Transcript
Speaker: It's okay for you to be sad.
Speaker: It's okay for you to feel grief.
Speaker: It's okay for you to be upset and angry and to go through all of these emotions because otherwise you're not going to heal.
Speaker: Hi everybody and welcome to the Glam Reaper podcast.
Speaker: The Glam Reaper is in the wild.
Speaker: Once again we went for Central Park and now we're in Boston.
Speaker: Are we in downtown Boston?
Speaker: I think we're in downtown.
Speaker: Yes it's the theatre district.
Speaker: Theatre district.
Speaker: And I am your host the Glam Reaper Jennifer Muldowney and with me, so I'm here at the IAPCC.
Speaker: I think I'm getting that probably wrong.
Speaker: Anyway it's an international pet convention.
Speaker: I'll leave some details.
Speaker: Very exciting convention.
Speaker: We'll touch on that a bit later.
Speaker: But I have one of my dear friends, Sydney, here with me.
Speaker: And she owns a... A pet cremation facility.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: We are going to get into it.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So if you're... Now, we just lost our dog earlier this year.
Speaker: So this has been a difficult, you know, difficult convention.
Speaker: But I think it's a really important topic for us to talk about.
Speaker: We've already talked about pet loss on this podcast.
Speaker: So tell me... Well, first of all, how long have you been in business?
Speaker: So I've been open four years.
Speaker: I had no experience in the funeral industry.
Speaker: Like I just jumped in head first.
Speaker: Like I have a teaching degree in elementary ed.
Speaker: So not anything that I thought I would be into, but here we are four years and.
Speaker: Well made you.
Speaker: So the building that I'm in, th is is make a long story short.
Speaker: It's okay.
Speaker: We love a long story.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So my facility is in Arizona.
Speaker: I was born and raised in the town that my facility is in, but I did take a hiatus to Utah and it was just time for a change.
Speaker: We'd been there.
Speaker: My husband had started in his career and it was just time for something different.
Speaker: Somehow we ended up back in my small town, which was not what was our initial plan, but you know, the Lord has plans for us all.
Speaker: I mean, just things, I don't believe in coincidences.
Speaker: I believe that there's a reason for everything that happens.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Whatever that reason might be, whether we, and I honestly believe sometimes that reason presents itself immediately.
Speaker: And sometimes it doesn't present itself until five years down the road.
Speaker: And you just don't know what that reason is until it shows itself.
Speaker: So we ended up back in our small town.
Speaker: And so my grandfather has been there for many, many years since the sixties.
Speaker: And he has an industrial park.
Speaker: My building is in that industrial park.
Speaker: It was empty.
Speaker: He felt like there needed to be a cremation facility for pets.
Speaker: where someone could come out.
Speaker: He did.
Speaker: He did.
Speaker: It was all him.
Speaker: And I was a stay-at-home mom.
Speaker: And he was like, you know, I'm thinking about this, but he didn't want anything to do with it.
Speaker: He's more of an entrepreneur.
Speaker: He wanted to start it.
Speaker: He wanted something in that building.
Speaker: You know, it was driving him crazy.
Speaker: And so that's, that's where we are.
Speaker: So he made the investment for the equipment and like,
Speaker: You know, and then I just took it from there.
Speaker: I mean, he's had, he's not had anything to do with the business, you know, he bounces ideas off of, you know.
Speaker: So he did, he was like, this is the idea.
Speaker: This is the space you're going to do.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: He felt like it would do well.
Speaker: And it was basically like, okay, you're going to do it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And you're, I mean, you are, I've, I've known you for, has it been a year?
Speaker: No, it's only like six, seven months, I think.
Speaker: Cause it was.
Speaker: April.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: We're fast friends.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You can probably tell by the vibes.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So, I mean, you're like the perfect person as far as I'm concerned for this kind of.
Speaker: It's so funny that you say that because I would have never thought that.
Speaker: Not that I'm not a compassionate person, but I've not ever, I, prior to this, I hadn't had that experience with someone who's really distraught with someone who's really grieving, someone who's upset.
Speaker: Uh, but anyways, continue.
