Funeral homes have been a part of the (human) world for centuries — but what about our furry friends? It turns out pet cremation, burial and funerals are taking off in Toronto, including with one of the city’s latest business openings. This new aftercare service for dogs and other domestic animals isn’t just a place that helps you lay your furry friend to rest. It offers a myriad of services and resources that make saying goodbye just a little bit easier.
Tails Farewell is a pet funeral home and cremation service that opened this month in Moss Park. Their opening comes just roughly one year after opening their first location in Markham during fall 2024.
Plenty of the services at Tails Farewell make the funeral home stand out, but its most sought-after one might be their water-based Pet Aquamation. An eco-friendly alternative to typical cremation, the Pet Aquamation uses water instead of fire to naturally cremate the body, in a process called alkaline hydrolysis.
According to the Tails Farewell website, choosing an aquamation for your pet uses 90 per cent less energy than cremating by fire. It also burns zero emissions and fossil fuels, proving to be a gentler way to go for the earth and for your pet.
When it comes to the funeral service itself, Tails Farewell offers a wide range of packages depending on what you’re looking for, starting at $149.
For smaller pets like birds, chinchillas, hamsters and more, they offer the Tiny Treasures Tribute, honouring tiny and beloved friends with a heartfelt and dignified service. The Forever Love Farewell is Tails Farewell’s most comprehensive offering, which allows you to choose the urn and a custom-painted portrait of your pet, as well as a private funeral.
You can also opt for the Communal Package, where your pet can join others pets in the aquamation process in an effort to minimize your environmental footprint. Ashes are scattered throughout local forests.
If you’re not looking for a full blown service, Tails Farewell also sells products to take home instead. One of their more popular items hail from their pet urn collection, starting at $79. They come in classic, plain painted black and grey urns to themed ones offered in the Eternal Night Urn Collection and the Sweet Home Urn Collection.
You can also get them to frame your pet’s paw print, or get custom-made art of your pet crafted by local artists.
The company describes themselves as a “dedicated and compassionate” place that offers respectful services for people navigating the challenge of bidding adieu to their furry companions.
Although the first of its kind, other pet funeral services can be found around Toronto too. In Good Hands Pet Loss, located in East York, is a prime spot to hold pet memorials, and they even allow you to choose a casket. Just further west from there, Petatree offers unique services like at-home euthanasia, pet burial in their own pet cemetery and even transforms the ashes of your pet into the life of a tree.
Tails Farewell is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
