I hear the word “pettoro-su” (pet loss) surprisingly often these days, and it seems a lot of funeral parlors and graveyards are springing up to help bereaved owners put their loved ones to rest. One of the biggest companies is called Petto Ceremoni- Makoto (Sincere Pet Ceremonies), and it offers a wide range of pet funerals and cremations.
If you want to give your pet a sendoff, they have contracts with Buddhist temples to perform ceremonies.
After the funeral, you can have your pet’s ashes stores in a charnel house. According to their brochure, “The Shou Kannon watches over the charnel house. It’s said to be a Bodhisattva with great compassion, so you’ll be able to feel confident that your beloved pet’s soul is resting in peace through it’s enfolding kindness.” The urn storage service is free the first year, and costs 5,000 yen per year after that.
Here’s an article with more information about pet funerals: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20090702-152168.html
May 18, 2010 at 2:25 pm
[...] scattered his remains in fistfuls as if we were seeding a lawn. So I can’t really snicker when Quirky Japan Blog points us to an article in AsiaOne News about the growing popularity of Buddhist pet funerals in [...]
May 19, 2010 at 10:38 pm
[...] The Quirky Japan Blog introduces some actions a pet owner can take following the loss of a beloved pet, in a post titled “Buddhist Pet Funerals“. [...]
May 20, 2010 at 11:02 am
it sure beats burying them under a seedling in the backyard
May 25, 2010 at 9:24 am
Thats interesting!! I have to say that I never saw anything like that when I was in Japan. A good idea for those who love their pets.