Cremation timetable

[Oxx]

Today my beloved first dog died.  After a bit of 'phoning around I was able to find a temple that would cremate him.  I took him to the temple, and around one o'clock he was placed on a table in front of a cremation chamber and a monk chanted alongside a bit of other ritual.  I asked an attendant if that was all, and was told yes, go home.

 

My expectation was that my dog would then be cremated straight away. 

 

Around 3:30 p.m. I got a 'phone call to come back to the temple.  I'd assumed it was to pick up the ashes.  But no.  When I got there my dog was still lying there on the table, but now wrapped in a white cloth.  It was time to transfer his body into the cremation chamber.

 

Is this normal? That is, a delay of several hours between the ritual and the actual cremation? And does a similar timetable apply to human cremations?

[NancyL]

Our beloved first Thai cat died at Kasetsart University where he was undergoing treatment for cancer at the beginning of the Covid outbreak.  Initially it was outpatient treatment and he was doing pretty good and it was OK hanging out with him all day in a pet-friendly hotel near the university.

 

But, as Covid became worse and the university sent the students home, the professors told me to admit him as an in-patient and to return to Chiang Mai, concerned about my age.  Sadly, Morris died about a month later.  

 

They put me in touch with a pet cremation service in Bangkok.  Their first question was if I wanted a Christian or Buddhist ceremony.  I selected a Christian ceremony.  They emailed lovely photos of the cat on a white cloth, looking at peace, surrounded by flowers, artfully arranged to hide the scar from surgery.  One photo had a western man in clerical attire looking like he was reading from an open Bible.  In a week they send me a box with his remains and an "Order of the Service" with comforting Bible passages in English that they said the cleric had read at the ceremony.  It was all very comforting.

Perhaps the temple needed time to prepare your dog for cremation.  Did they surround him with flowers like they did my cat, prior to wrapping him in the cloth for cremation?

[ThaIrish Sean]

My best friend, Archie, went to sleep just before Christmas and we decided we didn't want to burn him.  I bought a large wooden planter and we laid him to rest in it.  We will plant forget me not and Clematis Archie and remember him forever.

A nice and green alternative to the crematorium.

[connda]

Buddhist don't normally do much more than bury their pets without much fuss.  During the time I was a monk (4 months during the 2020 Rain Retreats), the pack-leader of the temple's packed died.  I really liked him, he was a good dog.  The monks laid him outside my kuti while they dug a hole.  None of  the monks would have done anything but bury him. 
I took the time to play a recording of the Buddhist funeral chant with candles and incense to send him off. Farang monk. Yep, we're different.
It really is a personal thing.  Some monks will accommodate us crazy farang who get attached to our animals.  But it's not really a 'Buddhist thing' or a 'Thai thing.' 
I think what they did for you @Oxxand for @NancyL was a very nice gesture.  Most Thais would not do that for their pets which is actually more of a true Buddhist's outlook as the animal's body without life is no more than like a rotting log.  The life is gone onward to its next incarnation. 
What's left is not your pet. 
Most Thais will not 'celebrate' around the body (chants, ritual, etc).  That tends to culturally be something that we farangs do as a sense of comfort and of closure.  We do it in hopes that our pet will end up in a better place (human?) and it gives us a chance to reflect on our love and commitment to our furry friends who pass on before us. 
So there is no 'time-table.'  It just wasn't at the top of their agenda. You're pet wasn't going anywhere.  There was not hurry.  ❤️

By the way.  We bury out pets in the back yard.  I give them a send off. 
My Thai wife has no interest.  "Anicha!"  Change.  That's the way of it.  Done. Gone.  That's the Thai way.

[Oxx]

10 hours ago, connda said:

Buddhist don't normally do much more than bury their pets without much fuss.

Thank you for your comments.  I suspect may be a regional thing.  There are now many temples in Bangkok performing animal cremations.  (Historically, I believe there was only one in Klong Toei Nuea.)  The first two I 'phoned were very busy and the first available "slot" for cremation was several days away.  Certainly the neighbours (all Thai) have had their dogs cremated (with one exception that I know of).

[Oxx]

13 hours ago, NancyL said:

Perhaps the temple needed time to prepare your dog for cremation.  Did they surround him with flowers like they did my cat, prior to wrapping him in the cloth for cremation?

There wasn't any preparation, but perhaps crematoria need time to warm up? I don't know.

For the ceremony there were plastic flowers on the table, with my dog lying on a white sheet.  Also the usual vial of water to be tipped into a small bowl.  For the actual cremation the flowers and vial had gone, and they'd tied the corners of the sheet together.

[NancyL]

Since we live in a condo and thus don't have a garden, cremation is our only option.  Certainly, when we lived in a house, our pets were buried in the garden.

[The Fugitive]

Nice reading on this thread. My Thai Mrs 'prepares' our pets for burial. My nephew kindly buried our cat in Mum's garden. He thoughtfully gave him a Christian burial as you can see.

[meatboy]

my thoughts are with you oxx our beloved is laid to rest right in front of our house under a loverly smelling tree,[feb.2018] you are going to miss him oxx,it will hurt so a few tears now and then will help.