Speaker: But I feel like it's interesting that you say that because I feel like you have the perfect, like, and I'm not going to compliment myself by saying this, but like often, like when I've been looking for assistance and stuff, I feel like I've either found somebody like super emotional or very logical.
Speaker: Sure.
Speaker: And it's really hard to find that mix of the two, which I have.
Speaker: It's probably the schizo Gemini in me.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Don't tell anybody.
Speaker: But I feel like I see that with you.
Speaker: Like you are logical.
Speaker: I can see you as being a planner, but like you have that compassion.
Speaker: And it's probably, I mean, from being a teacher, you know, that background, does that help, do you think?
Speaker: I mean, I think it's a combination of a lot of things.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You know, having a husband who's a police officer, you know, and being able to be compassionate.
Speaker: That helps if you get any rowdy people at the crematorium.
Speaker: Yeah, he's able to just come in.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You know, or if we have to get rid of, you know, a body or something.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: We'll cut that out.
Speaker: But like, remember the example that the guy gave yesterday about like how he had to call the police to.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: I mean, when you're talking about something like grief, it's extremely high emotions.
Speaker: And some people have really good coping skills and some people don't.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And yes, I do think being a teacher, you know, and I think some of this is my personality.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's just, you have a calming who I am, you know?
Speaker: And like I said, I would have never thought, however, people will say to me, I don't know how you do this.
Speaker: I don't know how you do this.
Speaker: Like I couldn't do this job.
Speaker: And it's so interesting because I, I, it's just myself.
Speaker: I don't have any employees.
Speaker: I do have someone who watches a business from time to time, but she's not a regular employee.
Speaker: So she watched my business when I came in April and we met in Florida at
Speaker: And she's watching my business now, you know, so she only comes in for like a week at a time.
Speaker: And yeah, sporadic.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Year.
Speaker: She she's not a regular.
Speaker: It's usually just myself.
Speaker: And the reason that is, is because trying to find someone who can be compassionate in the lobby with someone, someone who's crying, someone who's upset.
Speaker: Someone who's had a traumatic grief.
Speaker: I compartmentalize grief into boxes.
Speaker: I think there's preemptive grief.
Speaker: When you, let's say your pet has cancer or they're sick and you know it's coming.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It doesn't get you the same, but you're still incredibly devastated by the loss.
Speaker: Then you have sudden grief.
Speaker: Your pet just passed away unexpectedly.
Speaker: No idea they had cancer and you had to put them down because there was nothing you could do for them.
Speaker: You know, or your pet runs away, unfortunately, and you can't find them, you know, and you just have the sudden loss.
Speaker: And then there's traumatic rate where your pet is hit by a car or something horrific really happens.
Speaker: Your pet jumps out of the vehicle, say they're in the back of a truck where we live.
Speaker: That's a perfect example of something happens to them.
Speaker: And then you have this, all of a sudden you've had this trauma and you've lost your pet.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's not just like I had a trauma, but we were able to save our pet.
Speaker: It's I had a trauma and now I'm grieving.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And so people say, I don't know how you do this, but I, I love being able to give someone back their pet.
Speaker: And we were just talking to a friend at lunch about the word closure and how that's not really a thing when you're talking about grief.
Speaker: And I agree.
Speaker: I think you become better at coping with your new normal.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Because when people say, oh, time, time, I don't get better with time.
Speaker: It's like, no, you get better at coping with the normal.
Speaker: Because, and I always tell clients this, I had a friend that lost a child.
Speaker: She was older, but she passed away in her sleep.
Speaker: And it was really sudden.
Speaker: And she really struggled with it.
Speaker: And so she told me about something that she read about.
Speaker: how the brain makes connections.
Speaker: So when you have a routine, you get up in the morning, you feed your dog, you take him for a walk, you know, you get him water, you take him to a daycare.
Speaker: If you're in the city, you let him out in the yard.
Speaker: If you're in the country or, you know, you leave him for the day, they've got a doggy door, whatever is information, you know, and then you come home at night, you feed your dog, you take him for a walk, whatever you're going to do.
