The whole process was very caring, " says Dyer of her experience at the Decatur pet crematory. "I knew my pet was in good hands."
Hunsaker followed up with a handwritten note marking the month anniversary of the deaths of Dyer's animal companions. The personal touch is something many are now searching for when it comes to their pet's final stage of life.

"People want that last experience with their pet to be as pleasant as possible, " says Hunsaker, who opened the pet crematory in July after abandoning a lucrative career operating human crematories. "I'm an animal lover, and I saw there was a void. A lot of people think I was crazy to do this, but I really think we're offering people the type of service they've been looking for."

Where once crematories dispatched of the ashes, most pet owners now request their pets' remains, says Dr. Mark Dorfman, who specializes in internal medicine at Georgia Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Care in Sandy Springs. Those remains are returned in a plain plastic urn, unless otherwise requested.
Most clients request otherwise, Dorfman says, choosing from a variety of decorative urns. At Paws, Whiskers & Wags, for example, the cost for such containers runs anywhere from $40 to $200.

As for the cost of cremation, Dorfman says the expense is tabulated based on a pet's size. For cats and small dogs, the charge routinely runs around $130. For bigger dogs, the total usually ends up at about $200.
Most vets don't offer the service on site, and most crematories aren't accustomed to dealing personally with grieving owners. Hunsaker is seeking to change that disconnent by defying expectations of just what a crematorium is --- and does.

For instance, she's added a spacious, welcoming living room to the front of the building. Books about "Doggie Heaven" adorn the coffee table. Hunsaker says the room has housed a few impromptu send-offs since she opened for business.

One older couple brought some friends and held an Irish wake for their departed canine. A doctor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laid her cat to rest with some private reflection and music she brought from home.

"That's the vision I have for this place, " says Hunsaker, sitting underneath a life-size photograph of her teacup poodle. "I don't think anyone can prepare for losing a pet. A lot of times, what they want, and get, from me is someone who'll listen, someone who loves animals and someone who knows what they're going through."

Besides comfort, Hunsaker offers assurance that the "ashes" pet owners are receiving are actually their pets' remains.

"We offer full disclosure, " she says. A metal "pet tracker, " impervious to the flames, is attached and returned with the ashes after cremation.

Kameo and Oki are now bookends on Dyer's fireplace, twin urns of remembrance.

"I wanted to have them cremated, " says Dyer, who lives in Norcross, "because I wanted to be able to take them with me if I ever moved from my current house. Burying them in the yard just wasn't going to do."


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