Panel OKs pet disposal business

TURLOCK -- Between a frame shop and furniture store, downtown is getting a pet crematorium, a place where man's best friend is reduced to ashes.

It's the first of its kind in Stanislaus County.

Valley Pet Internment, slated for 220 N. First St., could open as soon as May. It will offer commercial services to area veterinarians and private services for people who wish to preserve their pet's remains. Memorials and urns will be sold on-site.

When an animal is euthanized at a veterinarian it is stored in a commercial freezer, then picked up by a cremation service, where it is kept frozen before being burned, veterinar-ian Rob Santos, who is backing the project, told the Planning Commission on Thursday. Most vets in this area use a Merced service.

The Planning Commission unanimously approved the project Thursday night. Had it been a crematorium for humans, approval would have been automatic, but pet crematoriums aren't listed anywhere in the city code so it needed commission review. A funeral home for humans, Allen's Mortuary, is a few blocks away.

"I know the units are self- contained, but what if in the hot valley sun something goes wrong?" asked Amos Reyes, the commission's chairman.

Santos told the commissioners that animal crematories are built to the same standard as human versions and smells are never a concern. It is not, Santos said, like a tallow plant. Emissions are subject to California Air Resources Board regulations. Confident odor would not be a problem, Santos said he'd accept any type of restriction or benchmark the city needed.

"Because this is a first for us," Reyes said, "we're a little curious."

Only small animals will be rendered -- no horses or cows -- and transportation of corpses from truck to the business will be hidden from street view.

Neighbors were alerted of the new business -- there are homes as well as businesses nearby -- but no one attended the meeting or lodged a complaint with the city.

The Planning Commission had trouble believing there are people who host funerals for their pets. Santos said they are out there.

"Dogs are getting married now," he said. "Only in California!"

John Pinkerton, who runs Friends of Turlock Animal Shelter, will operate the business. It takes about four months for the crematorium to be delivered. It's larger than a pizza oven, oval, gas-fired and steel with firebrick insulation, he said.

Bones don't turn to ash, so after an animal is incinerated the remains are put through a bone crusher. The ashes of animals from vet practices are disposed of like regular trash -- they're not medical or special waste. Ashes from private services are put in an urn or other memorial container before being returned to the family.

"It's a much needed service in the valley," Pinkerton said. "Veterinarians should have the option to go local."

The pet crematorium does not require City Council approval.

Bee staff writer Michael R. Shea can be reached atmshea@modbee.com or 578-2391.