Speaker: And
Speaker: When you have a loss now, like I would use this example, if I had a sibling that I wasn't close to, it wouldn't, the loss wouldn't be the same because I don't have those same connections in my brain where I'm constantly talking to them.
Speaker: Now, if I lost my mother.
Speaker: I talked to my mother like three, four or five times a day, like it would kill me.
Speaker: And I wouldn't, my brain would really have to work to repair itself.
Speaker: So even though you're not suffering a physical trauma, your brain still struggles.
Speaker: So you lose your pet.
Speaker: Now you go to feed them and your brain goes, wait a minute.
Speaker: I can't make that connection because I don't, my dog is gone.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And so then your brain is having to remake these connections.
Speaker: So your brain is still having to heal itself, even though you didn't suffer a trauma.
Speaker: That's how I look at it.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: And she told me about that.
Speaker: And I thought, wow.
Speaker: And I share that with my clients because it is, it's okay for you to be sad.
Speaker: It's okay for you to feel grief.
Speaker: It's okay for you to be upset and angry and to go through all of these emotions because otherwise you're not going to heal.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's going to reside there.
Speaker: So again, we talk about the closure, which I don't think is a thing.
Speaker: I think you can heal from it.
Speaker: I think you can change your patterns and your behaviors.
Speaker: And I think that can help you heal from the loss.
Speaker: But I love helping people get to that point where they're like, okay, I know I've lost my pet, but I've got them back.
Speaker: And now I'm going to keep moving forward.
Speaker: I'm going to keep taking the steps that I need.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: to continue to hear yeah yeah that's that's what i love no i love it's a really beautiful way of putting it and like even in similar i kind of say you know when your heart breaks from a loss no matter what that loss is and it can be a divorce it'll be loss of a job you know we kind of were made a joke of loss of a toothbrush like you're attached to the toothbrush whatever right i mean it's all
Speaker: No judging here.
Speaker: But it's like, you know, like an open wound that you'll get on a leg.
Speaker: It heals, but there's a scar left behind.
Speaker: And so, like, I don't think that any adult goes through life or gets to the end of their life without multiple scars on their heart.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And it repairs, but it never goes back to the way it was.
Speaker: So it's like, and, you know, even when it comes to like adopting a new dog or a new cat or whatever, I'm like, you're not replacing anything.
Speaker: That's got like getting something new.
Speaker: It's a bandaid.
Speaker: It's not going to put it over.
Speaker: Your heart just grows bigger.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Like it's right.
Speaker: You know, you're just making more room.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And more love.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And I think people have a fear of that.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: They they worry that getting another pet will be cheating.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Like it's, oh my gosh, like I can't do that.
Speaker: And it's like, no, no, it's not.
Speaker: And honestly, where we were talking about that brain trauma, sometimes for some people getting a pet immediately after, if it's one they really have a connection with, you know, I'm not saying run out there and just get a pet, you know, make sure you've got a connection with them.
Speaker: But let's say it's a couple of weeks after, maybe you go to the shelter and you get one dog and you're like, this might be the one, but you're kind of having that.
Speaker: For some people it helps.
Speaker: Because then they go back into that same routine.
Speaker: It's not a replacement, but it does kind of help your brain go, okay, I can continue to do this.
Speaker: It's a different pet.
Speaker: I know that.
Speaker: But I'm still going through the same routines.
Speaker: And sometimes that's healing of people.
Speaker: Not everyone.
Speaker: Because we were just talking to another friend who said she waits several years before she gets another pet.
Speaker: It's a big deal to her.
Speaker: And that's each We're all different Like exactly what you described Is exactly what we did in our family So when Roxy died 15 years ago We were just traumatised We had her Like I had her through my teenage years It's what my TEDx talk with Ended up being based on But like she was Yeah when you're She was a member of your family When you're a girl teenager Like you tell them everything Right you're like You know it's a boring turn Yeah yeah yeah It's all that
Speaker: This dog is literally my journal.
Speaker: She's just locked.
Speaker: She can't say a word.
Speaker: But so when she passed away like that, we ended up quite quickly going back to the breeders.
Speaker: And we weren't even sure if they were still going to be in operation.
