Alternative "ferryman" bids farewell to pets

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  With the expansion of the scale of pet raising, the pet economy including breeding, medical treatment, bathing, grooming, foster care and other links has become increasingly hot, and many emerging professions related to pet industry segmentation services have also been spawned. Pet funeral directors are one of them. This is not only to complete every funeral process, but more importantly, to help pet owners to vent their emotions.

  "I want to arrange a decent funeral for my pet dog, but I found that the services of some institutions are not satisfactory. In addition to temporary price increases, their rough handling made me feel very uncomfortable." Beijing Pets from Yiyang, Hunan Said Li Chao, founder of Chongmu, a funeral service company.

  According to the "Pet Industry White Paper 2020", the number of pet cats and dogs in China exceeds 100 million. At the same time, the pet economy has become increasingly hot, which has spawned many emerging professions related to pet industry segmentation services, and has also become many migrant workers. New employment options.

The death of a pet is a common problem that all pet owners will face, and pet funeral directors came into being.

The reporter interviewed many practitioners and learned that the pet funeral industry is still in its infancy, and the service standards and standards need to be strengthened.

The test of physical strength, energy, and psychology is great

  A number of pet funeral directors interviewed said that at the beginning of the journey, unintelligible voices came and went one after another. The most common one was considered by family and friends that “dealing with corpses is unlucky”. In addition, what is even more difficult to understand is that, Is it necessary to spend so much time to bid farewell to a pet?

  "It's just that you haven't personally experienced it. Once you know it, it's hard not to be impressed." Yu Xiaoyun, a pet funeralist from Shijiazhuang, Hebei, told reporters that among the guests he received, in addition to young white-collar workers, the most were actually middle-aged and elderly people. , "Many elderly people do not have the company of their children. To them, pets are just as important as family members."

  Xiaoyun, 23 years old this year, is still impressed by the first farewell at the beginning of the trip.

It was a pet dog who had to practice pet comfort due to illness. Before comfort, when the owner entered the room holding the pet dog from the sofa, Xiao Yun saw that the pet dog's eyes were both innocent and sober.

"It may know what it is facing, but in the arms of its owner, it is not struggling." Xiao Yun recalled.

  At the beginning of their work, many funeral directors are often affected by the emotions of their clients and their emotions fluctuate. Therefore, in order to ensure their professionalism, they must first complete their psychological transition.

Li Lin, who is also a pet funeral director, told reporters: “This business requires not only empathy, but also rational restraint to help the owner complete the transition. Sometimes the owner will call us in the middle of the night to go to the scene to deal with it. The test of energy is also great."

  In Li Chao's team, most employees have no funeral experience except for Xiaoyun who is a funeral professional.

"Caring for pets and being patient is one of our hard indicators. Many funeral directors have the experience of raising pets." According to Li Chao, the company needs to train newly recruited funeral directors for more than 3 months. In addition to the funeral process, employees also need to learn how to deal with customers with different emotions and personalities in terms of training content.

Ferry it, ferry him

  Cleaning tables, freezers, farewell rooms, memorial walls... The settings of pet funeral venues are often simple and warm.

According to Li Chao, in six years, the number of pets they have given away has reached thousands.

Cleaning-farewell-cremation, the domestic pet funeral industry has formed a set of service procedures.

  Before cremation, the funeral director will clean up the remains of the animal, wipe the whole body with wet wipes, and comb the hair.

"Many animals are prone to incontinence due to illness, so they are often embarrassed when they are sent. Pet owners want them to be clean before leaving." Xiaoyun has handled a wide variety of pets. In addition to cats and dogs, there are also rabbits and hamsters. , Tortoise, goldfish, etc.

In the farewell session, pet owners usually spend some time alone with their pets in the farewell room.

On the small bed full of flowers, the most mentioned word is "thank you."

  However, compared with the stylized funeral process, pet owners' attitudes towards the death of their pets are very different.

"So it's better to say to pass it than to pass it." In the eyes of pet funeralists, listening is their main business, and helping pet owners to vent their emotions is the core of their work.

  "Death is a mirror, from which one can often see a person's attitude towards life." Li Lin told reporters that he had met young white-collar workers who had red eyes alone to bid farewell to their pets, and he had also met the funeral director in a comforting tone. The aunt of the cat who has been with her for 15 years, of course, has also met customers who have abandoned their pets.

"I once encountered a golden retriever with a slight paralysis of its hind limbs. We didn't think it was necessary to be happy so early, but the owner's attitude was very firm. Even when we offered to help it recover, the owner refused. Finally, we Without taking this order, the time for it to be happy has not yet arrived." Li Lin said.

Industry demand is large, and the market needs to be regulated

  According to industry insiders, the number of pets in my country continues to increase, but the handling of pet remains is still single. "Burial and burial" is the choice of most people. The main reasons for abandoning professional institutions for funerals are "expensive" and "not understanding", etc. .

  "The problem with land burial is that there is a risk of spreading disease." Senior pet funeral director Mr. Yu said that some local governments have set up municipal harmless treatment centers to treat animal remains, but they are mostly for poultry such as pigs, cattle and sheep, and are not open to individuals. .

"With the improvement of my country's social civilization, more and more people will need customized related services in the future, and the demand for funeral directors will also increase."

  According to incomplete estimates by industry insiders, there are currently hundreds of pet funeral service companies across the country. In big cities, competition among peers has become more intense. "There are more than 30 in Beijing alone, and stores can receive 150 orders per month during peak periods. ."

  The reporter searched pet funeral agencies in Beijing with "pet funerals" and found that their per capita consumption is basically around 1,000 yuan, and even higher can reach 2,000 yuan.

In this regard, Li Chao bluntly said that the unit price of pet funeral services is indeed high, but the total number of customers is small and the service time of a single customer is long. Not to mention the maintenance and renewal of various cremation and environmental protection equipment are often costly.

"Of course, the emerging industries will inevitably be mixed at the beginning. Indeed, some businesses have poor service standards and not standardized operations."

  An industry insider told reporters that since funeral services usually involve multiple departments such as civil affairs, environmental protection, agriculture and forestry, it is difficult to classify them. At present, there is no department in charge of this business. The pricing varies greatly, and the service level and practice level of pet funeral directors are also uneven."

  Li Chao said that at present, my country's pet funeral market is still in its infancy, and there are some controversies, and exploration is still going on.

"For the practitioners themselves, diligence in all aspects is the direction of our efforts, including the improvement of service quality and environmental protection standards." At the same time, he also hopes that more people can accept the concept of pet cremation, and it can also be used by funeral directors. More respect and understanding.

"After all, this is a heartwarming thing." Li Chao said.

  Wang Yubai Zhijie