She has written a short piece entitled "People and Animals". To enjoy the text click on this link.
Ciara's Project

Merry Christmas!

Giving Back to the Pet Community

2010-11-22T10:26:00.000-08:00

What does Pet Praise do to hold our name true to the ideal of what it implies, praise of pets? How do we show our commitment to pets and the community of pet owners? Certainly we provide quality pet urns, pet memorials, and pet grooming products and seek to serve our customers well. But we feel that is not enough. In the near future, we will begin a coordinated program to sponsor and donate to a number of pet-related non-profit causes throughout the country. Our first effort in this new campaign is for the Ott’s of the Leash Dog Sanctuary in Ruskin, FL. We are now a raffle sponsor and are working with the Patterdale Terrier Club of America to expand our support of this cause. To learn more, go to:
http://www.patterdalefestandfundraiser.com

In the future we will be working with other deserving pet-related causes to help them fund their work in developing the ideals of Pet Praise. We would be very interested to hear from any of you, our blog readers, about causes you are supporting and suggestions as to how we might help. As members of the pet industry community, we have a duty to give back.

NOVEMBER 2010

2010-11-04T18:16:00.000-07:00

KEEPING CREMATED REMAINS IDENTIFIED

Always a question for the crematory and for the family of the cremated pet is "Are these the remains of my pet alone?" There are high tech options, such as identification microchips, but these are beyond the cost and resource capabilities of many pet cremation operations. Mike Nicodemus of Holloman-Brown Funeral Home & Lynnhaven Crematory in Virginia Beach, VA (www.hollomon-brown.com) has established a procedure that clearly follows the deceased from death to handing the cremated remains and urn over the family. Mike, who is also President-Elect of CANA (The Cremation Association of North America) says that the ideas can be modified to fit the particular situation of any crematory for humans or pets. Having such a system would be a reassurance to both the crematory and the family members that no mistake has been made in the process. A good synopsis of the Hollomon-Brown procedures can be found in the August issue of American Cemetery. The key to the procedures is a steady, documented set of accountabilites for identification at each step in the process from point of death to handing of the remains to the family.

I encourage all pet crematories to have well documented identification procedures that are strictly followed and include options for the family members to be involved at several points, including viewing of the remains before cremation and the cremation process should they like.

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2010-04-21T05:56:00.001-07:00

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The Dog Chapel

2010-04-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

I built the chapel on Dog Mountain, our mountain-top farm in St. Johnsbury, VT. I have styled it in the manner of a small village church built in Vermont around 1820. It is important to me that the chapel looks like it belongs with its setting of rolling mountains and pasture. The white steeple points up to the heavens, and on the top is a Lab with wings that turns in the wind and proclaims this place has a special affinity with dogs.
By Steven Huneck

"In the world of struggling artists, Stephen Huneck's success has been meteoric. He is a strong believer in fate, and perhaps that is part of the explanation. There is no doubt that his figures are whimsical, amusing and charming, but they also have the power to evoke an immediate emotional response in anyone who sees them. Therein lies their wide and ever-growing appeal." ~ Roberta Vesley, Library Director, AKC.

Stephen Huneck's home and studio are in St. Johnsbury, Vermont which he shares with his wife, Gwen and his three dogs. Two Black Labs Artie and Sally and Molly a Golden Retriever. Stephen and Gwen have totally furnished their home with Stephen's artwork. He works in his private studio attached to their house. Near their home is Dog Mountain where the Dog Chapel is located. You can often meet Stephen at his primary gallery in Woodstock, VT on Saturdays personalizing books and artwork.

The Dog Chapel

Several years ago, I became seriously ill. It came out of the blue - Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome, an often fatal illness. I was in a coma for two months, and the doctors gave me little chance of survival. My wife Gwen refused to believe that I was not going to make it. They were very concerned for her. She slept on the floor of the hospital to be close to me at night, and spoke to me while I was in the coma. This made a deep impression on the doctors and nurses. Once the doctors told her I was passing away and doubted I would make it through the night. They told her they were very sorry and had tried everything. Well, that night I did stop living for about five minutes. I had a profound experience. I came out of the coma about two weeks later, to everyone's surprise, except Gwen's. I had an amazingly strong recovery - I was 45 years old and had to learn to walk again (quite a humbling experience). But I must say the near-death experience, combined with what my wife taught me about love, and the appreciation I felt toward the most basic things we take for granted all had a profound effect on me. As an artist, I share the feelings I have with others through my art.I wanted to build a chapel, one that celebrated the spiritual bond we have with our dogs, and that would be open to dogs and people. People of any faith or belief system.

I built the chapel on Dog Mountain, our mountain-top farm in St. Johnsbury, VT. I have styled it in the manner of a small village church built in Vermont around 1820. It is important to me that the chapel looks like it belongs with its setting of rolling mountains and pasture. The white steeple points up to the heavens, and on the top is a Lab with wings that turns in the wind and proclaims this place has a special affinity with dogs.

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Food For Thought

2009-08-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

After work one day this month, I went to the pub across from my office to unwind before going home. I picked up a copy of July Architectural Digest for some non-business reading. The very first article was "Dog Heaven on Earth" about Vermont artist Stephen Huneck. Mr. Huneck has developed the idea of a chapel to celebrate the tie between humans and their dog companions. His chapel, located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, has many works of art by Mr. Huneck, a special doorway for dogs, a memorial wall for dogs that have passed on, and other celebratory items.

Among the things Mr. Huneck is doing at Dog Mountain are:

Dog Fests
Dog Picnics
Selling his sculptures and prints
Writing children's books about dogs
Sponsoring talks of general interest to dog owners
Offering special discounts to veterinarians because of the work they do
Offering places on the Remembrance Wall at the Dog Chapel

For more information regarding Mr. Huneck and his work, you can visit http://www.dogmt.com/. Mr. Huneck's work suggests to me that many of us in the businesses involving pet cremations are lacking in imagination, regarding the service to clients and their desire to celebrate their pets. What I suggest to readers is that we should think more broadly, like Mr. Huneck, about how we can help our clients memorialize their past companions and celebrate the living loved ones. What are your thoughts on this subject?