"My question to them was, how would I know I was
getting my animal's ashes?" Mr. Hahn said.
She added that if she chose the vet's cremation
service, Sadie's remains would not be returned for several
weeks.
Then her vet told her about a new business
offering pet cremations, All Heavenly Creatures in
Port St. Lucie. There, Mrs. Hahn and her family found a comforting
place to handle Sadie's remains.
"They are wonderful people," Mrs. Hahn said. "I
found them very comforting."
Sadie was 12 years old when she died from kidney
failure. Mrs. Hahn's daughters, who are 17 and 14, grew up with the
dog, and were heartbroken when Sadie died, Mrs. Hahn said.
What the Hahn family found with All
Heavenly Creatures was care and respect during a difficult
time.
"They took this whole icky situation and made it
as pleasant as can be," Mrs. Hahn said. "I know they took good care
of Sadie, and they took good care of us."
All Heavenly Creatures Pet
Crematory opened last month in a former funeral home on
U.S. 1 in Port St. Lucie. Tammy Nicastro started the business after
she saw a need.
"This is a service that has been solely provided
through the vet's office," Ms. Nicastro said. "I want to
concentrate on the community, and give them a place where people
can memorialize their pets."
All Heavenly Creatures allows
pet owners to be present when the cremation is performed. They
receive the remains in a cherry wood box made by the Amish in
Wisconsin. Since Ms. Nicastro is an animal lover, she felt the
remains should be returned to their owners in a nice container.
In addition to providing wooden urns,
All Heavenly Creatures provides 24-hour animal
pickup. Ms. Nicastro said she has received calls from people whose
animals had reached the end of their lives, and the owners were
unsure what to do when death finally came.
"I tell people to relax and not to worry,
because I will pick up their animal at any time," Ms. Nicastro
said.
Each cremation takes about four hours, depending
on the size of the animal, Ms. Nicastro said. There is a house
behind the crematorium where pet owners can wait during the
process.
Prior to cremating the animals, Ms. Nicastro
says a blessing over the animal. She feels it is important to give
the pets a good send-off.
Mrs. Hahn, whose dog, Sadie was cremated, said
she is eternally grateful for the service of All Heavenly
Creatures.
"I think they helped my kids through this,
especially Angie (the older daughter)," she said. "Now she's got
something, and has good memories of this."
All Heavenly Creatures Pet Crematory is located at
7664 South U.S. 1 in Port St. Lucie.
For more information, call (772) 878-2315.