Speaker: Or if they even had a litter at the same time.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: And exactly as you said, it just so happened that Poppy, the dog, we just, yep, she was born the week Roxy died.
Speaker: Oh my God.
Speaker: I literally felt her soul went up and came back down in a different form but just in a Roxy knew these are going to be traumatized that you know I'm sending a little love bomb to kind of yeah so literally the photos maybe we can post a few of them here but the photos I have of when we got Poppy first she was the size of a teacup I mean she was teeny tiny
Speaker: But like you'll see us, we all held her at our heart because we were just heartbroken.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And we honestly, we weren't, we loved this little bundle, but we were also like, oh my God, traumatized a bit ourselves.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: You know, again, with a pet, when you're taking it, you know that like the others are going to outlive it.
Speaker: You know, you're going through this heartbreak again.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And unfortunately that did happen.
Speaker: And what we actually always used to say, oh, and I don't want to get emotional now, but what we always, because we were so heartbroken at the time, we got Poppy and we would always hold her to our chest, every one of us.
Speaker: That was her comfort.
Speaker: So like whenever she was upset with fireworks or things, we would hold her to our chest.
Speaker: So when I wasn't at home, unfortunately, when Poppy passed away, but I asked, oh God, I asked my mum, I said, when she went away, how were you holding her?
Speaker: And she was holding her to her chest.
Speaker: And I was like, that's all I need to know.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Because that was her.
Speaker: Oh, God.
Speaker: OK.
Speaker: That was her.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: That was her way.
Speaker: So but will we get like we haven't.
Speaker: So a couple of months have passed now.
Speaker: And it's funny.
Speaker: We have many podcast episodes where we talk about human loss.
Speaker: But and that's actually something else to talk about is that the emotion that I've seen at this conference has been wild.
Speaker: It's been really beautiful to see.
Speaker: And I feel like it's because it's like minded people coming together.
Speaker: But to your point, after Poppy passed, we now haven't replaced or we haven't gotten another replacer.
Speaker: We haven't gotten another one because I don't think we're ready.
Speaker: And exactly to your point, everyone's different.
Speaker: Every situation is different.
Speaker: You just have to go with what makes sense for you at the time.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: I always tell people, if you leave yourself open, maybe not actively looking because some people are like, I just can't.
Speaker: I just can't look at their dog.
Speaker: I just start tearing up.
Speaker: It's really emotional.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I totally get it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You know, some people just aren't ready.
Speaker: But I always say, if you leave yourself open, something will come.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: No wander in your yard or they'll jump in your car and just be, you know, like if you're seeing a dog walking down the road and you're like, Oh my gosh, I'm worried.
Speaker: And you open the door and literally the dog jumps in your car and you're like, that was it.
Speaker: That was it.
Speaker: Or you're walking to Walmart and somebody's got puppies.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Do you know what I'm saying?
Speaker: Like something happened.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I have found.
Speaker: And I was just to tell people, leave yourself open.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You never know what's going to come.
Speaker: And cause again, no coincidence.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Feel like pets come into your life for a reason.
Speaker: And I feel like there's, there's more, you know, even when you say, I'm not getting another one.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: No, I do.
Speaker: I like to think that it's not, it's again, it's not about replacing.
Speaker: It's not about like putting a bandaid on.
Speaker: It's your heart.
Speaker: There is more room.
Speaker: You've got more love to get, you know, that's, that's really what it's about.
Speaker: And think of all the little dogs and cats that are like in shelters.
Speaker: Oh, I know.
Speaker: Oh, I know.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's,
Speaker: you know, and that's when they always say, and it's like, I always don't shop.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: I always see it on like, Oh my gosh, I have puppies.
Speaker: I have puppies.
Speaker: And I'm like, there are pets in rescue shelters that have been there for a long time, six months, nine months, a year, over a year.
Speaker: And it's like those pets need, and I'm always so grateful for the people that come and say, you know, I mean, unfortunately we have a dog that we've had.
Speaker: We've had her for seven years.
Speaker: It's just a wonderful family dog.
Speaker: And I love her.
Speaker: She's really my husband's dog, but I still love her.
