A place to bury Buster: Southland's first pet cemetery to open
Sunday, 25 October 2015
Southland is set to get its first pet cemetery.
SPCA Southland operations manager Richard Hay said he hoped to break ground on the pet cemetery before Christmas, with the cemetery open to the public by the end of April or early May 2016.
It would be the first pet cemetery in Southland, he said.
'The need has been there for a number of years.'
Hay said the cemetery would be located on a one-acre site at the SPCA's facility at 22 Harewood Rd in Clifton.
The cemetery filled a need because many people - such as those who lived in apartments or flats - did not have space to bury their pets, Hay said. He also said some people did not want to bury their pets at their home in case they moved.
'We're very aware of a number of people who have their pet's ashes at home but are reluctant to bury them,' he said.
'This will be a community space that will be accessible for all people to visit.'
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The cemetery would also assist people with the grieving and remembrance process, he said.
'A domestic pet is as much part of the family as any person.'
Hay said the SPCA was working with a Southern Institute of Technology business diploma group that was coming up with designs, a business plan and funding options.
'We've got a lovely wooded area that just needs some design wrapped around it,' he said.
'It will be very picturesque.'
Domestic pets - such as dogs, cats, rabbits and birds - would be able to be buried at the cemetery, Hay said.
Prices for burial at the cemetery were yet to be determined.
He said it would be preferred deceased pets were cremated first, with the ashes then scattered or buried at the cemetery.
The SPCA offered cremation through Paws At Rest, a private company based in Invercargill.
The next-closest pet cemetery was in Dunedin, Hay said.
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Ben Mack: @benaroundearth