Jennifer Muldowney on why pets are important

Jennifer is author of ‘Say Farewell Your Way’ - a funeral planning guide for Ireland, blogger of www.theglamreaper.blogspot.com, creator of Irish Glass Memorial Jewellery line: Humans - www.celtic-ashes.com; Pets - www.rainbowbridge-memorials.com, planner of Memorials at funeral homes and talker - @TheGlamReaper on Twitter and Tedx 2017 Any questions just ask - muldowney.jennifer@gmail.com

By Jennifer Muldowney

Pet funerals

Why they are important

Do you have a dog? A Cat? A horse? A parrot? A guinea pig?

For me, a house is not a home without a pet. No one greets you or loves you unconditionally like a pet.

You could tell a pet of some heinous crime that you have committed and they will still wag their tail, purr (or similar) just to keep listening to your voice and keep your devoted attention. It is incredible the amount of comfort animals can bring to the elderly and the disabled and the grief stricken in your community. 10 years ago, my family and I had a horrendous decision

to make; of whether to put our beloved 16 year-old west highland terrier, Roxy, down or keep her alive even though she was in pain and suffering from strokes daily. We chose to be kind, or so we think. I still have my doubts to this day whether we were selfish or kind by doing so. I guess one never knows. Her eyes never left mine as she passed away.

It seems self-indulgent to even think of mourning a pet when faced with human loss and so feelings get hidden and grief buried deep. But what if, as funeral directors, you help your community to embrace this loss in the open and amongst loved ones.

Can you equip your funeral home to offer funerals for beloved pets? Can you work with a pet crematorium like Cranmore or your local community veterinarian to offer pet funerals to the families that I am sure you

already serve? Maybe there is someone who already works for you that is an animal lover and would happily take this extra service on as a new project? It is worth considering as a new way to help your community even more and to add a revenue stream to your business.

I know 10 years ago, if I knew it was a service that would have been offered, I would have taken the opportunity to say goodbye to Roxy in a service absolutely.

Obit is 2020-Ready!

Happy New Year to all present and future Obit users!

We’ve had a busy 2019 on the Obit team, launching six major releases, with notable improvements like: • Improved Google Places

integration to save time and mistakes entering long addresses. • It’s now easier to manage your Cash Book in our Finance Section. • We introduced a new finegrained Permission setup which lets you limit access by branch when working in multi-branch companies. • We’ve improved our Funeral Overview giving you a quick summary of all important info and anything that might be missing. • Streamlined core processes like adding Contacts and Places to Funeral, reducing the amount of time needed to load a funeral. • Customers can now import historical funeral data via an Excel or CSV file. • Two Factor Authentication to improve security. In addition, we’ve made many other updates and improvements based on suggestions or requests from Funeral Directors as well as continually striving to provide the best performance and security possible.

If you are thinking of joining the Obit Community, email us at sales@obit.ie or call Richard on +353 (0) 86 771 6099 to organise your free trial.

CPL

FUNERAL SUPPLIES

William McGuckin NEW MODEL HAVE YOUR X LIFTER SERVICED AND NEW ROLLER BRAKES FITTED

58 | FuneralTimes Tel: NI (028) 816 71247 / ROI: (048) 816 71247 www.cplsupplies.com sales@cplsupplies.com Tel: NI/ROI (028/048) 8167 1247 Mob: 0044 (0)7730 409000

NEW PRODUCT

* ALL STAINLESS KICK BOWL

* REMOVABLE BOWL

* INCORPORATING SHARPS

CONTAINER

TRADE IN STOCK * SWIVEL CASTORS

Refurbished X Lifter

Quantity of coffin stands to clear

NEW DELIVERY

R. Healy & Son Carlow have just taken delivery of a new Galaxy fitted with a Causeway Laminate deck and a removable trolley box.

tailor-made solutions to the funeral trade Funeral Supplies Donegal Ltd.

Bond

OX[XULRXVFR΀QOLQLQJ in textured fabric’Bond’ WZRWRQHEHLJH

Tweed

OX[XULRXVFR΀QOLQLQJLQWH[WXUHGIDEULF¶7ZHHG· EOXHJUHHQ

Grass Matting

available in: • 2 m wide Rolls • 4 m x 4 m Mound Cover

Funeral Supplies Donegal Ltd. Leghowney Donegal Town Co. Donegal Ireland

Tel: +353(0)74 9723715 Fax: +353 (0)74 9723742 Mobile: +353 (0)87 2376169 www.funeralsupplies.ie funeralsupplies@eircom.net

WT Morrison assist with road safety demo

WT Morrison Funeral Directors, Enniskillen supplied the hearse and coffin to assist the emergency services with their road safety message to years 13 and 14 at Enniskillen Royal Grammar School.

The scenario based around a road traffic collision showcased the work carried out by the emergency services and delivered a hard hitting and reflective message about the dangers on our roads and the potential consequences.

Thanks to Station Commander Curran NIFRS for the invitation to take part along with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, PSNI and Fermanagh and Omagh PCSP.