Your Pet Has Died: A South African Checklist

In the first hour

Take whatever time you need with them. Wrap them in their own blanket. Move them somewhere cool — garage, tiled floor, coolest room, out of the sun. Take a lock of fur now if you want one; it cannot be done after collection. Photograph them if that feels right; many families are glad they did and none regret it.

Decisions to make

Individual cremation (ashes returned, roughly R1,100–R3,500 in South Africa depending on weight), communal cremation (nothing returned, R400–R1,600), or garden burial on your own property. Then: home collection or do you take them in yourself. That is genuinely the whole decision tree.

Calls to make

A pet crematorium directly, or your vet who will arrange it for you. Give them the species, the weight, your suburb, and whether you want individual or communal. Ask what is included, how long the ashes take, and whether collection is available. Get the total before you agree.

In the days after

Cancel the next vet appointment and any repeat medication order. Update the microchip registry. Tell the people who will ask about them — the neighbour, the groomer, the dog walker — so you are not ambushed by the question in a fortnight. Move the food bowl when you are ready, and not before.