Saying goodbye in peace and dignity
What happens after my pet dies?
As a practising vet in the 1980s, Dr Andres Brändli found it distressing when he had to provide information to owners about what happens to pets after they die. At that time, if you didn’t want to or couldn’t bury your animal in your own garden, the only other option was public disposal in a rendering plant.
It was Dr Brändli’s belief that animals should be valued and treated with dignity not only in life, but also after their death. So he decided to create a place where pet owners can respectfully say goodbye to their animals. Following an initiative by Dr Brändli and some of his veterinary colleagues, the first dog was cremated in the Pet Crematorium Seon (the second in Switzerland) in August 1993.
Love, peace and dignity, the cycle of life, of becoming and passing: our logo, designed by goldsmith Anna Schmid (www.anna-schmid-schmuck.ch) represents the key pillars of our work.
Up to 100 animals are treated each day in our crematorium in Seon, in Dübendorf since 2017 and in Basel (Füllinsdorf) since August 2023. We also opened the handover point in Wittenbach (SG) in September 2023. This is a demonstration of the intimate connection that owners can have with their pets, which often continues after death.
Pioneer to this day
We are still pioneers in many things: all of our employees are exceptionally well trained and can respond sensitively to the individual needs of pet owners. The harmoniously designed rooms offer enough space to be able to say goodbye to your pet in peace.
And very importantly: with us, pet owners can be absolutely sure that they will receive the ashes of their pet. Because each animal is given a distinctive, numbered label that goes through the entire cremation process with the animal and will be with the ashes in the urn.
Social responsibility
As well as the dignified and respectful handling of animals, social responsibility is also very important to us. For example, we ensure that many of our service providers are social institutions. Our supplier network includes:
- the Satis Foundation (social facility for people with mental impairment)
- the Brändi Foundation (promotes the inclusion of people with disabilities in work, society and culture)
- the Domino Foundation (offers living, work and training opportunities for people with disabilities)
- the Karolinenheim Foundation (offers people with mental difficulties or multiple disabilities various living, work and employment opportunities)
We also support animal welfare organisations with donations and our active support in projects such as castration campaigns for wild cats.
