People rarely know that seeing their animal again is even an option, and a fair number wish afterwards that somebody had told them. Heavenly Pastures arranges pet cremations for families in Rufford and the surrounding villages. A word on geography, because it is unusual here. Our crematorium is not in Rufford itself, and there is no branch of ours in the village, but it sits at Burscough just up the road, which makes Rufford about as close to us as anywhere we serve.
Seeing Them Again
Families often assume that once an animal has been collected, that is the end of it. It is not. You can ask to see your pet before the cremation, and a good many people find that the chance to say goodbye properly, in their own time rather than in a veterinary consulting room, changes how the whole thing sits with them afterwards.
What the Chapel of Rest Actually Is
It is a quiet room. That is genuinely all it is, and people are sometimes braced for something more formal or more institutional than it turns out to be. There are chairs. You can sit with your animal for as long as you want, and nobody comes in, hovers at the door or gives you a signal that time is up. Some people stay ten minutes and some stay an hour, and both are completely ordinary. What people almost always say afterwards is that the room was less daunting than they had built it up to be in the car on the way over.
Arranging a Visit
Ring beforehand where you can, mainly so that the room is set aside and somebody is expecting you rather than you arriving to a locked door. Short notice can usually be managed, including on the same day, so if you wake up in the morning having decided you need to see them, ring and ask rather than assuming it is too late. It generally is not. The same applies if a relative decides at the last minute that they want to come, or if you get halfway through the day and change your mind entirely. None of it needs to be settled far in advance.
Who Comes and What People Do
Bring whoever you want. Children come, and it is often better for them than being excluded, provided somebody has told them beforehand what to expect. People bring a blanket, a toy, or something they want to stay with the animal, and if you would like something to remain with them, say so and it will. Some families say something aloud, some sit in silence, and a number of people bring a photograph of the two of them from years earlier. There is no correct way to use the time and nothing anybody does in that room would strike us as strange. People apologise for crying, or for not crying, and neither needs apologising for.
Whether You Should
Not everybody should and not everybody wants to, and declining is not a failure of love. If your last memory of your animal is a peaceful one at home, there is a reasonable argument for leaving it there. Where a death was sudden or difficult, ask us what to expect before you decide, and we will tell you honestly rather than encouraging you either way. People who choose not to come very rarely regret it. People who wanted to and did not know they could are the ones who tend to mind afterwards, which is why this page exists. If nobody has mentioned it to you and you are reading this having already arranged everything, ring and ask, because in most cases there is still time.
The Choice That Sits Alongside It
Visiting is separate from the decision about the cremation itself. An individual cremation service means your animal alone from beginning to end, with their ashes returned to you afterwards. A communal cremation service means several animals together, and in that case nothing comes back to any family. You can visit the chapel of rest whichever you have chosen. The pet cremation price list carries the figures, while our standards describes the way the work itself is handled.
Being Close By
Because Rufford sits so near to Burscough, families here have an easier time of this than most. Bringing your animal to us directly is straightforward, and coming back afterwards to collect ashes rather than waiting for them to be brought out is equally simple. Plenty of people here do both, and say that being able to picture the place matters to them more than they expected it would.
If You Would Rather Not Travel
None of this is compulsory. Collection from your home remains the ordinary way we work and most families choose it. It is priced by travel time out from Burscough, which is short from Rufford, and the bands are set out on the areas we cover page. Where your animal has died at home unexpectedly and you are not sure what to do first, our page on the cremation service following natural death covers it.
Asking About a Visit
Ring 01704 776976 and simply ask what would be involved. It is a common question and nobody will find it odd or morbid. If you would rather write first, our contact form reaches the same small team.