For many people, pets are family. With that, more and more people are looking for ways to honor their pet after its passing.
Pet cremation is a growing industry – a nearly $650 million business in the United States.
Among the businesses that offer the service is Jaffrey’s Greener Pastures, owned by Erin Lovett of Gardner, Mass. Greener Pastures opened in Jaffrey on Fitzgerald Drive in 2012, and has operated there since, although Lovett recently gained approval for a future facility planned to be built in Rindge within the next few years.
Lovett said she was working as a receptionist at a veterinary hospital when she came up with the idea. After a few years of saving, she and her husband opened up their business. She admits, its an unconventional career.
“It’s not what anyone expected. Everyone looked at us like we were nuts,” Lovett said.
But, she said, it’s an industry with a growing demand. Greener Pastures provides services for both private customers – almost all of whom wish to have their pet’s ashes returned to them – and veterinary practices, where between 60% and 70% of pet owners want their pet’s ashes back.
“Pet cremation has been a thing for a long time, but in the last 20 years, it’s grown more and more. Pets are part of the family, and people want to be able to treat them like family in their passing,” Lovett said.
Lovett said that’s part of the reason she went into the business. In her work at the veterinary hospital, she said she saw the impact the passing of their pets had on people. She said it takes a certain temperament to be able to deal with people dealing with that loss every day.
“Emotions can be very high in these situations. It takes a certain personality to be able to talk to people about it on a regular basis. It’s definitely a niche – not everyone is able to do it. It takes a certain approach to keep it as stress-free as possible.”
The personal touch of small operations like Greener Pastures allows that to happen, Lovett said. Pet cremation as an industry is becoming increasingly corporate, with several large companies acquiring smaller operations under their umbrella. Lovett said she wants to remain a small, family business. While she said there’s nothing wrong with the services a larger organization might provide, her customers find comfort in knowing the people that will be handling their pet’s cremation – and that from the time she picks up the phone to the return of the ashes, it’s usually Lovett herself.
“The nice thing about going to one that is small is that there are very few hands in the process,” Lovett said. “When you call me, you talk to me, and I’m probably the one you’re talking to throughout the whole process. They deserve to know that is what’s happening.”
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertanscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.