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burying a dog
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Message 1.Â
Posted by Mrs Croft (U13706992) on Friday, 19th June 2009
Can anyone tell me how deeply I would need to bury a dog in the garden to prevent it being disturbed? The only site I can see giving info suggests 1.25m, which is about 4 feet. Is that right?
Dog isn't dead yet, but is clearly on the way out and I want to be prepared.
I have a large garden with plenty of space, not near any water etc.
Thanks -
Message 2
Posted by PepperTree (U10855001) on Friday, 19th June 2009
Deep enough to discourage a fox from digging it up. At least two feet of earth above the highest part of the body. If you have a paving stone or two then I suggest placing over the filled in hole until such time as the body has decomposed.
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Message 3
Posted by halftidy (U8567554) on Friday, 19th June 2009
Depends on size of dog. We have buried terriers a lot less than that - 2ft even - but we always lay a slab on top to prevent disturbance by foxes at night etc. The enormous springer spaniel nearly needed loan of JCB. But my father used to bury our terriers under an old tree on one a favourite walk (usually at night so no-one saw!) - again with a slab on top - that way there is less likelihood of future disturbance. Not a pleasant task - but one last thing we can do for our old friends.
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Message 4
Posted by Mrs Croft (U13706992) on Friday, 19th June 2009
Thanks for those replies. Tiny dog, can be tucked under one arm, so 4 feet seemed a little excessive. Will seek out some slabs or would some plywood suffice?
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Message 5
Posted by halftidy (U8567554) on Friday, 19th June 2009
Stone slab much the best as foxes will move anything light. You don't want the upset of grave robbing.
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Message 6
Posted by Campbell-in-Clogs (U8123405) on Friday, 19th June 2009
When I buried my first Great Dane I was advised that 'at least a meter' was the thing. It was like a scene from a curiously mixed Shakespeare play - the 3 witches had somehow wandered into Hamlet...
Years later I cremated a Weimeraner. A huge funeral pyre from pallets I'd been saving for some time. Dog wrapped in various lovely old tablecloths. I'd been inspired to do this by Byron's biography - he was cremated on a beach in Italy by his friends. I really fancy such a scene for myself but am afraid current laws will probably prevent it happening. Decided my beautiful old dog was worthy of such a send off. I was really nervous beforehand and worried about possible smells but the fire was so hot that it all went well. A memorable occasion. -
Message 7
Posted by halftidy (U8567554) on Friday, 19th June 2009
gosh that was brave!!! I did know someone who buried her wonderful dressage horse - here is now a large mound ther with shrubs gowing on top. Definitely a JCB job that one!
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Message 8
Posted by Mrs Croft (U13706992) on Friday, 19th June 2009
OK, halftidy. Stone it is. Thanks
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Message 9
Posted by Jo Bo (U1485540) on Friday, 19th June 2009
We have only buried cats, but we always plant a fruit tree on top. In a smaller garden, a small shrub might be a good substitute and would probably deter foxes as well as providing a nice momento.
Unfortunately I don't think I could cope with the JCB for the horses. Now the local zoo and hunts won't take them I'm afraid it will have to be to wherever fallen stock generally go, but the main thing is they will be dead first, so no chance of being diverted to market. Sadly as my old horse is now 23 it is something I am likely to face within the next few years.
Jo x -
Message 10
Posted by halftidy (U8567554) on Friday, 19th June 2009
Don't you believe it - we have one of 27 with chronic copd, still looking amazing and still going strong (apart from the copd of course!). Everytime there is a crisis and he throws a colic, gets a thorn in his eye (yes really) and I mention the word 'kennels' he revives like Lazarus! Ihope you have many years together yet!
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Message 11
Posted by Jo Bo (U1485540) on Friday, 19th June 2009
Thanks halftidy, he is still fairly fit at the moment. Although semi-retired he would be capable of more if I didn't have my little mare. So I'm hopeful he'll be with me for a fair few years yet despite being rather thin - but then he is a TB ex-racer who has never put on much weight. But I do have to be aware that the time will come one day...and I'd prefer to be prepared.
