We share our daily lives, joys and sorrows, and even (increasingly) our holidays and big celebrations with them, just as if they were another member of the family, so… why not include pets in our final goodbyes? Why not open the door to the wake for them, saying goodbye to their owners and making the ordeal more bearable for the rest of the family in the process?
There are those who have already moved from questions to practice.
“haru protocol”. Less than a year and a half ago, the Puerto Real City Council (Cádiz) announced on its website a new service available to its 42,500 residents, which the City Council is proud of, making it a “pioneer” in Spain. The service in question was called ‘Haru Protocol’ and it basically made it easier for pets to access funeral homes and cemeteries to say goodbye to their owners.
In fact, ‘Haru’ is the name of a cat that was rescued by Puerto Real’s Animal Welfare Councilor, Virginia Mera. The kitten’s faithfulness and behavior led the councilor to wonder how he would react if he died. So, he sat down with Cemabasa Funeral Service Company from Cádiz to find a way for pets to say goodbye to their dead owners.
Faber Leonardo (Unsplash).
And how do they present it? “The ‘Haru Protocol’ establishes the necessary conditions and measures so that animals can safely and respectfully access the facilities of funeral homes and cemeteries, always under the supervision of persons in charge and staff,” the consistory commented. “The farewell ceremony is held in a private place and with limited time, guaranteeing respect and solemnity for all people present.”
Puerto Real emphasizes the “affective bond that unites people with their animals” and confirms that there are studies that confirm that after the death of their owner, pets “can experience a deep sense of anxiety and even abandonment.” “Allowing them to say goodbye helps soothe these feelings and makes it easier to integrate the loss.”
recently ABC Confirmed that the protocol is now in force and the first goodbyes with pets were celebrated in May. The service was also implemented at the collective cemetery in Chiclana.
Outside of Cadiz. Puerto Real is not the only municipality that has decided to rethink the relationship between pets and funerals. There is a funeral home in Bilbao Dog friendly which allows families to say goodbye to their furry friends with their loved ones the country He recently published a chronicle in which he mentions two other interesting cases: the PFB Service Funeraris and Grupo Albiare in charge of several centers in Catalonia. There are other municipalities (in the case of Mataro) where users are demanding changes.
Are all cases the same? no The method is not the same in all cases. Protocol agreed between Puerto Real and Semabasa allows the animals to say goodbye to their owners. “The coffin is opened and the animal is allowed to become aware that the person has died,” he explains the country Jose Luis Ferrer, manager of Semabasa. “It’s not just with the dead.” In other cases it doesn’t go that far and what funeral homes do is become the venue Dog friendly Open to pets, who thus participate in the vigil and support the rest of the family.
Grupo Albia notes, for example, that “all centers in the country allow access to pets so that they can accompany the family during the farewell of a loved one.” It only has to meet certain “safety, hygiene and health requirements”. There is no mention of pet access to the coffin. For its part, PFB offers “an intimate space in the funeral home where pets can say goodbye to their most loved ones.” He does this “at a special time” and always with the animal.
beyond waking up. Initiatives like Puerto Real may be shocking, but in reality they are just another step in a trend that has been going on for years. It is increasingly easy to find funeral homes, crematoriums and even cemeteries for pets in Spain, just as other services aimed at their care are increasing. It is not surprising if we consider that it is already easier to see pets than children in our country.
Against this background there is a question that is increasingly vociferous: How do companion animals experience the death of their humans? Do they mourn like this? Does it affect your health? And if so, how can we make the ordeal more bearable for them? In Cádiz they hope to at least “alleviate” their feelings of abandonment and facilitate the “integration of loss”.
Picture | Parastu Ghisari (Unsplash) and Faber Leonardo (Unsplash)
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