Fairmount Cemetery Now Offering Pet Loss Services

Losing a family member is never easy, which the team at Fairmount Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematory knows all too well. And when that family member is a beloved pet, sometimes certain services just aren't available in the same way they're provided for humans.

That's something that Fairmount is changing with a new suite of services under the "Family Pet Loss Care" umbrella. The historic cemetery is now offering private pet cremation in a dedicated animal cremation facility, personalized memorialization and more.

"The thought had been there for a while," notes Kendra Briggs, president of Fairmount Cemetery. "We do our best to provide services to celebrate lives, so now let's serve the whole family." Fairmount has performed about ten pet cremations since February, and will start offering memorial services in August.

Fairmount is the second-oldest cemetery in Denver, with an arboretum, multiple chapels and memorials, historic graves and a wealth of antique rose bushes spread across its 280 acres in the heart of the city. William N. Byers, Robert Speer, Anne Evans, Dr. Justina Ford, Frederick Bonfils and Ralph Carr are all buried on its grounds; when they were interred, pets were not allowed. But that could change one day, too.

According to Briggs, the services offered for animals are designed to be similar to those provided for humans whenever possible. Transport of the deceased pet from a residence to the funeral home is available; the bereaved owners can book a memorial service, viewing and even pet grief support. A small chapel that holds up to sixty people has been dedicated to pet services; Fairmount will also provide a DVD tribute video, memorial folders and a guest registration book.
Cremations are done one at a time, and families get their own pet's remains returned to them in an urn, along with a keepsake memorial box containing fur clippings, clay and ink paw prints and nose prints, and forget-me-not seeds. "We offer garden stones and headstones if people want to put them out in the garden," Briggs says. And while burial services aren't currently available, Fairmount owns some undeveloped land that could one day be used for pet burials, she adds.

There will be a grand opening of the facility — the Fairmount Fur-Ever Fest — on Saturday, July 29, at Fairmount Funeral Home, 430 South Quebec Street, with a "pet blessing" at 10 a.m., an unveiling of a monument to service dogs at 11 a.m., and chapel tours at 11:15 a.m. Non-aggressive leashed dogs are welcome, says Briggs, who notes that Fairmount hopes to turn this event into an annual pet celebration.