27 is a good age - I did my first pairs Le Trec last weekend (see Equestrian thread) with a friend from the riding club and her mare is 27 and still being ridden 3-4 times a week.
Jo x -
Message 12
Posted by andrewpearce007 (U2244552) on Friday, 19th June 2009
I've burried three dogs, and tend to go down a spade depth including the handle, it is deep but you can place the spade across the trench to haul yourself out.
Here we have about six inches of soil then solid chalk, so here I dig down a shaft/well, then when at the bottom dig a tunnel side ways and place the body of the cat (cats now) in the tunnel and block the entrance with a slab, and fill the shaft, then when the next cat dies, open up the shaft, dig out another side ways tunnel and place the next cat and another slab.
Shaft about four foot deep each tunnel about eighteen inches long. -
Message 13
Posted by stolenkisses (U6230663) on Friday, 19th June 2009
Have you considered cremation - not home-made but there are commercial firms that do this for pets. We have done this with three cats now and you get back a nice wooden box with the ashes. You can scatter the ashes or bury the box, but we liked them so much we have them on a discreet shelf with photos of the cats (now I've written that down I wonder if it sounds odd...?)
Anyway, just a thought, probably you prefer the burial idea.
sk -
Message 14
Posted by ruralsnowflakebliss (U8131914) on Friday, 19th June 2009
Always buried the pets, Had a positive necropolis of shoe boxes (guinea pigs). My parents encouraged us to do this from quite young and we developed a real ritual with flowers and cairns built. The terrier was buried about 2/3 feet down wrapped in her favourite blanket and I planted crocuses across the spot. I never thought about foxes but would agree a big slab is a nice marker if its stone and would stop them.
I thnk I posted about the shetland pony being buried by JCB on a sunny bank by the gorse. Will plant a tree there this autumn. Still thinking about type,
I do think we are lucky our garden is big enough to let me put them where the memories are. -
Message 15
Posted by Bette (U2222559) on Friday, 19th June 2009
MrsCroft ,
You have received practical answers to your question, but I imagine you are feeling rather emotional about the imminent loss of your dog too, so would just like to express my commiserations. They are just so much part of our lives, aren't they? -
Message 16
Posted by MV Whitby May Rose (U6862284) on Friday, 19th June 2009
Yes Mrs Croft. Im so sorry. We lost our beloved dog in November and now have a lovely puppy. We had the dog cremated and will bury his ashes in my
in laws garden with several other deceased pet members of our family. -
Message 17
Posted by halftidy (U8567554) on Saturday, 20th June 2009
We have two of those boxes which m y children (in their 30s!)refuse to allow us to bury. In the last dog's case our local pet crematorium is on the shoot the dog picked up on - so it was utterly her favourite place on earth/ We asked the crem to dispose of her ashes there. It seemed ideal to all of us.
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Message 18
Posted by Mrs Croft (U13706992) on Saturday, 20th June 2009
Thanks for your kind replies.
Little dog will doubtless stage a recovery and live on for years now that we are reconciled to her going and beginning to source burial slabs! -
Message 19
Posted by notjenniferaldrich (U8555450) on Saturday, 20th June 2009
What happens to the pet cemetery if you move? Most people do sooner or later. Would you be obliged to tell the next owner of the property about it?
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Message 20
Posted by notjenniferaldrich (U8555450) on Saturday, 20th June 2009
P.S. I hope your little dog makes a wonderful recovery and that you have so much time to think about things funerary that you have to start another thread all over again to remind you of the hints.
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Message 21
Posted by blue_rememberedhills (U4927627) on Saturday, 20th June 2009
We have a small garden (not by choice) and have run out of places to bury pets. When BRH Minor's pet snake died, I had to dig up part of the lawn in order to give her a decent burial.
