Would you pay to be buried with your pets?

Would you pay to be buried with your pets?

Egyptian pharaohs and Anglo-Saxon warriors were reputedly buried alongside their sacred or treasured animals. Now the practice is being revived as more pet owners are asking to be laid to rest with pet cats, dogs and horses.

Lincolnshire planners have approved a series of joint cemeteries where masters can be buried beside their favourite animals instead of being cremated. Some cemeteries even allow pets and owners to share a single grave.

Much of the demand is centred in non-denominational 'natural' sites for humans that use biodegradable coffins. Usually in woodland setting these burial grounds tend not to have fixed lines headstones, making them more flexible.

A pet crematorium, cemetery and 'woodland burial site in Cornwall has lain to rest more than 30 owners beside their animals in the last 7 years and has over 120 forward bookings. An estimated 1.5 million dogs and cats die every year, according to the Association of Private Pet Cemeteries and Crematoria. Most are buried in the garden, 1,000 in pet cemeteries, and 100,000 are cremated, and the rest are incinerated as clinical waste.

‘For many, the grieving process for a pet is little different to losing a family member  given that pets bring such a routine to people's lives and company for older people on their own.’

The most famous example is that of Greyfriars Bobby, the faithful terrier that watched over his master's grave in Edinburgh’ Greyfriars Kirk for 14 years.

When Bobby died in 1872 he could not be buried within the cemetery, as it was regarded as ‘consecrated’ ground, Instead Bobby was laid to rest just inside the gate of Greyfriars Kirkyard, near his owners grave.