Saying goodbye to a beloved pet is a deeply emotional experience, and choosing the right method for their final arrangements can feel terribly weighty. Our Lifting Stars team can help you navigate that decision, with pet cremation services that are designed to honour your pet with dignity and provide the support you need during a difficult time.
Read on for information about your pet cremation options and the Lifting Stars approach to aftercare and helping families plan for their much-loved companion’s goodbye.
When you are scheduling your at-home euthanasia appointment for your pet, our support specialists will talk with you about all of your aftercare options. We know that this is a very difficult time, and we take great care to treat every pet owner we work with in the same way we would want to be treated in a moment like this.
First, our support specialist will explain to you your two options for cremation: private or communal. With private cremation, your pet is cremated separately from other animals, and the ashes will be returned to you. (This process typically takes approximately two weeks from the appointment time until your pet’s ashes are ready to be returned to you.) The private cremation fee includes one of five standard urns, or you can choose from a selection of custom urn options. With communal cremation, your pet is cremated alongside other animals, and the ashes are not returned to you. Instead, they are spread in a private country meadow in the Fraser Valley.
We partner with Gateway Pet Memorial Services to provide cremation services for your pet. We have a longstanding relationship with Gateway, and we trust them to provide the same level of compassion, respect, and dignity that we aim to provide with our own services. Our goal is to treat your pet in a way that properly honours the love and companionship they gave to you.
When you choose cremation with Lifting Stars, our veterinarian will take your pet with them after your euthanasia appointment, and will arrange for their transportation to the Gateway Pet Memorial Centre. If you have ordered a private cremation, our support specialists discuss with you your options to have your pet’s ashes returned to you. We will also talk with you about the memorial items that are available to you, all of which you can find listed in detail on our Memorial Items page.
We also welcome all of our clients to send a photo of their pet and a few words about what they meant to them for inclusion on our Pet Tribute page.
As part of our services, we can provide a complimentary fur clipping for you to keep as a small, meaningful reminder of your beloved companion.
With the private cremation fee, you may choose from one of six standard urn options. These can be viewed in our catalogue.
Custom urns are available for an additional fee if you would prefer something more personal or unique.
We offer ink paw prints, plaster paw prints, and ceramic paw prints to help preserve a lasting memory of your pet.
You can find more questions and answers about end-of-life pet care, pet aftercare, and pet euthanasia on our FAQ page. If you have any questions about pet cremation in Metro Vancouver that are not answered on this site, please reach out and we’ll do our best to answer them.
Depending on where you live, there can be legal and logistical issues associated with pet burial — particularly in an urban area like Metro Vancouver, where most municipalities discourage it. This includes your own yard, as there aremay be environmental concerns with pet burial related to the drugs that are used during euthanasia and how they might affect the surrounding soil. The medication used for euthanasia is potentially fatal to wildlife and harmful to the environment. The medication can take several years to become benign once your pet is buried. Cremation deactivates this harmful medications immediately.
If you do wish to bury your pet, it is your responsibility to check with your local municipality for up-to-date regulations on burial for euthanized pets. Please ensure that you follow these regulations. Pets can only be buried on private property that you own or have permission to use. If you are interested in arranging for the burial of your pet, please let us know in advance.
If you choose private cremation, your pets ashes will be returned to you, and you can decide where to scatter them if that is your wish. It is your responsibility to check with the municipality where you wish to scatter your pet’s ashes for up-to-date regulations on spreading ashes for euthanized pets. Please ensure that you follow these regulations.
If you choose communal cremation, the ashes will not be returned to you; instead, we arrange for the ashes to be scattered in a private meadow in the Fraser Valley.
If you have specific requests or needs regarding your pet’s cremation or memorial, reach out to our support specialist or discuss them with your veterinarian during the at-home visit. If your request is something we are able to accommodate or that it is possible to arrange with Gateway Pet Memorial, we will do our best.
At Lifting Stars Veterinary Homecare, we provide compassionate pet cremation services that honour your pet with dignity and respect. Our flexible options, including private and communal cremation and various keepsake choices, allow you to create a meaningful tribute to your pet’s life and preserve the memories that uplift you. We are committed to supporting you through every step of this emotional process with care and empathy.