We once buried a cat in our garden which had been hit by a car outside our house. We didn't manage to trace the owner and it seemed the kindest thing to do. I was given instructions about burial depth etc by an exceptionally bossy and rude woman from CP who said I should have kept the cat in the garage for a while in case the owners wanted to claim it. I was particularly irritated by her assumption that /everyone/ has a garage...
And, to the OP, I hope your dear old dog has a peaceful end, whenever that it. -
Message 22
Posted by Campbell-in-Clogs (U8123405) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
<< rude woman from CP>>
--
CP?? -
Message 23
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
Cats Protection?
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Message 24
Posted by Miftrefs Laura in Lothian bufily ftitching (U2587870) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:26 GMT, in reply to Pepper Tree in message 2
Coming in late to the thread, but in most soils in the UK, as long as there is a paving-slab or similar horizontally over the top, and at least a foot of soil, then that should stop the kind of digger-uppers we have in this country and should also prevent you becoming curiously reminiscent about the burial site if we get hot weather...!
You could also put the paving-stone below ground and then plant over the top - our last cat has a double thickness of roof-slates about 6" above him, and then a foot of soil and we planted his favourite catmint (nepeta) over the whole thing.
If you have exceptionally sandy soil and can't get a paving-slab, then the deeper the better. Everything will go faster if you surround the body with straw (we got ours from a pet-shop; they sell it for hamster-bedding, etc., as cities are curiously deficient in straw-mongers...), or conifer twigs/ small branches, and don't include wrappings or a box.
Hope that's practical, rather than tactless... I felt very odd a decade ago, going through my own textbooks working it out, when Kip was in his final days. It was one thing knowing this stuff for work, but quite another thing working it out for a very much loved cat... hope your dog's end was easy for him, if not for you.
Laura -
Message 25
Posted by Rwth of the Cornovii (U2570790) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:20 GMT, in reply to MrsCroft in message 1
Dog isn't dead yet, but is clearly on the way out and I want to be prepared.Â
Ring round the vets for a cremation service. Then you can put the ashes where the dog was happy. It's what we have done. -
Message 26
Posted by Campbell-in-Clogs (U8123405) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
I have a small tin with a few tiny fragments of bone I seived from the ashes of Max's last bonfire on the morning after. So he still goes everywhere with me in the dashboard of the van, just like he used to (well he used to lie and snore in the back but you get the general idea). I also took a small bone fragment with me to Patagonia and left it at the back of the Cave of the Mylodon to really confuse future archaeologists.
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Message 27
Posted by Miftrefs Laura in Lothian bufily ftitching (U2587870) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:50 GMT, in reply to Campbell-in-Clogs in message 26
You rotter, C-in-C!
Re: moving house when you have a pet cemetary... my pal went and got a huge potted plant, you know the sort that has a pot about two foot wide? That way she could bury her beloved pet rats and the snake when its time came, but still move house and take them along too - that's forward planning, isn't it...
Laura -
Message 28
Posted by Campbell-in-Clogs (U8123405) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
no Laura, that's just wierd! (I know, I know, look who's talking here...)
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Message 29
Posted by Miftrefs Laura in Lothian bufily ftitching (U2587870) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:56 GMT, in reply to Campbell-in-Clogs in message 28
Different people find different things work for them...!
It's a little unusual, I agree... but she really loved her rats and snakes and didn't want to have to leave them behind when she left the rented flat!
Laura -
Message 30
Posted by notjenniferaldrich (U8555450) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
Has anyone else had experience with house moves leaving behind a pets' cemetery, e.g. if you are downsizing or moving into a flat or a residence for the elderly? It must be very hard to leave it behind, but what about the next owners? Do they have to be told of pet burials in the garden? And if so, how do they react?
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Message 31
Posted by blue_rememberedhills (U4927627) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
Msg 23 - yes, Cats Protection is what I meant, not Communist Party!
