Many people find the death of a family pet as painful as mourning the loss of a person. This was the situation in 1996 when Nancy and Colin Graham lost their own dog, a Great Pyrenees named Beau, to bone cancer. Unable to find any pet loss support resources in their area, the Grahams decided to create something that would help other pet owners in the same situation. As a result of this adversity, Thistledown was born.

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 help pet owners prepare for and cope with the loss of a pet through illness, accident or euthanasia. At Thistledown 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 or burial.

At Thistledown we do not accept any animal remains for burial; we deal strictly with pet cremation. We have a state-of-the-art on-site pet crematorium and because of our small size we are able to provide the personalized pet cremation service desired by many pet owners. By having an on-site pet crematorium, we are able to meet the specific needs of those 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.

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.

On numerous occasions 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 was 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.

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 grieving 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, send us an email, or stop by Thistledown for a visit.

We would like to introduce Toby, our “Greeter” and experienced “Support Specialist”, who has over 500 visits to his credit as a registered St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog.