How to bury family pet

Crazychik

We have been nursing our pet rabbit for a week now, possible stroke.
He was responding well to food & water (hand feeding etc) and no'1's & no'2's was ok.
Vet gave him 48hrs, but he went beyond that.
Really thought he was going to pull thru, but sadly earlier this evening, he struggled for breath and quickly died.
My children are away with their dad for the weekend, and will heartbroken when they return and find him not here.
Anyway, what is the best way to bury him?
Do we need to wrap him in a bag or box first.
We have fox's in this area, so I want to make sure he will be well secured and they wont dig him up!
Ive never had to bury a pet before, but other than taking him to the vets for them to cremate him, what is the best way to dispose of the body. Sorry if it sounds heartless (im not)
ADVISE much appreciated.
Thanks

seven-day-weekend

We wrapped our dog in an old duvet cover as a shroud, buried him deep and put a paving stone on top so the foxes wouldn't get him.

Same with my littlle cat, except the shroud was a pillowcase. This would also be OK for a rabbit.

What a sad time. Hope the children are OK. Let them have a little cross on the grave and say a prayer if they want to.

Lillibet_2

We buried our cat wrapped in a towel inside a box. I think the secret is to bury deep, and you may be suprised by how big a hole you will need to dig too. We have planted over him (quite robust bushes), that way if we move we can take the plants with us & he will still be with us in a way, hope that makes sense? Didn't want to have a cross in the garden so the actual area is marked out with a square of pebbles, a bit less conspicious but we know what it means. Getting very teary writing this


(((hugs))):grouphug:

Becles

We've had to bury a rabbit and guinnea pigs before. I've always wrapped them in cloth or put them in a small box, and dug a deep hole next to a tree or bush. Not had any problems with other animals trying to dig them up.

Sorry to hear of your loss. Hope the children cope ok with it being Christmas *hugs*

xxxdarlingxxx

Please be careful, digging a hole is very hard especially if the ground is cold. The last thing you need to do a Christmas is put out your back. Try and get some help if you need it.

Best wishes to you all

seven-day-weekend

We have planted over the dog. The cat still has the paving stone as she is buried right in the corner where not a lot will grow, behind the greenhouse.

molerat

We have loads in our garden !! :A

We generally use a pretty patterned paper bag as it degrades quickly and place a large stone over the grave.

Crazychik

Many thanks to you all for your kind suggestions and advise.

My OH is doing the honours now as I type.

Bunny is wrapped in newspaper and a pillowcase, he will be burried nr a tree in the back garden, and Ive got a huge barrel planter to sit on top of him.

I will allow the children to choose some plants/flowers to put in the planter. At least way, they've got something special to look at.

My DS has only ever attended 1 funeral (family member), so he's pretty clued up and aware about death. Not sure ref DD tho. Sure she will be ok, she's bright for her age anyway.

Many thanks once again and A Happy Christmas to you all
xxx

devils_advocate

Our kids were about 2 and 4 when we got them a goldfish each. After a month, one of the goldfish died, and I thought it a good time to let both kids know about death. We buried the goldfish in the back garden, with some solemnity.

The younger kid, whose goldfish it was, wasn't too botehred over the next few days. However elder brother obviosly thought that he was missing out on something and wanted to bury his goldfish in the garden too! I had to explain that we had to wait until it died naturally!

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

ok being a countryman the fox will not dig up if its buried deep enough 3ft should do it , a fox wouldnt dig up dogs cats etc infact if they dont kill it in general it should be safe unless its buried spade depth

rls1973

devils_advocate wrote:

Our kids were about 2 and 4 when we got them a goldfish each. After a month, one of the goldfish died, and I thought it a good time to let both kids know about death. We buried the goldfish in the back garden, with some solemnity.

The younger kid, whose goldfish it was, wasn't too botehred over the next few days. However elder brother obviosly thought that he was missing out on something and wanted to bury his goldfish in the garden too! I had to explain that we had to wait until it died naturally!

:rotfl: lol, we keep tropical fish that die frequently dd1 and dd2 used to be really upset at first, now they are almost excited, 'can i touch it', 'can i put it down the toilet' , 'can i press the flush'. etc etc. (sorry to laugh, obviously its not the same as a real member-of-the-family pet)