The Gold Coast Bulletin

SENDING PETS OUT IN STYLE

- EMILY TOXWARD

GRIEVING pet owners are lining up to give their dearly departed a swanky send off in a luxury car, complete with a uniformed chauffeur and white roses.

In what’s believed to an Australian first, Gold Coast business Pet Angel Funerals has launched a luxury service that allows pet owners to give their fur babies one final ride in a high-end Mercedes-Benz fitted with custom leather and timber interior.

Owner and founder Tom Jorgensen recently expanded to open a factory in Brisbane, so his business services the entire southeast region, including northern NSW.

Mr Jorgensen said he created the service to cater for a spike in demand for a more luxurious service from long-term customers wanting something special for their “babies”. “So we thought a fitting way would be to use a luxury car such as a Mercedes-Benz,” he said. “We have only had Pet 1 and Pet 2 on the road for a few days now and we have been inundated with inquiries.

“It’s about the finer details like having stunning white roses and special music playing in the Mercedes with your pet. We want pet owners’ minds to be at ease, knowing their angel is being taken to the crematoriu­m in a most beautiful way.”

After investigat­ing the concept overseas extensivel­y,

especially in the US, Mr Jorgensen said he hadn’t found anything of this level. The two station wagons are fitted out in a traditiona­l human hearse method.

“Ours eclipses anything that’s available in Australia and possibly the world,” he said.

He said the new deluxe

service package started from $575 and included Australian­made memorial products and collection of pets by a uniformed chauffeur.

The business has also noticed a recent increase in pet owners buying personalis­ed lockets that contain ashes of their pets.

“In this day and age, and

with pet ownership and pet prices and expectatio­ns of owners going through the roof, we just have to lift our game and we think we’ve done that with this luxury transfer service,” he said.

“We treat pets with dignity and grace always. We treat them as if they were a human family member, no different.”

 ?? Picture: Jerad Williams ?? Pet Angel Funerals GN Scott Gunnell with one of the two new Mercedes Benz luxury hearses.
Picture: Jerad Williams Pet Angel Funerals GN Scott Gunnell with one of the two new Mercedes Benz luxury hearses.

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