Spring is here at last and so is another Red Bike Tales Adventure! The day was cool and overcast with plans to ride to Carson, California to admire a new mural that can easily be seen by motorists passing on the 110 N Freeway as they approach the junction of the 405. The colors on this mural were so vivid, so brilliant. While the previous mural on this site was similar in composition, there is something especially vibrant about the color red that brings this mural added excitement. Or could it be the sight of a sword above your head as you gaze upwards? After a Red Bike photo op, continued cycling to the nearby city of Gardena, having forgotten that there is a pet cemetery and crematory there. In fact years ago a neighbor once commented that their family had interred a dog and cat at this very cemetery, so I decided to stop in to have a look around.
When you think of how many pets there are in the world, and that pet supplies in the US alone make up a billion-dollar industry, it’s remarkable that pet cemeteries are not more prevalent. In California for example, the exceedingly high land values are reason enough. It seems for many who love their pets no expense can be spared. For what price can you place on a beloved pet who seems part of your family, who has provided years of sweet companionship, always happy to see you, happy to please and always forgives? Standing there looking out on the sea of mementos, memory candles flickering, couldn’t help but wonder how many tears had been shed at these grave sites?
Upon making an inquiry as to my former neighbor’s pets burial site, the office secretary was very helpful. She began printing the “Death Certificates” if you will for each pet. After printing two sheets however, the printer continued on as I stood in stunned amazement. There were nine pets in all, not the two I had imagined. There were felines – Snowball, Penny, Powder Puff, Dapper, Smokey, Sylvester, Wampus, Sugar, and a German Shepard named Thunder. Each certificate detailed the plot information as well as the pets sex, age and species. This pet cemetery is not solely a resting place for cats and dogs you see, but a variety of critters including a ninety-five-year-old tortoise, a beloved monkey, a movie horse, as well as several celebrity’s pets, not to mention the hundreds of dogs and cats whose photos you can’t help but smile at when you see them.
Each certificate details the plot location in addition to the breakdown of additional costs, ranging from; cremation, sealed casket, memory light, cement/turf, marker size, picture size, internment fee, maintenance fee and if the pet owner had selected a weekend burial, an additional surcharge would be applied.
The average cost of a 1980’s feline burial was approximately $550 according to the handful of receipts I was clutching. If you think you might want to save money by investing in a plot now for your beloved pet, you may be surprised to learn the starting price is currently $750 for the plot alone. There are no savings when buying a plot for future use.
The price you pay now may be different when your pet passes, you will be expected to pay the difference.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Evidently our beloved pets cannot escape that truth in death any more than their owners who loved them. Until our next adventure, Happy Trails!