Speaker: Charlie has always, she's just the best dog and she's always been a guard dog for me.
Speaker: And I'll probably, you know, when the time comes, I'll probably be like, oh my gosh, I miss my guard dog.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Because, you know, I get emotional.
Speaker: I get, you know, and I just, I don't want to think about that day.
Speaker: And maybe so I'm putting up my own, you know, somebody who cremates, I'm putting up my own barriers because I know it's going to come.
Speaker: You know, she's just getting older.
Speaker: Unfortunately, she is not a very dog friendly dog.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So we do have another dog, but she's extremely submissive.
Speaker: And that's just how she works with Charlie's personality.
Speaker: So it'll be interesting because Dottie, she gets along with any dog.
Speaker: So we could have another dog or a cat.
Speaker: But Charlie, she's just not.
Speaker: She is the alpha.
Speaker: She likes to be the only one.
Speaker: And she even struggles with Dottie sometimes.
Speaker: But...
Speaker: But you know what I mean?
Speaker: Like, so I'm always grateful for people who come in and say, well, we love adopting, you know, older dogs that need medical help, you know, or maybe they've got something like a pet that has diabetes that needs the insulin injections or a dog that's got a heart problem and has to take the heart meds.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: There's not always a lot of people who are willing or able to adopt them.
Speaker: So I'm always grateful.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And there is, there's particular families who they'll only adopt senior dogs.
Speaker: Sometimes, yeah.
Speaker: Like, that's their, like, this is our calling in life.
Speaker: We're going to give them their last, best year, two years.
Speaker: My hat goes off to those people because I don't know that I could go through that heartache every year.
Speaker: But they do it over and over again.
Speaker: Because, you know, they're adopting at 11 or 12 or 13 years old.
Speaker: And all dogs are the sweetest.
Speaker: They are.
Speaker: They are.
Speaker: But, you know, sometimes it has to be people that don't have small children.
Speaker: You know, or there has to be a home that's only got one animal.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Because that's why they're there, because they're a little bit pet aggressive.
Speaker: And so we've always been really careful with our dog because I just would hate for Charlie.
Speaker: I just would hate for something to happen.
Speaker: So we've always been really careful.
Speaker: But I'm always grateful for that for those people.
Speaker: So yeah, so if you're looking for a pet, look at the shelter.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: They really want to help.
Speaker: Yes, they do.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And now tell us in terms of the business, because we don't want to keep getting too emotional, just bawling, crying.
Speaker: In terms of the business, are we expanding?
Speaker: I know you're a one woman show right now.
Speaker: I am.
Speaker: Do you want to keep it that way forever?
Speaker: So I'm working on- Have you even thought about it?
Speaker: I know.
Speaker: I have thought about it.
Speaker: Three 10 year plan.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So if we're speaking in, so we're almost at the five-year plan, which you're going to be so proud.
Speaker: Hopefully I'll have a new machine next year.
Speaker: So that we're working on that, you know, at the moment, but our space is kind of limited.
Speaker: Our building is not at the time when we started, it was like, okay, we could probably make this work.
Speaker: But as I've learned and as I've seen other facilities and as I've kind of seen through my own experiences with my clients, what people really need.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: I know how I want to change things.
Speaker: So 10 year plan, I'd love to be in a new building with my machines, whether it's my own building or a building that I've been able to customize.
Speaker: That's the goal.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Of course, I'd love to have an employee in there somewhere.
Speaker: So you can actually go on vacation.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: But, but you know, when, and I don't know if we came back to this, but with an employee, you, you're looking for someone that can be both compassionate and someone who can handle the grittiness of taking care of pets.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You do get some that are just not in the best shape.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I mean, you've educated me on a lot of that this time.
Speaker: You've got to really treat them with love and respect and you've got to be able to handle the clients.
Speaker: So you have to be able to be in that lobby and be compassionate and then turn around and say, okay, I've got to do a paw print for this dog, but it's a bit of a mess.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You know?
Speaker: And, and so I need someone who can do both.
Speaker: Yeah, it is.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: But yeah,
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: 10 year plan.
Speaker: I'd love to be in my own building.
