Water-Based Pet Cremation in Toronto, ON
At Midtown Mobile Veterinary Hospice Services (MMVHS), we have been dedicated to providing compassionate geriatric and end-of-life care for your loved pets, all in the comfort and privacy of your home, since 2012.
Over the years, we have worked with Gateway Pet Memorial to offer traditional flame-based cremation services for the beloved pets we have helped. While Gateway continues to be a trusted and reputable provider of pet aftercare, our ultimate goal at MMVHS has always been to care for pets throughout the entire end-of-life journey. As such, we are pleased to announce the launch of Faithful Pet Memorial, a newly created division of MMVHS and the first aquamation, or water-based pet cremation, service in the City of Toronto.
Aquamation: A Greener Alternative for Pet Aftercare
What is aquamation?
Aquamation is a gentle, eco-friendly process that uses water instead of fire for pet cremation. Water, temperature, and salts are used to reduce the body to bone, just as flame-based cremation would. Although the technique has been around since 1888, it has become increasingly popular in recent years as concern for the environment grows.
Why is aquamation considered a greener alternative to flame-based pet cremation?
In comparison to flame-based cremation, 90% less energy is used during the process, with 1/10th of the carbon footprint. In addition, no fossil fuels are burned and no harmful greenhouse gases or mercury are released into the atmosphere. Believe it or not, the aquamation, or water-based pet cremation, process uses less water than a single household uses in an entire day.
Our Services
Private Aquamation
With our private aquamation option, your pet is gently and respectfully placed into their own private basket within the aquamation vessel. The barriers between the baskets maintain the purity of your pet’s cremated remains, ensuring you receive only your pet’s ashes back.
Included with this option is your choice of one of our standard urns, along with a memorial candle, a memorial stone, and a personalized certificate of aquamation to confirm your pet was privately aquamated with Faithful Pet Memorial. Additional memorial items (i.e. keepsake clay pawprints, ink pawprints, fur or whisker clippings, etc.) are available upon request, at an additional cost.
Communal Aquamation
With our communal aquamation option, your pet’s cremated remains will not be returned to you. Your pet will be gently placed together in the vessel with other pets whose families have chosen this option and their remains will be processed together.
A small amount of cremated remains from each communal aquamation will be placed in a special memorial urn within our centre, which you and your family are welcome to visit by appointment only. The remainder of the communally cremated remains will be scattered on a private countryside property, north of Toronto.
Memorial items (i.e. keepsake clay pawprints, ink pawprints, fur or whisker clippings, etc.) are available upon request, at an additional cost.
Memorial Items
Faithful Pet Memorial is pleased to offer a carefully curated selection of keepsake memorial items, such as clay pawprints, ink pawprints, fur clippings and more. Each of these items is handcrafted in-house by our dedicated aftercare team, allowing us to create personalized tributes to your beloved pet.
Viewing and Visitation Service
This additional service includes the following:
- Preparation of your pet prior to your arrival to ensure they look their absolute best for your final goodbye
- 1 hour visitation with your pet in our Comfort Room, prior to Aquamation
- Ability to witness your pet being placed into the Aquamation Machine from a safe distance
- Priority Aquamation - return of cremated remains (ashes) within 24-48 business hours* (pick-up from our Aquamation Centre). Note: custom ordered memorial items may affect turnaround time.
*Does not include home delivery option
Personal Aquamation Viewing and Visitation Service
This additional service includes the following:
- Preparation of your pet prior to your arrival to ensure they look their absolute best for your final goodbye
- 1 hour visitation with your pet in our Comfort Room, prior to Aquamation
- Reservation of the Aquamation machine for only your pet
- Ability to witness your pet being placed into the Aquamation Machine from a safe distance
- Priority Aquamation - return of cremated remains (ashes) within 24-48 business hours* (pick-up from our Aquamation Centre). Note: custom ordered memorial items may affect turnaround time.
*Does not include home delivery option - Premium memorial package including:
- Paws of Remembrance - clay pawprint impression
- Framed Ink Print (paw or nose)
- Fur Clipping in a display case
More About Our Comfort Room
Saying goodbye is one of the most difficult tasks a pet owner is faced with. The ability to be present with your pet right before aquamation often provides pet owners with the comfort, reassurance and closure they need to help them along during their grieving process. Our team welcomes you and your family with open arms to our Comfort Room at 181 Weston Road in Toronto to give your pet the final loving send off they deserve.
Our viewing and visitation services are available by appointment only, and can be scheduled in the mornings, Tuesday through Thursday only.
