Local Funeral Homes Goes A Step Ahead - Opens Cemetery For Pets

The loss of a pet leaves a hole in our homes and in our hearts. When Bob Eastgate and his family lost their schnauzer, Hobbes, they decided to do something to help other grieving pet parents.

After Hobbes passed, it took nearly a week for the Eastgate family to get his ashes and there was a lot of uncertainty in the process. Eastgate is the owner and operator of Eastgate Funeral & Cremations Services and started Summerfield Pet Memorial Park so grieving people can lay their beloved fur babies to rest and memorialize them. Summerfield will be operated as its own division of the funeral home which has a crematorium on site.

All the ashes will be returned to customers within a few days. There will be a place to purchase urns or other memorabilia and information about pet loss support groups. Pet parents will also be able to post tributes on the Summerfield website (www.summerfieldpetmemorialpark.com/). The Fairview Cemetery property is on six acres of land where a family of deer resides.

There are many colorful trees in the fall, and a pond with turtles and Hay Creek runs nearby. Eastgate spent the summer clearing the all the fallen trees and landscaped an entire acre for pet parents to use. The area was surveyed and laid out like a paw print. The families that purchase a plot will get a deed for their pet’s burial area. The cemetery has 1,300 lots in the pet area, and there is an option to bury multiple pets on a lot.

Feature Image Source: Pixabay