I don't think you are obliged to tell your house buyers about the pet cemetery. Though I suppose if I had recently buried a pet, I would mention it to avoid unwary digging. -
Message 32
Posted by greensparklybejewelledone (U2283175) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:52 GMT, in reply to notjenniferaldrich in message 30
I've been wondering that too, notjen, as I'll be moving soon and leaving Suzie behind me in the garden. I will certainly tell them, and yes, it will be very hard leaving her behind.
gj
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Message 33
Posted by greensparklybejewelledone (U2283175) on Monday, 22nd June 2009
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:55 GMT, in reply to stolenkisses in message 13
Not a bit odd, sk. My other two cats were cremated, and we've done exactly the same thing. As to what happens when we move (separately), we don't know yet.
gj
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Message 34
Posted by JanetDoe (U10211737) on Tuesday, 23rd June 2009
This is what the Dogstrust says:
"Your dog’s remains can be buried in your own garden or in a pet cemetery.
If you choose to bury your pet’s body in your garden, then you should check with your local authority that they have no objections. The body will have to be buried at least 1.25m deep and should be well away from ponds, streams, wells, underground pipes and cables."
Web site:
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Message 35
Posted by Flakey (U13643566) on Tuesday, 23rd June 2009
GJ, Not odd at all.
My cats from England alive and dead all came with me. Sadly three were in the little caskets you mentioned.
Flakes x -
Message 36
Posted by greensparklybejewelledone (U2283175) on Tuesday, 23rd June 2009
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:02 GMT, in reply to 2flakey in message 35
Oh, I know that. My problem will be that when we move, we're going to different places - and I'm sure OH will want to keep Scamp, and I'll want Pucci, but both of us know they should be together. Sigh. We don't yet know what will feel 'right'.
gj
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Message 37
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Tuesday, 23rd June 2009
gj, would it seem strange to mix the ashes together and to take some each? You would need a cask for each of you of course, with inscriptions for Scamp and Pucci.
Not quite the same thing, but my mother has told us then when she pops off, she wants most of her ashes mixed with my father's (which are in the study at home) then to be placed with a slab in the local churchyard, some sprinkled close to her mother's grave slab (same churchyard), and some over her grandmother's stone (proper grave) in Wales. I am not sure how much ash she thinks she will be providing, mind.
Rusty -
Message 38
Posted by Campbell-in-Clogs (U8123405) on Tuesday, 23rd June 2009
I remember reading somewhere that Courtney Love carried the ashes of Kurt Cobain around with her for years, scattering little pieces of him all over the world. That's partly why I took a tiny piece of my last dog with me when I went to The End of the World...
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Message 39
Posted by greensparklybejewelledone (U2283175) on Tuesday, 23rd June 2009
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:37 GMT, in reply to Rusters in message 37
Rusty, you're a genius. I think that's a top idea. Wonder what OH will think.
Thanks.
gj
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Message 40
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Tuesday, 23rd June 2009
(Never done one of those before, don't know if it is right.)
Rusty -
Message 41
Posted by MV Whitby May Rose (U6862284) on Tuesday, 23rd June 2009
Our lovely old Catweazle got left behind in our garden in Oban.
Our other pets, Ophelia the cat and Ben the dog are buried in the garden of the cottage we use in England ( along with several of my in laws pets) and our most recent dog Seamus is in his box under the telephone table waiting for us all to be at the cottage at the same time to bury him. We made a little shrine when he came back from the pet crematorium. We put the box on a table with a photo of him and his fave rugby ball, collar and lead and the card they send back with the box of ashes.
My in laws have a lovely cat statue over the grave of their most recent cat ( who was rescued by a neighbour of ours in Glasgow when her mother gave birth to a litter by the river kelvin). -
Message 42
Posted by greensparklybejewelledone (U2283175) on Tuesday, 23rd June 2009
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:55 GMT, in reply to whitbyrose in message 41
I really like that idea, and if I were staying here I'd go and get one to put over Suzie, but as it is I'll have to leave it, and her.
gj
x
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