WE WANT TO BE BUR
Daily Express Saturday April 1 2017
ALTHOUGH Stella Beirne is fit, healthy and only 56 she already knows that when she dies she wants her ashes to be buried with those of her beloved dogs in a peaceful spot near her Manchester home.
It may sound off-the-wall but Stella is a perfectly sane private tutor and mother of three children aged 30, 15, and 12. She also represents a fast-growing number of pet-owners who want to be interred with their animals. “I keep the ashes of three of my previous dogs in metal containers in my house and when I die I want them mixed with my own ashes and those of any of my other dogs who die in the meantime,” says Stella, who is single.
She currently has two dogs, an Afghan hound called Gwen and one she rescued from Romania named Rose, both of them six years old. “They never leave my side whether I’m cooking, driving or doing chores. I get very close to my dogs and have always had at least three at a time as pets since the day I was born.
“I have discussed my wishes with my children to ensure they are carried out when the time comes, and several friends are in the picture too. They all know the extent of my love for my dogs and have not questioned my decision. My animals have been my closest companions through life so why wouldn’t I want to be with them in death?
“I would like us to be buried in the same peaceful local cemetery where my parents’ graves are but if that is not possible then I want the dogs’ ashes and mine to be scattered in woodland nearby.”
Earlier this week the BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham expressed similar sentiments, revealing that he wants his ashes to be buried with those of his two pet poodles, Itchy – who died just before Christmas – and Scratchy, who is still alive.
He said: “Our ashes are going to get mixed together and thrown out in the woods in a favourite spot in the New Forest. I love them so much I want to be part of them and I want them to be part of me in this lifetime.”
Although Chris’s revelations made headlines and may, at first glance, sound eccentric, historically it was common for humans and animals to be buried together. Ancient Egyptian pharaohs were interred alongside mummified cats, monkeys and birds because they believed animals shared an afterlife with humans, while Anglo-Saxon warriors were often buried with their horses.
The practice only fell out of favour when the rise of Christianity attributed pet rituals to paganism. Now, though, an increasing number of pet owners are seeking burials with their favourite domestic animals. The trend has been accelerated by the growth in natural burial sites
BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham says he wants his ashes to be mingled with those of his two dogs – and he is far from the only one
for humans that use biodegradable coffins and frequently have woodland settings with informal plots.
While 70 per cent of the UK’s pet cemeteries and crematoriums offer joint burial for animals and humans, traditional human burial grounds have been slow to allow pets to be buried or scattered with their owners. Industry experts say this is most likely because operators do not want to upset non-pet lovers by laying pet remains to rest in the same place.
While an approved pet crematorium is allowed to scatter human