“We lower the coffin and the pet sits up. It looks at its loved one and, many times, cries”, this is the reaction that dogs have when they visit their deceased humans exposed in a room at the Badalona funeral home. Joan Oller, the financial director of Pompas Fúnebres Badalona (PFB). It is the first in Catalonia, “and probably in Spain”, to open the doors of its facilities to or, as Oller likes to call it, “its traveling companions”.
Two months ago this novelty began, completely free, among all those family members who . “It arose after an informal conversation between a business advisor, a thanatopractor and myself. We are all friends of animals and one of us said out loud that when he dies he would like his pet to come to the wake so we could say goodbye to him,” Oller recalls. That conversation has been going on for several months now, but sometimes, insistence makes some projects become a reality.
The conversation could have “died” at that moment but the three wanted to fight and see how far their demand could go so that dogs and cats could say goodbye to their “reference humans.” They studied that many businesses contact pet-friendly certifiers to accredit animal welfare and they contacted one of those companies. “Veterinarians came and verified that the fuenraria facilities are friendly to pets and comply with the different animal welfare regulations. The company helped the funeral home to design some protocols, take necessary measures such as spaces for the animals to drink water and, even, that those responsible for the pets can prove that they are vaccinated, have the chip… “We have also created a cleaning protocol and we have ensured that families who are not animal lovers do not notice that in the next room there are a pet saying goodbye to a loved one,” Oller remarks.
Two months ago they began allowing animals access to the wakes and 13 pets have already participated in the farewells. “We are still in the certification phase and we are still learning,” says the financial director of the funeral home. Although the project is in a very initial phase, the company is happy with the initiative and does not rule out building a wake (there are already several in Catalonia) where, on this occasion, humans can say goodbye to pets.
How does a pet say goodbye to a human? “We allow dogs and cats to say goodbye to their reference humans following a strict protocol. The wake and ceremony is identical to any other. If the relatives want the dog or cat to say goodbye, we specify a time. One of our workers, who is already prepared, accompanies the pet to the interior of the room where the deceased is. We lower the coffin and let the pet act,” maintains Oller. “What they usually do is get up (leaning on the coffin), look at, smell the deceased and when they come into contact they usually cry. Others get up many times. In all cases we understand that they are saying goodbye to the human,” concludes the financial director.
After this action, they consider that the pet can close the mourning and look for a new reference within the family. Oller assures that those people who have requested this service are experiencing an “exciting and intense” situation.