Speaker: That's totally customized to what I want people to feel when they walk through the door.
Speaker: And I've kind of done the best that I can with what I have.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And, you know, sometimes I look at it and I think I just, but people seem to be okay with it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: For the time being.
Speaker: But yeah, I would love to get another machine because I just can't keep up with it all.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: No, myself.
Speaker: And, and once I get that new machine, I'm going to kind of see where things are at, but that's where my goal is.
Speaker: Like I love
Speaker: you know and and the place where i'm at even though it's small it just keeps growing yeah and i'd love to just continue to grow yeah so that i mean that's the plan that's yeah most businesses dream is to keep growing so that's amazing yeah now do you think you'll because obviously we've had some vendors uh here do you think you're going to go into the aquamation or like the water cremation or are you going to stick with fire for the new machine or what are you thinking
Speaker: Well, we kind of talked about this yesterday.
Speaker: I actually personally never seen an acclimation facility.
Speaker: I've only kind of seen what's been presented.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So I prefer to stick with fire.
Speaker: Fire.
Speaker: I do.
Speaker: I know we were kind of talking about this yesterday.
Speaker: I feel like it's more traditional.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I know you were saying, though, maybe it's a little bit more, I don't want to say the word violent, but that's the best way to explain it.
Speaker: I can see where it can be a little bit...
Speaker: It is, you know, we kind of associate fire with, you know, like a house fire.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Someone passing away.
Speaker: I mean, it's, it's done in a more confined, controlled environment.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And, you know, but yeah, the aquamation, I'm just not sure of it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I need more research on my end.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I mean, honestly, I think for me, if I had like the ideal space for myself, I would have one of each.
Speaker: Because it's like, yeah, I kind of like I think I was saying yesterday, like some people are just allergic to fire.
Speaker: And I mean that not in an allergy sense, but like just no way fire.
Speaker: Like I'm, you know, the way some people are with burial.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: Like people have a fear of burial of the maggots getting me and all this or I've been burnt alive or then with aquamation, water, water cremation.
Speaker: It's I don't want to drown.
Speaker: right and i'm like there is definitely an association yeah and it's so fascinating because it's like well you know you're dead but i guess nobody's come back from the dead to say do you experience things that you know right so it's an interesting it's an interesting concept to think about so i feel like it's a difficult decision to make an either or and i feel like a lot of people are in the same boat as you that they don't know enough about acclimation right it's just so new yeah i mean it really is so new yeah it's hard
Speaker: to say it's hard to turn down something you know so well and works well it is for something brand new really the things I would I would say the things that I consider in case there's anyone who's also maybe considering who's watching is of course cost and I think it's similar yeah I believe so
Speaker: As far as now, I guess maybe that's incorrect because we could say, well, what are you, how much space are you getting?
Speaker: Because when you're really thinking about cremation by fire, you kind of have to have a lot of room.
Speaker: But then again, maybe people are positioning the bodies different.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: More different than I do.
Speaker: I like them to be more natural.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So a lot of times my pets, their legs are out.
Speaker: Like they would be a fair laying room anymore.
Speaker: And so those pets take up a little bit more space.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I know some people kind of curl their legs and stuff in.
Speaker: It's a little bit difficult when you pick up from like a veterinary officer somewhere else if they just don't have the room.
Speaker: You know, sometimes the bodies might be a little bit not in the best shape.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: That can be hard too.
Speaker: So you have to think, okay, well, this is how much I can fix in my retorts.
Speaker: If I'm going to do a partitioned cremation or if I'm doing an exclusive or a communal, this is how much I can fit.
Speaker: If I have an acclimator.
Speaker: So that's something to consider.
Speaker: Cost, space, you know, how much can you really do in each machine in a day's time?
Speaker: And so what's your productivity?
Speaker: Then I think you're looking at space in your facility.
Speaker: A retort takes up a lot of space.
Speaker: You have to have space.
Speaker: Unless you've got the fire retarded walls and stuff, you have to be cautious of how close you are to a wall, how close you are, you know, and then you've got your stack.
