Smithfield's 'Heavenly Animals' offers cremation service for pets

By Lisa Christensen

April 21, 2008 | SMITHFIELD -- Andrea Younkers and her husband, Chuck Mackin, ran three businesses but decided that just wasn't enough. Looking around for a need to be filled, they started Heavenly Animals Crematorium four years ago.

The only one of its kind within one hundred miles, with the exception of Utah State's cadaver lab, Heavenly Animals works with all veterinarians and pet hospitals in the valley to cremate deceased pets. Most of their business comes from veterinarians who have had to euthanize an animal and call them instead of just throwing the animal away, which is illegal, Younkers said.

"People don't know that," she said.

If a euthanized animal is thrown away and then taken to the dump, birds pecking at the body will distribute the sodium thiopental, the chemical used in euthanasia, which is harmful to the environment, she said, which is why it is illegal to do so.

It is also illegal to simply bury an animal which has died of natural causes in a city, she said, because the decomposing body could pollute the aquifer.

"People don't know about this and it's sad," she said. "I think if people knew I don't think they would do it."

Heavenly Animals also gets a lot of its business from people bringing their deceased animal to the office, she said, as well as some animals being shipped from as far away as Arizona and Colorado. Most of these long-distance customers are also customers from another of the Younker-Mackin businesses, Rebound Unlimited, which sells trampolines.

"Our customers become our good friends," Younkers said, and it's important to them that the person handling their beloved pet is someone they can trust.

One question she gets asked a lot, she said, is how someone can be sure the ashes they get back are from the same animal they brought in. When an animal brought in, either by a veterinarian or an owner, the pet is identified with a pet retrieval form with an identification number, which follows it in every stage of the process. The number is even put on a temporary container or with the urn when the animal is picked up by the owner, so there is documentation about which animal's remains are where.

Younkers said one of the allures of cremating pets is because people are more mobile than they used to be and burying a beloved pet, even legally in rural areas, isn't always something they want to do in case they have to leave it behind. An urn with the animal's ashes is a much more mobile solution to carrying on the memory of that pet.

One of the common misconceptions of cremation is that it's very expensive. It's actually very reasonably priced, she said.

"You don't have to spend a lot of money," she said.

Heavenly Animals offers private cremations with an urn starting from $85, according to their brochure. Private cremations without an urn start at $59, with urns available ranging from $56-$470. The price of the cremation is dependent on the size of the animal. Younkers said they are a small animal facility, working with animals up to 300 pounds.

Heavenly Animals also works with cities to cremate animals killed on the road and dangerous animals the police may have had to destroy, she said. For these, she said, they do a bulk cremation once a month.

Running the business has been an educational experience, Younkers said, as she knew it would be. They stay in touch with some of their customers, and have gotten thank-you cards from some of them.

Although it's still a young business, they are optimistic. "It will be successful," she said. "We take it very seriously."

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