When selecting communal cremation, the date, timing and frequency when spreading ashes can vary based on your local crematory.  Many crematories spread the ashes in a park-like setting, which may or may not be open to public. Some crematories inter (or bury) the ashes on private property. Please contact Lap of Love or the pet cremation service to confirm the location of where they scatter or bury the ashes. You can also ask whether visitation is permitted.

Lap of Love carefully interviews, and hand selects crematory partners based on their trustworthy processes, reputation, and ability to serve their community in a respectful manner. Your pet will be assigned identification and tracking information throughout the cremation process to identify and confirm it is truly your pet’s ashes being returned. Our crematories have a strict quality monitored process with multiple checkpoints to ensure it is only your pet’s ashes being returned. 

Our crematory partners work respectfully to have your pet’s ashes returned to you as quickly as possible. Once your pet is in our care, you will receive an email suggesting when we anticipate that your pet can return home. If your pet can be returned before the projected window, our crematory partners will strive to do so. 

The turnaround time is influenced by several factors and can vary based on demand. The process of cremation itself can take several hours and each pet is handled individually, like human cremation. Afterwards, there is a refining process of ashes and packaging of the urn. Other considerations may include the crematory operating hours, holidays, inclement weather, and the return method can also influence the return window. 

The most common way a pet’s ashes are reunited with their family is for our crematory partner to deliver them to your pet’s primary care veterinary hospital (or specialist) usually within two weeks.  There are many hospitals that might share the same or similar names, so it is incredibly important to provide our team with detailed and accurate information for the location of your pet’s primary veterinary hospital. Providing us with a phone number for the veterinary hospital can help improve accuracy in confirming the correct location. We do ask that our crematory partner contact each family to confirm when your pet’s ashes have arrived at the hospital.  

Alternate method of ashes being returned can vary by location. Some pet cremation services allow families to pick up from their office directly or may offer mailing to your home or other safe location (signature required). Premium ashes return methods such as hand delivery are scheduled by the pet crematory and may incur an additional cost.

It is not uncommon for families to reach out to us under these circumstances, asking if more than one pet can be cremated together and the ashes returned. Traditionally, families will ask that the ashes be returned for both pets in one urn or divided into two urns. Our crematory partners are usually able to honor this request. Please notify our team if this is your desire so we can prepare you with an estimate and contact the pet cremation service accordingly. 

The answer for this special request is exclusively dependent on the crematory partner. Traditional cremation may compromise various metals and materials, leaving little or no opportunity to retrieve or salvage hardware from your pet’s prior surgery. We recommend that families contact the pet crematory prior to our services to determine which materials may be recovered after cremation.
If your pet has a pacemaker, we must alert the crematory for a safe cremation process. 

The complimentary wooden urn included with our cremation arrangements are not permanently sealed. Your pet’s ashes will be contained securely inside the urn. Depending on the urn style, it may be opened via a sliding door on the bottom of the urn or for some select styles may be accessed by removing a small screw from the bottom of the urn. If you have further questions relating to opening your pet’s urn or transferring your pet’s ashes, please contact our crematory partner directly. 

If you have an upcoming appointment with Lap of Love, our veterinarian or veterinary care coordinators can review alternate return options with you. It is helpful to notify our team if your pet has been cared for under a different family name at his or her primary veterinary hospital.  

If the house call services have been completed and you need us to review these options with you again, or make any changes, please reach out to Lap of Love or our crematory partner to discuss alternate return methods of your pet’s ashes.

If you have an upcoming appointment with our veterinarian, please share this information with them prior to or at the time of services. Thoughtful preparations can often be arranged to help your family feel prepared in the return time of your pet’s ashes. If our services have been completed and you need to postpone or adjust your availability for when you may be able to receive your pet’s ashes, please contact Lap of Love or the crematory partner directly to confirm if those changes can be made.

Depending on the crematory partner assigned to your pet’s cremation, when an expedited private cremation is requested, these may incur an additional cost and are arranged directly through the crematory. The day and time of when our house call services are scheduled may impact our ability to accommodate these requests. The more notice you can provide to Lap of Love or our crematory partner for these special requests, the more efficiently we can help guide you on possible expedited arrangements.