Speaker: And it needs rebricking as well, isn't that okay?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So, you know, they claim, a lot of them claim you can go a long time or this many cremations before you have to start thinking about it.
Speaker: I've had mine for four years when I had it serviced just in the past couple of weeks, just to kind of, because I'm a woman, maybe, I don't know, but I'm like, I want to make sure my machine is continuing to run.
Speaker: We like to prevent it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: He said probably 10 years they would come in and redo it based on how my cremator looks.
Speaker: Okay, so if I only have to pay that every 10 years, but the rest of my equipment is still running well, you know, I'm not really sure, you know, how.
Speaker: But so space, again, talking about.
Speaker: And then the other thing to me when you're considering the two is the cremation process itself.
Speaker: You know, what is done with aquamation?
Speaker: How do you do the little teeny tiny hacks?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Because the same has to be considered for cremation by fire.
Speaker: Now, I use stainless steel pans for my teeny tiny ones because even the tiniest ones, you can still get something.
Speaker: You know, there's no reason why you shouldn't have something because even a little mouse, they still have a bone structure.
Speaker: So there should still be something.
Speaker: Even little tiny birds, they still have something.
Speaker: So how does that work with the baskets and the opamator?
Speaker: Are they a fine mesh or how do we protect those little tiny bones?
Speaker: How does your pet have to be positioned in order to go into the Aquamater so you can get the best use of it?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You know, so those are just all things to consider.
Speaker: And yes, I would agree.
Speaker: I am familiar with the cremation by far.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And that's what I've done.
Speaker: So you do have that tendency to kind of stay, not saying the Aquamation may not be the future of cremation.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: But I do think there are lots of things to consider when you're talking about spending that amount of money on a machine.
Speaker: Is it the best for you or business?
Speaker: Because again, everyone's different.
Speaker: You know, and we're talking about being, you know, conscious of the earth.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You know, I know a lot of places in California have Aquamators because it's more conscientious.
Speaker: But then again, my machine, you know, I think it's pretty efficient, you know, and as long as you're just doing pets, you're not putting other things in the machine, you know, such as documents or other things.
Speaker: then I think you're leaving less of a footprint.
Speaker: But again, it's things to be considering.
Speaker: What do you want for your business?
Speaker: What do you want it to stand for?
Speaker: Yeah, you have to think about your clientele, everything.
Speaker: You have to think of everything.
Speaker: Use your target audience and then price and how often do you have to update the machine and stuff like that.
Speaker: I mean, they're also coming out with developments of these machines constantly.
Speaker: Right, right.
Speaker: Everything is just, yeah.
Speaker: So we found this way to do it.
Speaker: Or we found this way to do it.
Speaker: Or as we've talked before, there's other ways to do burials.
Speaker: I know Anna, who we met at the ICC of A in April, she's in Guatemala and they do composting.
Speaker: With their pets, where they bury them.
Speaker: I can't remember the time frame, but, you know, they, they, or we're talking green burials.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Just these different ways that you can, and you just have to decide what is your clientele looking for?
Speaker: I'm out in the country.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So there's not as much of a desire for those type of.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Oftentimes people bury their own pets.
Speaker: because they have space to.
Speaker: That does not happen in Manhattan.
Speaker: Yeah, if you're talking about somewhere like Manhattan, you're having to look for other options because it's just not available to you.
Speaker: I mean, you could bury your pet maybe like in a flower pot or something.
Speaker: Your balcony, I'm not sure about that.
Speaker: Depends on the size.
Speaker: But do you know what I'm saying?
Speaker: Yeah, a little hamster.
Speaker: Is that potential for Manhattan?
Speaker: Yes, you could potentially do that.
Speaker: She seems to think people have balconies in Manhattan.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: maybe it's one of those where it's like yeah the penthouse I was about to do that that's it the only one built or floor in the whole building yeah I well I've never been there so thank you well you'd have to come visit yes I will you can tell a non-manhattan night you're like no there's literally nothing I mean you could bury it in a pot and leave it in your bedroom but it's not really going to tell very good after a while I'm not sure yeah no yeah but those are all things to consider what is it
Speaker: your need in your area or your location or your state and go from there.
