What to Tell the Crematorium When You Phone

What they need to know

Species and breed. Rough weight — an honest estimate, not an optimistic one, because it sets the price. Your suburb. Whether you want individual or communal. Whether you need collection or will bring them yourself. That is genuinely the whole list.

What to ask them

The total including collection and a container. Whether the cremation is individual. What identification travels with your pet. How long until the ashes are ready. Whether they can take a paw print or a lock of fur — this has to be asked before, never after.

Saying it out loud

Many people find the phone call itself the hardest part, because saying the words makes it real. It is entirely fine to write down what you need to say first, or to ask someone else to make the call. Crematorium staff do this every day and are used to callers who cannot finish a sentence.

Or let someone else phone

This is precisely what Ease The Paw does. You send one message with what happened and where you are; we make every call and come back with a written total and a time. For a lot of families that single removal is the entire value.