Suburban Life - Main Line/Philadelphia - Issue #1 (January 2023)

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SL_Laurel Hill Profile_0123FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 1 / 31 / 23 2 : 34 PM Page 1 by Bill Donahue | photos by Alison Dunlap Gone But Not Forgotten Families can memorialize their pets in Laurel Hill provides local families with customized options multiple ways , including visitation services in The Laurels Pet Center . Much like tradi - for grieving and honoring their dearly departed pets . tional cemetery plots , a pet can also be AYING GOODBYE TO A LOVED ONE IS AMONG we didn’t want to turn them away . We interred in a plot situated on the serene THE DIFFICULT EXPERIENCES OF SOMEONE’S also knew we could serve people’s pets grounds , complete with a custom grave SLIFE . For many , grieving the loss of a in as dignified a way as we would any hu - marker . One particularly memorable service pet — a dog , a cat , even an alligator — can man being . ” involved a dog named Maximus , the first be just as painful as losing a human family The Laurels Pet Center and Pet Ceme - animal to be buried in the cemetery . member . tery is located on the grounds of Laurel “ Maximus’s family is Jewish , so they “ Pets are family , too , ” says Deborah Hill West in Bala Cynwyd , a sister to Laurel arranged to have a rabbi come out and Cassidy , director of sales , marketing , and Hill East in Philadelphia’s East Falls neigh - preside over the service , ” Cassidy recalls . family services for Laurel Hill , an historic borhood . Since opening its doors approx - “ We want families to be as involved as 265 - acre memorial park spread across imately five years ago , the center has per - they want . To a lot of people , all they two campuses , whose legacy dates back formed services for deceased pets of have is their pet . You can hear the devas - to the 1830s . “ People who had a relation - almost every sort — dogs , cats , rabbits , tation in their voice when they call us ship with us were asking if we could horses , hamsters , birds , lizards , and , yes , after their pet has died . We see it as an make accommodations for their pets , and an alligator named Sheldon . honor to help them grieve . ” SUBURBANLIFEMAGAZINE.COM VOLUME 14 ISSUE 5 14 |

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SL_Laurel Hill Profile_0123FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 1 / 31 / 23 2 : 34 PM Page 2 Families who wish to forgo burial coming here and talking to us helps them can opt for alkaline hydrolysis , also remember their pet , or human . We really known as aquamation . Aquamation is care , and they feel that we really care . ” a water - based alternative to traditional Pre - need and at - need families are about flame - based cremation , and also con - evenly split , according to Heyer . Based on sidered friendlier to the environment . her experience from working in the death The remains can be placed in a hand - industry for the past 15 years , families tend crafted urn fashioned from sustainable to fare better emotionally when they plan wood and then presented to the family ahead . to honor at home . “ Just like with the death of a human Whether someone is pre - need , loved one , it’s easier to pre - plan , so when meaning before a pet’s death , or at - the event occurs , all you have to do is make need , meaning the pet has recently a phone call , ” she adds . “ Those who wait passed , customized services can be until the event occurs are in a state of arranged through family service repre - extreme emotion , and are forced into fi - LaurelHill’s staff , including sentatives such as Ginny Heyer . Heyer , nancial decisions they would probably never Ginny Heyer ( left ) and Deborah who has worked at Laurel Hill for 15 make under different circumstances . Calling years , sees her work as “ a calling . ” us at pre - need also allows you to go on a Cassidy , arranges customized “ We are very proud to say that our payment plan , if needed . ” servicesfor each family’s pet . pet center has a non - funereal feel , in While The Laurels Pet Center and Pet that nobody is dressed in black or has Cemetery has received intense interest since slicked - back hair like something from a fu - As an example , she tells the story of a family its inception , the pet - memorialization industry neral home in the 1980s , ” she says . “ That whose dog she helped bury more than remains in its infancy . Heyer and Cassidy doesn’t mean we’re not professional , but three years ago . understand that families may have questions . we want families to feel comfortable . As “ When another one of the dogs they They welcome visitors to come in and tour soon as they walk in the front door , you can adopted died suddenly , they called me — the facilities , inquire about options , and see their shoulders drop , and they feel wel - not Laurel Hill West , but Ginny , ” she says . wander the picturesque grounds . comed . ” “ We talked and grieved over the phone , “ We never want to turn anyone away , ” Heyer has had pets all her life , so she and I told them I had just gotten over the Cassidy adds . “ Even if it’s something we knows exactly how it feels to lose one . flu . When I got home , the owners of the cannot help with directly , we will always She’s also a self - described “ empath , ” so dog were at my house with a bag of vitamins find the right service for you . We like to say she has a gift for connecting with families and some chicken noodle soup . After they you need to make one call and we’ll handle through their pain . She tends to maintain left , I locked the door and said to myself , everything . If someone wants to have euth - connections with families long after their ‘ Boy , I really do make a difference in people’s anization performed [ for a pet ] , we can pets ’ memorial services have concluded . lives . ’ arrange that at our center , too . “ That’s why I stay in touch [ with families ] “ We had one individual call and ask if by phone and email , ” she continues . “ People we could make a hairdressing appointment often stop in and see us after they come for her , ” she continues . “ It was a strange re - here to visit their loved ones . In some ways , quest , but we did it . The people who call us we are their last link to what they have are going through one of the toughest times gone through . We were there for them at of their lives , and we’re here to help them ? the worst time in their life . It’s almost like in any way we can . ” D TheLaurels Pet Center and Cemetery Laurel Hill West | 225 Belmont Ave . | Bala Cynwyd , PA 19004 | ( 610 ) 668 - 9900 | laurelhillphl.com Families can memorialize their pets in multiple ways , including custom grave markers , hand - crafted urns , and visitation services in The Laurels Pet Center . SUBURBANLIFEMAGAZINE.COM VOLUME 14 ISSUE 5 | 15

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