The cost of bidding farewell to pets

Wong Lam lost her 12-year-old pet dog named Peach in January. “Peach is irreplaceable to me and I wanted to have a proper remembrance,” Wong said.

She considered spending on a “Life Crystal” souvenir, a keepsake made from dead pet's ashes and fur. But the hydration process alone would cost HK$800 to 900.

After hesitating for a long time, she decided to buy a simple urn with two animal paw prints for HK$800. “My budget was only about HK$2,000,” she said.

In 2018, about 242,000 households had cats and dogs, according to government figures. It is an increase of almost 40% since 2005. Burying dead animals in public places is against the law. In this case, pet owners can choose to leave it to the government or go to a specialised agency that charges more expensive fees.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department transport animal carcasses collected in plastic bags and bury them in landfills. Pet owners who can afford the higher cost may choose to have their pets institutionalised as they feel this will allow their pets to depart this world in a more dignified manner.

Mathew Wu is the owner of Pet to Nature, Hong Kong's first hydration hospice for pets. He said although more young people are coming to the shop, they are becoming more “rational” in consumption compared with five years ago. 

“Business used to be good and people were willing to spend money,” said Wu. “Maybe it's the economic environment now, fewer people are willing to buy souvenirs.” 

Iris Chan, the owner of Pet Memorial, a high-end pet hospice, said that the importance Hong Kong people place on their pets has increased in recent years. 

“Most people regard their pets as family members,” she said. “ Some families even come together to see it off."

“Choosing the cheapest package doesn't mean I do not love my dog,” said Wong. “But I have my own financial pressures such as rent.”

Wong sat in the mourning room waiting to pick up the urn. After paying rent, daily expenses, and paying to dispose of her dog, there is not much left from her salary this month.

Most customers in Pet to Nature only do the basic process of sparking or hydrating the remains. 

Wu said that the most popular souvenirs are the cheapest paw prints or felt dolls, and very few consumers are willing to spend a lot of money on customised ash crystals as souvenirs.

Zhang Mingxuan, a 30-year-old designer in Hong Kong and his girlfriend chose to have their deceased hamster, Pudding, cremated in a mass cremation, which cost them HK$990. 

He said that both of them prefer to spend the money on things they find more memorable. They made an e-book for Pudding with photos they took for the hamster before it died, and the cartoon images he drew for Pudding.

“We also plan to use the money we saved from the cremation to buy acrylic paints and paint Pudding's graffiti on the wall of our house,” said Zhang.

“Memorials don't have to be expensive, unique is enough,” he added.

Apart from some high-end pet hospices, many pet funeral stores have reported that younger customers prefer a cost-effective combination of “basic cremation plus single souvenir”, such as changing the storage of ashes to self-pick-up to save HK$800 or even HK$1,000. 

“I considered introducing package combinations to entice people to spend,” said Wu. “But finally I prefer to attract my customers with novel souvenirs that they haven’t seen before.”

Young people are either worried about financial pressure or dissuaded by the cost-effectiveness of souvenirs. However, the older generation in Hong Kong is more willing to pay for memories of their pets.

“Many of her older customers used to be squeamish about death-related items such as their pet's ashes or mementos, but now they have had a shift in their perception of such products,” said Chan.

Markus Cheung, a 72-year-old retired bank executive, chose a HK$18,000 hospice package for his sheepdog, Lucky, who had been with him for 14 years. The package includes grooming, shower, cremation, and a customized urn. A feng shui master would also be called in to help calculate the auspicious date for the burial.

Cheung said that he also customized a "life stone" incorporating Lucky's ashes. He chose a black-blue gradient, “ because that's the colour of Lucky's eyes,” said Cheung. 

“Lucky was a Christmas present from my son,” said Cheung, but his son moved overseas twelve years ago and was unable to spend much time with Cheung.

“My son is afraid that I'm bored as I am living alone, so he bought Lucky to accompany me,” added Cheung.

Cheung said that some of his elderly friends have prepared hospices for their pets in advance. “They visit various pet funeral shops everyday to make comparisons,” 

Chan Chi-wai, one of Cheung’s friends, saves up his finished drink bottles to sell for money. 

After Chan’s dog died last year, a fortune teller told Chan that a sandalwood box for animal ashes would help the dog reincarnate better. He spent nearly HK$8,000 to buy it for his dog.

“He has never bought himself anything this expensive before,” said Cheung.

 “I used to think it was bad luck when I saw neighbors bringing home dog ashes,”said Cheung, “now I recognize it as a different kind of companionship.”