It is said that mourning rituals are there for the living. They ease the pain of parting when you lose loved ones. This has also been true of pets for a long time. Lord Byron dedicated a long poem to his Newfoundland dog Boatswain as a grave inscription, and Peggy Guggenheim wrote the names of all her dogs on a plaque above their grave in the courtyard of their museum on the Grand Canal in Venice. Animal housemates have always been buried and remembered as objects of our affection, solidarity and shared creativeness as possible on their own property. The more pets became family members, the stronger the need for more complex mourning rituals apparently became.
This shows the demand from animal undertakers. Since July 1st, the LiebesTier-Bestattungen GmbH of the Hamburg resident Kay Seemann has been offering consolation, advice and organizational support in coping with the grief of deceased pets in the Hanseatic city and Schleswig-Holstein, but also nationwide and internationally. The company logo depicts dogs, cats and a bunny cuddling up together in their sleep, and the 26-year-old young entrepreneur can be seen on the website www.liebestier-bestattungen.de with his current husky dog, Holly.
Seemann became aware of the business idea when his own dog died and he found too little professional help: "Unfortunately, in my case the personal accompaniment and farewell to the animal undertaker who was employed at the time were neglected," he says.
He had to wait three weeks for his dog's urn and during this time received hardly any information or encouragement from the contractor.
He wanted to do it differently: "Since I come from the human burial industry myself, I would like to support owners of animals when they are lost with the same passion."
Cremations are the most popular
Kay Seemann now offers all forms of animal burial - burial in an animal or human cemetery, burial at sea, but above all cremation of the animal in individual or group cremation. He personally brings urns to the client: “After two to five days - long waiting is the worst during this time,” he knows. Seemann's service includes on request all-round care up to paw prints and souvenir jewelry. His special offer is the "Tree of Eternity". The ashes of the animal are mixed with soil from which a seedling grows.
Most often, cremation is requested at love animal burials and the urn is then kept at home. In most cases, they are dogs and cats. The most exotic animal that Seemann accompanied on the last journey was, after a python, a lizard. The response to LiebesTier burials is apparently very positive. The orphaned pet owners are grateful for the implementation of their wishes and do not seem to be saving. Seemann does not reveal what they spend on average. That is too different because in the animal crematorium, for example, it depends on individual or group cremation and on the weight of the animal, and otherwise depends on other wishes. The range seems considerable. On the company website, the prices for cremations range from 39 to 500 euros. Urns cost from 55 euros,a paw print 15 euros.
All responsibility in one hand
In the four months since entering the market in July, the company has carried out 15 animal burials.
There are four animal undertakers competing in Hamburg, including two branches of large chains; nationwide there are around 160 competitors.
Seemann sees his unique selling point compared to the large chain companies “in the time I take for the animal owners, also in the quick return of the urn and the visible empathy that every animal calls by its name.
I don't have numbers. "
Kay Seemann has invested 25,000 euros in his start-up from her own resources, including buying and equipping his special vehicle that picks up animals from home, from the vet or from the clinic.
His run-up to business operations was quick: he only had to organize business premises and contacts with cemeteries, the animal crematorium, as well as the funeral shipping company and manufacturers.
He is the sole owner of his company, its managing director, and at the same time a consultant, grief counselor and responsible for everything.
Animal and human burials are not far away
His family, who have been running the Hamburg funeral home Seemann & Söhne KG in the fifth generation since 1892, helps him in tight situations. Kay Seemann, himself an undertaker and certified embalmer, works in parallel in the family business as an authorized signatory and consultant. So far he is very satisfied with the progress of his own company. His founding can now live well, and he is optimistic about the future: “The industry is difficult due to the chains and the commission business by the big companies. But I think that I can continue to count on success from the individual and personal support. "
Proximity to parental business is helpful here. "Since, from my point of view, a pet now has the status of a family member, there are many parallels and synergies in animal burial with human burial," he says. “This gives me strong support for my company.” Not only that the death of a beloved pet is inevitably confronted with one's own finiteness and often leads to personal funeral provisions in the Seemann & Söhne KG funeral home. Seemann junior has also been able to arrange many funeral provisions for animals with customers of the family business. However, he regards "the individual and unique animal burial" as his most important task and says: "My mission is the personal, dignified farewell to a beloved pet."