Thistledown Pet Memorial & Columbarium

Established in 1998, Thistledown Pet Memorial is located on fifty acres of the Oak Ridges Moraine, just south of the town of Uxbridge. Thistledown was created to complement the services normally offered by veterinary clinics located in the Greater Toronto Area. In a sense, we provide an “extended care” service component for pet owners who have recently lost a pet through illness, accident or euthanasia. We also help pet owners educate themselves in advance about the various options available to them when their pet dies. These options typically include cremation, burial in pet cemetery or burial at home where local by-laws permit.

At Thistledown we do not accept any animal remains for burial. At present, we have four indoor niche walls open for the placement of pet cremation urns and an outdoor niche building for additional urn placements.

We also have an area for urn burials and scattering gardens for those who desire this option. For those pet owners who have buried a pet in the past and who may be moving, we also offer a pet exhumation/cremation service.

We must stress, it is not our intention to compete with veterinary clinics. On occasion we have had pet owners referred to us by clinics to assist in arranging for pet cremations. Such referrals generally have occurred in situations where the normal cremation process offered by the clinic for whatever reason is not adequate to meet the needs of the client. When we receive such a referral we can pick up the pet’s remains at the clinic, meet the pet owner at his/her residence if the euthanasia has been performed in the pet’s home environment, or have the owner bring their pet’s remains to Thistledown.

We do not have a crematorium at Thistledown. We work closely with a pet crematorium in Scarborough, and when called upon to assist in a pet cremation will transport the pet’s remains directly to the crematorium. By providing such a service we are able to meet the specific needs of certain pet owners who have concerns regarding the handling of theirs pet’s remains, the integrity of their pet’s ashes, or who wish to have their pet’s ashes returned to them as quickly as possible.

We do not have any grief counselors on staff at Thistledown. For pet owners who require some assistance in coping with the grief associated with their loss, we can offer some telephone support and can direct them to our selection of books and articles written specifically about pet loss. For those pet owners who have exceptional needs in dealing with the loss, we can provide the names of individual grief therapists and support groups who may be able to help them through the process.

We hope this introduction to Thistledown will assist pet owners in meeting their needs before and after they suffer the loss of a beloved pet. Thistledown staff will be pleased to answer any questions regarding our services, hours of business, or pet loss in general. Please give us a call or send us an email.