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PFA now offers burial services for pets at its hospice in Kengeri
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The PFA pet cemetery offers pets a decent burial. — Photo: Mohammed Yousuf
"THERE LIES my beloved... " One can often say that of one's kith and kin, as one watches them resting in peace in the pristine premises of the family graveyard. But how often can one say that about a pet that often ends up being buried on some empty plot, in a construction site, or in the corner of a public garden?
This is often the harsh reality of city life. Not many pet owners feel at peace after burying an animal that has been a part of their family in an unknown plot of land.
But People for Animals (PFA) thankfully has a solution for them now. The organisation owns six acres of land at Kengeri, about 40 km from Bangalore, where it runs a hospice for animals. Alongside the hospice, is a serene piece of land demarcated as a pet cemetery where it offers pet owners space to bury their beloved pet. It also allows an epitaph to be placed upon the site, in case one would like a permanent memory of one's pet.
Ranjan Chacko, who looks after resources and funds at PFA says: "The least people can do is to bury their pets with dignity and respect after all the years of affection it has given them." On receiving a call from an owner, PFA sends an ambulance to fetch the body of the pet, along with experienced people to handle the body. It is then taken to the burial site and buried "sensitively, in keeping with environmental norms by adding lime to the grave".
While the PFA's charges are Rs. 2,000 for small animals and Rs. 3,500 for larger ones, the costs can even go up to Rs. 10,000 in cases where the owners ask for a permanent site with a granite headstone.
Ranjan finds that people are keen to do this because they tend to remember their animal's birthday and like to visit the grave. In one case, he even had an owner who fed all the animals in the hospice on the birthday of his deceased pet. "All the money beyond the costs of the burial is used to look after the other animals in the hospice," he says.
The PFA hospice houses sloth bears, primates, birds and other animals that are lost in the city and need to be rehabilitated before they are let out in the wild. It currently has a veterinary doctor and some helpers to care of the animals. Those who wish to avail of their burial service can call 28603986.
TINA GARG
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