To pet owners the death of their beloved dog or cat is a very sad occasion indeed. However, along with such misfortune usually comes the inevitable choice of the way to deal with the pet's body.

Out of special feelings toward the pets, most pet owners hope to deal with the dead bodies of their pets in a proper way. When convenience as well as environmental protection are considered, cremation might the best choice.

An inquiry at a pet shop or pet hospital about quotations for animal funeral services, however, will reveal startlingly high prices.

Take a Labrador dog for example. In a pet hospital in Changning District in Shanghai, a collective cremation costs 200 yuan (US$24.8) for each while an individual cremation costs 500 yuan. If pet owners wish to take the ashes of their dog home, they'll have to either bring their own urn or buy one in the hospital at a cost of about three to four hundred yuan.

In fact, according to a report by Travel Times, the cost for the individual cremation of a pet should be less than 100 yuan.

At a time when pets are affecting our lives to such a great extent and pet ownership is no longer a luxury just for rich people animal funeral services should be more affordable. There must be shops or hospitals providing such services at more reasonable prices.

(Shanghai Daily March 14, 2006)