A Checklist for Arranging Pet Cremation

Before collection

Decide private or communal, because it cannot be changed afterwards. Ask for a fur clipping and a paw print now — neither is possible once your pet has been cremated, and it is the single most common regret. Decide whether a blanket or collar goes with them or stays with you.

Get the numbers straight

The cremation fee for your pet's weight. Whether collection is included or extra. Whether the basic container is included. Whether ashes are returned and by when. Get the all-in figure rather than the headline price.

Get the details right

Your pet's name spelled as you want it on any certificate or engraving. Your correct phone number. Where the ashes should be delivered or collected from. Simple things, easy to get wrong on the worst day of your year.

Ask who to contact

A name and a direct number for someone who can tell you where your pet is. A general enquiries line is not the same thing, and you will want a person if a week goes by in silence.

Decide nothing else

Urns, memorials, whether to get another pet, what to do with their bed. None of it is urgent and none of it is improved by being decided this week. Handle the cremation, then stop.