We encourage you to send digital images of your pet ahead of time to info@faithfulpetmemorial.ca so we can prepare our Comfort Room for your pet’s special service. You are welcome to bring any flowers, hand-written letters, or organic food (treats) that you wish to accompany your beloved pet in the aquamation machine. Inorganic material is not permitted inside the aquamation machine - this includes blankets, toys, clothing, collars, jewelry, beds etc.
If there are any other requests to help you and your family, please let our aftercare team know and we will do our best to make any further special arrangements.
Memorial Photo Session
A memorial photo session can be a beautiful way to honour your pet after they have passed and can also help you process your grief. Our compassionate aftercare team will gently groom your pet in preparation for the photo session, and rest him/her amongst a beautiful bed of flowers within our centre. We will send you a minimum of 3 different photos, all taken on our professional camera and edited by our team. If there are any special items you would like to have photographed with your pet (i.e. a toy, a blanket, etc.) or any particular feature you would like us to focus on (i.e. nose, paws, etc.), we will do our best to accommodate these requests.
Aquamation FAQs
Yes. Water-based pet cremation reduces the body to bone, just as flame-based cremation would. In fact, you will actually receive 20% more ash than from a traditional flame-based cremation. If private aquamation is requested, the bones will be dried, reduced to ash and can then be returned to you in an urn of your choice at the end of the process. Urns can be picked up during regular business hours by appointment from Faithful Pet Memorial or we can arrange for urns to be delivered directly to your home for an additional fee.
This is understandably one of the most common concerns amongst pet owners, and we take it very seriously at Faithful Pet Memorial. From the moment your beloved pet enters our care, they are assigned a unique identification number that will stay with them throughout the aftercare journey. If private aquamation is requested, your pet will be placed in an individual basket within the vessel along with the unique stainless steel token that identifies your pet in our industry-specific tracking software. This token remains with your pet throughout the aquamation process and will be returned to you, along with the cremated remains (or “ashes”) in an urn at the end of the process.
If you would prefer not to receive your pet’s ashes at the end of the aquamation process, your pet will be cremated communally and his or her cremated remains will be gently scattered on our private countryside property.
With aquamation, only 100% organic items can be included in the vessel (special food, treats, flowers, etc) because inorganic items will not be reduced during the process. If you want to include a special toy or blanket, a piece of it can be inserted into the urn afterwards if private aquamation is selected. Note: Flame-based crematories are no longer allowing personal belongings to be cremated with the pet to try to minimize their carbon output.
We believe doing good for the environment should not come at a cost to pet parents. For this reason, whether you choose aquamation through Faithful Pet Memorial or flame-based cremation, MMVHS clients can expect to pay the same price depending on the size of your pet and your preference for aftercare (i.e. communal vs. private). Please contact us for a quote.
We understand that pet parents may still prefer to opt for flame-based cremation despite the many benefits of aquamation, and we will continue to work with Gateway Pet Memorial for these requests. Please see below for more information.
Absolutely. You can either arrange to bring your pet to Faithful Pet Memorial at a scheduled time during our business hours, or we can organize a pick-up from your home for an additional cost.
Our dedicated aftercare team at Faithful Pet Memorial would be more than happy to answer any additional questions you may have and are available from Monday to Friday between 8am-4pm. Please contact us at 416-767-3572 or email us at info@faithfulpetmemorial.ca for further information.
Other Aftercare Options
Home Burial
If you are looking to complete a home burial (subject to municipal by-laws in your area), but the seasonal timing of your pet’s passing does not allow for this, Faithful Pet Memorial can safely hold your pet’s body during the colder months until burial is possible. Our secure on-site holding space gives you and your family peace of mind knowing that your pet is being respectfully cared for until final arrangements can be made. This service is available for pets up to 25 lbs. Holding fees are charged on a monthly basis and paid for in advance. Please contact us at 416-767-3572 or email us at info@faithfulpetmemorial.ca for further information.
Flame Based Cremation
While Faithful Pet Memorial does not offer flame based cremations at our centre directly, we are closely affiliated with Gateway Pet Memorial, and can arrange for a private or communal flame based cremation for your beloved pet. Please contact us at 416-767-3572 or email us at info@faithfulpetmemorial.ca for further information.
Special Requests
If you have alternate special arrangements for your pet’s aftercare that are not listed above and you require assistance, please feel free to contact our professional and experienced aftercare team, who would be honoured to help you and your family during this difficult time. Please contact us at 416-767-3572 or email us at info@faithfulpetmemorial.ca for further information.