‘Our Ellie’s funeral was paw-fect’
The Cini family gave their beloved pooch a send-off to remember...
Staffy-cross Ellie was Amanda and Clint Cini’s first baby. She arrived soon after their honeymoon in 2008 and quickly became the most important member of their family.
“She was such a socialite,” Amanda, 40, laughs. “Everyone knew her. She thought she owned our street!”
When the Gold Coast couple’s actual children came along, Taj, now 10, and Kya, nine, Ellie fitted in around them, and as long as she got her homemade dinners, she was happy.
But by the age of 12, Ellie was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and, too old to operate on, the vet explained there would come a time when it would be kinder to help the faithful pup over the rainbow bridge.
That day came 18 months later, last April, when Ellie was suddenly unable to move.
“We cried so much that day,” accredited dietitian Amanda remembers. “I slept by her and we took her to the park in a cart so she could sniff around. She had all the treats and cuddles she could want, so when the time came she was so calm and happy.”
After Ellie was put down, Amanda and her family were distraught, but after a friend’s recommendation they turned to Molendinar’s Pet Angel Funerals to give their beloved dog a suitable farewell.
“We chose an urn for Ellie as well as a card with her fur ur and paw print on,” says Amanda. “We got a certificate of cremation and some little angels for the kids. It cost about $450 but it was so worth it. We all needed closure and it gave us that.”
The family went to pick up Ellie’s ashes together and had a little service for her at the same time. “We took flowers and a huge photo album and the kids did a speech about how Ellie was such a great dog and they’d miss her, even her snoring!” Amanda recalls.
“It was so good for them to be able to say goodbye.”
The family plan to scatter Ellie’s ashes at her favourite park but for now, they’re treasuring their keepsakes.
“I miss her so much,” says Amanda. “But I’m grateful for the way we could say goodbye.”