Written by Kerrie Alexander
Our pets are often considered as family because no matter if they have four legs, feathers or scales they just have this incredible ability to act as a support and lift us up when we’re feeling down.
So of course, we want the best for our loyal and loving companions in sickness and in health, and even death.
The death of a pet is always devastating but luckily in Hervey Bay we have Kelly and Darren Buckley and the team from Forever Ours Pet Crematorium who strive to ease their customers grief and give pets the best possible send off with a very dignified cremation.
I first met Kelly a few years ago when one of my border collies became ill and sadly had to be put down.
The vet gave us the choice to take our much-loved mate home to be buried or be transferred to Forever Ours for cremation.
We chose the latter because no matter where we went our boy will always be with us.
Kelly phoned only a few hours later and had all the arrangements made by that afternoon.
A few days later our boy came home to us in a beautiful timber box with a photo on the front, and a lock of his hair and paw print in his memento folder.
My family has used the service twice since for another border collie and a cat and all three times the team have been so caring, understanding and no request was too much or over the top.
After sitting down with Kelly and Darren for a few hours to find out the inner workings of the business, I fully understand now why my experience was so great.
The two absolutely live and breathe what they do. But it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted.
It’s very clear that you need to be mentally strong and absolutely love animals enough to make their final journey memorable.
One of the first things I noticed about Darren was the three tattoos on the former tradie’s arm that were done in memory of the couple’s three beloved pet dogs Molly, Bella, and Stella.
Bella was Kelly’s absolute baby. Her passing about three years ago, coupled with being surrounded by death and grief 24/7 in the business, put Kelly in such a dark place that she underwent 11 months of counselling to overcome the loss.
Yet, she overcome it all to come back and do this job so that other families who feel just as much pain when they lose a pet can be consoled by the fact that their loved ones are in the best of hands for their final send off.
The fact they absolutely adore animals is certainly a key part in their ability to exude sympathy and compassion.
The company logo was even rebranded to include Bella’s pawprint. The same print tattooed on Darren’s arm.
Kelly said this wasn’t her first career choice, but she fell into the job after a friend from her hometown of Cairns started working at the local pet crematorium in Brisbane and another position became available.
It was her childhood fascination with death that made her perfect for the role.
“I have always been intrigued and fascinated by death,” Kelly said.
“If any of our animals died when I was younger, I would dig them up and show my friends. “Mum was not happy!
“But what I love about the job is that I always wanted to help people, always.
“I live and breathe this. It just consumes my life!”
Kelly moved to the Fraser Coast and started the business in 2013, with her long-time and invaluable staff member Hetty still by her side.
She spent four years studying to become an accredited facility and is now a fully qualified Pet Funeral Director. Darren is a certified pet crematory operator.
With the demand for the service always continuing to grow, Darren quit his job in the mines and came to work with Kelly fulltime.
The team can transfer anywhere from five to 25 animals per day ranging from cats and dogs to Guinea pigs, rats, snakes, spiders, birds and miniature ponies under 100kg.
They have designed their premises using the same principal that you will find in most human funeral homes in Australia, offering dignity and respect throughout the experience.
“For me personally, I had nothing to do with this industry before this,” Darren said.
“I’ve worked my whole life in the transport and motor vehicle industry with cars, bikes, trucks, planes, trains, so I never thought I would be doing something like this.”
Now, Darren said he wouldn’t do anything else.
Next it was time to find out how that happens behind the scenes with Kelly and Darren taking me on a tour of the Driftwood Court facility.
I was a little bit nervous about what I would see ‘out the back’ but Kelly was quick to put my mind at ease by pointing out that all ‘the kids’ were in the mortuary. Out of respect to the families this was not shown to me.
The process starts with the initial phone call when the pet is given a mortuary identification and all the particulars are noted on the file including the family and pets’ details and most importantly, the families wish for their loved one.
A Forever Ours representative will attend the transfer with a transfer service offered to residents in Hervey Bay, Maryborough and Bundaberg from either the vet clinic or the owner’s home.
The two have an after-hours phone that people can call in an emergency, 24 hours a day. They have even driven to Brisbane to transfer families’ pets as they have used the service before and wanted the same for this pet.
“People’s pets don’t know what day it is when they pass away and we offer this service, so we have to stay open, always,” Darren said.
When the pet arrives, they are weighed, identified and the details placed on a big white board.
“The only time they leave the board is when they have been cremated and taken upstairs to the preparation room,” Kelly said.
This is all part of very airtight set of policies and procedures that are in place to ensure a 100% success rate.
The couple have invested hundreds and thousands of dollars into state-of-the-art furnaces where the pet’s remains are reduced to ashes using high temperatures.
Opting for this method is not just about saying a final goodbye; it allows pet owners a chance to preserve the memory of their companions in a special way.
Some owners request a viewing beforehand and on a rare occasion, others will request to stay and watch the final process but it’s not something Kelly encourages.
“I couldn’t think of anything worse because it’s the last visual you have of your pet. It’s not for me but everyone is different.”
Kelly and Darren are wary of their surrounding neighbours and choose only to cremate at night.
The team work a day in advance so that the handover from the day staff to the night staff is done with the upmost of care with several checks taking place beforehand.
Kelly will start at about 3am to check that each animal is checked thoroughly to make sure there’s no collar or other items and depending on the families wishes, usually a lock of hair and a paw print is taken.
“It is important to talk to the pets and let them know what you are going to do. Also, to give them all a brush and a tummy tickle,” Kelly said.
She said this process can be hard mentally and emotionally due to the condition of some of the animals.
“We check the animal with a fine-tooth comb and anything that’s left on, like a collar, will go back to the owners,” Kelly said.
“Not each pet is aways pleasant to handle or look at; it’s just like the human industry because some are a bit worse for wear if they have been hurt in some way.
“We do see some bad things and it does play on your mind but on the other side it’s so rewarding to be able to be able to take a fur kids ashes home to their owners.”
After this process, Kelly will then head upstairs where all the individual urns and boxes are laid out the night before the cremation, and all the engraving and extra keepsake items like necklaces, teddies, photo jigsaw puzzles and more are prepared.
Once the urns and items are packed, they are checked by three different staff to make sure every request has been actioned and ticked off.
“Everything that is ready to go out has to be checked and signed off on… no ifs and buts,” Kelly said.
The process from start to finish can take up to five to seven working days with the business’s services in high demand.
“Last week we had no pets under 30kg and that can really slow things down,” Kelly said.
Darren and Kelly are also often taken off-site for exhumations, usually for owners who are moving house which can sometimes be difficult if they forget where they bury them, Darren said with a laugh.
He said some pet owners find it difficult to move when they may have much loved pets buried in their yard.
Other pet owners initially choose a home burial and later decide that they would prefer to have their much-loved pet cremated.
“As long as you have a rough idea of where the pet is we can do it.
“A lady in Urangan wanted six pets exhumed that she had buried along her fence, mainly cats and small dogs.
“She was certain on five of them, but it was hours later I found the other one.
“The hole was as long as a table.”
No matter what way your pet comes into the care of Kelly, Darren and the team you can be certain of one thing.
“We treat every single pet like it’s our own,” Darren said.
“The reality is, if I was the family and you were bringing my pet home for me, and I have asked for something specific; whatever you ask for must be done!
“I know how I would feel if my pet’s ashes came home and what I wanted wasn’t done. I would be devastated.
“So, we work together to get the job done to the best of our ability, make people happy and help them with the grieving process.
“It’s so important that we get it right.”
In your time of need, visit foreverours.com.au to see how the team can assist.
