When asked who is a man’s best friend, we often say it is one of our furry friends, for they have given us their absolute all. The number of pet owners in Taiwan has increased gradually and many of them consider their pets to be a part of their family. Just by looking at the huge crowd of people and pets at this week’s 2012 Taipei Pets Show, anyone could see that the market for pet products in Taiwan is gigantic.
Hoping to capture a share of this profitable market, a local life service business operator is introducing “prearranged cremation and memorial services for pets,” providing professional funeral services that take owners’ affections for their pets into consideration. The package includes counseling for anticipated pet loss, transporting the pet’s body to the funeral home, placing the body into a coffin, cremation, funeral coordination, holding a memorial service, interring the urn into a niche in a wall for ashes, and other aftercare services. All of the above help the owner cope with their grief while accompanying his or her beloved pet during its final journey in life.
Many pet owners nowadays are increasingly willing to spend more money and time to make their pets healthy and happy. As time goes by, the cruel fact that pet owners, in most cases, outlive their pets becomes even crueler as their pets get older. This has led to the opening of the newly established Pets Memorial Hall, located at Mujiliao in New Taipei City’s Sanjhih District. At an estimated cost of over NT$100 million, the hall is a colorful pet kingdom with a bright modern interior design, attempting to generate a carefree and homey atmosphere for aggrieved pet owners. Slightly more than an hour’s drive from downtown Taipei, the hall is built on a private cemetery, occupying approximately 58 hectares of land, on a mountain where one can look out over Baishawan and the north coast.
Photo: Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報林亞蒂
Lin Tzu-huan, assistant vice president of Lung Yen Life Service Co’s Tienlung Branch, told the Taipei Times on Monday that the two-story building was originally used as the company’s main office. Through a major rebuilding and remodeling of both the exterior and the interior, the hall includes a service reception counter, a worship hall, a memorial hall, a lounge for the family members of the deceased, and pink-color walls with niches for pets’ ashes. In recognition of the fact that some pets and their owners may not like pink, the funeral operator will build more walls for ashes with more subtle colors on the second floor in the near future. There will be a total of up to 30,000 niches on the first and second floor, according to Chen Hsin-tian, manager of Lung Yen Life Service Co’s Renyao Branch. Founded just a few weeks ago, the memorial hall has already had several urns of pets interred.
Adjusting to life without your pet can be hard, so purchasing a prearranged cremation and memorial service package while the pet is still healthy gives the owner sufficient time to make funeral choices that keep the pet’s best interests at heart. The package, however, may be pricey, costing around NT$60,000 to NT$100,000 for the whole funeral package. Fortunately, the amount can be paid in monthly installments.
Considering that some owners may not opt for extending the contract to maintain their pets’ urns in the memorial hall after several years, the operator only leases the niches for three-year periods, rather than selling them. If the owner wants to leave the pet’s urn there as it is after three years, then an additional charge must be paid and a new contract signed, thereby optimizing the use of the niches. If the owner decides not to extend the contract, the pet’s ashes can either be taken home or scattered under the memorial trees planted in the garden adjacent to the memorial hall.
Photo: Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報林亞蒂
The purpose of a professional pet-only funeral service is to let the pet end its life’s journey with dignity. The warm ambience of the Pets Memorial Hall is designed to provide owners the comfort they need in their time of mourning. Owners can bring any meaningful memorabilia, such as their pets’ favorite snacks or toys, to their pets’ niches and have an intimate chat with their pets any time. Given the Pets Memorial Hall’s comforting atmosphere, owners might be able to feel the presence of their “faithful friends,” who are always there in their hearts.
(Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times)
提到人類最好的朋友,答案經常是為我們獻出一切的毛小孩。台灣飼養寵物人口逐漸攀升,且越來越多飼主,將寵物視為家中的一份子。端看本週才落幕的二○一二台北寵物用品展,人山人海外加大小寵物趴趴走而擠爆現場的盛況,即可嗅出台灣驚人的寵物市場。
Photo: Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報林亞蒂
國內生命事業業者也來分食這塊大餅,推出「寵物生前契約」,提供融合寵物飼主情感的全套專業禮儀服務。這套生前契約,包括臨終諮詢、接體服務、入殮、火化、治喪協調、追思會、晉塔(將骨灰置入骨灰牆上的壁龕)與後續關懷,陪伴心愛的寵物走完生命的最後旅程。
當今許多飼主越來越捨得花大錢,就為了讓寵物活得更健康快樂。隨著時間推進而面臨寵物老化,讓飼主愈加體認到寵物壽命普遍比人短的殘酷事實。有鑑於此,位於新北市三芝區木屐寮、耗資逾新台幣一億元打造的全新「寵物生命紀念館」,在市場需求下應運而生,以色彩繽紛且頗富現代設計的明亮空間,試圖營造一個無憂而溫馨的寵物國度。紀念館距離台北市區約一個多小時車程,建於占地五十八公頃的私人墓園,可遠眺白沙灣與北海岸。
龍巖天瓏處協理林子洹週一向《台北時報》表示,這棟兩層樓建築,原是龍巖人本的辦公室,經過內外全面改建翻修後,館內空間規劃有櫃台服務區、追思祭拜堂、追思會場地、家屬休息室與以粉色系打造的寵物納骨塔(骨灰牆)。業者也考慮到有些毛小孩或飼主可能不喜歡粉紅色,所以未來也會在二樓建構色彩較低調素雅的寵物塔,供飼主選擇。龍巖任耀處經理陳欣甜則表示,未來一樓加二樓共有三萬個塔位供使用。這座成立不到幾週的紀念館,目前已有幾位寵物天使晉塔了。
寵物離世對飼主是難以調適的過程。因此,當寵物還健康時,購買寵物生前契約,較能有充裕的時間,幫寵物規劃對牠最有利的臨終服務。不過,「寵物生前契約」所費不貲,全套喪禮服務價格約新台幣六萬元到十萬元不等,幸好業者提供分期付款服務。
業者考量有些飼主在寵物往生數年後,可能不再續約,因而契約明定寵物骨灰存放以三年為期,且只租不賣。若飼主想繼續存放骨灰,則必須額外付費,並另訂契約。如此一來,或許有助提高塔位的使用率。若不續約,飼主可將骨灰帶回,或是以樹葬的方式,將骨灰撒在種植於紀念館外花園的大樹下。
為寵物量身打造的專業禮儀服務,用意是希望讓寵物走得有尊嚴。而業者貼心設計的「寵物生命紀念館」,是希望讓飼主在追思時,感到一絲溫暖。飼主任何時候皆可帶寵物生前最愛的零食與玩具到牠的壁龕,與牠談心。在紀念館撫慰人心的氛圍下,或許可讓飼主感到他們所思念的「忠實朋友」,其實一直都在。
(台北時報記者林亞蒂)
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