“For us, pets are more than just numbers.”

At Auburn's Precious Pet Animal Crematorium, sensitivity and empathy are our top priorities.

Written by Ella Will, For Reporters

Since 2009, family-owned Precious Pets Animal Crematory has been providing premium pet cremation services to the Auburn area.

Carrie Hines started the business with her husband after working in a veterinary office for many years and becoming angry with the way pets were cared for after death. Hynes said that until now, most veterinarians in Washington had only one major company managing the pet cremation process, and no one knew where they went or what happened during the cremation. It is said that Her friends own human crematoriums and encouraged her to open up options for pet owners.

Precious Pets businesses are committed to caring for pets and their families. Hines said sensitivity and empathy are the biggest priorities in the pet cremation industry.

“I have pets of my own and they are like children to us. We want to make sure they are taken care of during their lives and after they live. '' Hines said.

At Precious Pets, we offer several options to our customers, including private cremations and individual cremations.

Individual cremation is the process of disposing of a single pet, whereas individual cremation involves cremating multiple pets at the same time, but it is still a process of keeping the pets separate. Individual cremations are the most common, and individual cremations are the most cost-effective, but ultimately it comes down to the pet owner's personal preference.

Hines said a standard veterinarian cremation takes a few days on average, while Precious Pet services typically take seven to 10 days.

“We like to do things right, not fast,” Hines says.

Precious Pets offers expedited service options for same-day or next-day pet cremation upon request. Owners can bring their pets, or Precious Pets will pick them up from their home or veterinary clinic.

Carrie Hines and her husband are the only staff members at Precious Pets. Procedures similar to human cremation using identification tags are used and the pet is not transferred to another facility. All cremation certificates are handwritten.

“This is more than just a job. For us, this is our life and our passion. We love the people and their pets who walk through our doors. We want to treat people the way they want to be treated, and pets are more than just numbers to us,” said Carrie Hines.

Precious Pets also offers free cremation services for active/retired K9 police officers. This service was started after a friend lost his life in the line of duty.

“This is our way of giving back and showing our appreciation to the police officers,” Carrie Hines said. “We want to honor our K9 personnel because we understand that they are more than just pets. K9s are our guardians and right-hand men, and they provide great service to our communities. To do.”

Another complementary cremation service offered by Precious Pets is for owners and families who have lost a pet in a house fire. Carrie Hines' son is a firefighter, and she said she decided to start the program after hearing all the heartbreaking stories he told. She said Precious Pets provides this service for free because for people who have lost everything, getting a pet back can bring much-needed solace.

“I love my job so much that I really can't imagine doing anything else. I've had a lot of jobs over the years, but this one is the one that's meaningful to me.” said Hines. “Losing a pet is really hard. Anything I can do to help is important to me.”