Priding itself as the country’s only registered pet crematorium, Faithful Friends Pet Cremation Jamaica has for the last eight years offered pet owners a unique service to respectfully deal with the last rites of their beloved animal friends.

Founded on May 13, 2016 by owner and operator Chris Ingledew, the Kingston-based single-outlet operation caters to clients from all corners of the island, offering them niche market services.

“Faithful Friends was started for three main reasons: firstly for pets to receive a dignified and respectful send-off that all animals deserve and secondly, for clients to get closure and to have something to remember their pets by, if they so desire. Thirdly, I do it as a business and income earner, after realising a gap in the market and the need to offer more personalised services in the area locally,” Ingledew told the Jamaica Observer.

“I also saw the need for the service after witnessing a local vet claiming to have cremated a relative’s two dogs for an exorbitant sum, giving back what can only be described as a type of unknown muck in a scandal bag. On realising that no incinerator or proper equipment was used, that’s when it hit me that Jamaicans deserved a proper, honest pet cremation service,” he further said in outlining additional reasons behind the company’s start-up.

Offering various packages ranging from $7,000 up to as much as $56,000, individuals have the option to choose how they want to put away their beloved pets. Packages include pick up of the body, storage, cremation and delivery of ashes to a client’s front door.

“I solely cremate pet animals of any type from anywhere across Jamaica such as dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, hamsters, snakes, and goats. There are two types of cremation that we offer — communal where several animals are done in a machine at the same time with no return of ashes and private or individual where a single animal is done at a time allowing clients to get back the ashes. I own four incinerators [cremation furnace] located in St Catherine which we developed for this purpose,” Ingledew noted.

Outside of tailor-made options, packages for private cremations, a company brochure said ranges from modest to basic types which includes ashes alone to very fancy options classified under gold, silver or bronze which offers metal and wooden urns, inked and clay paw prints, hair locks, certificates and framed photos. Communal packages, which, on the other hand, have no special categorisation, are priced at $7,000 for pets under 61 pounds and $9,000 for those above.

“I also exhume bodies and cremate the bodies of pets for people who weren’t aware of the service but after finding out want to have these remains collected and stored. Clients have the option to witness a cremation and many have chosen to do so,” the local pet cremation expert said.

Ingledew, after receiving the necessary training in the United States and on gaining the appropriate industry contacts, said he has since remained on a mission to carve out a presence for his business locally.

“I would say my biggest achievement is knowing that I have helped so many clients to find peace, calm and closure to what can be an excruciating and debilitating experience for some. Many of the animals we cremate are people’s support system and joy in life and to know that they can get back a beautiful memoir as a keepsake is not only pleasing but very fulfilling for me. I like to help people in any way I can and as such our advisory and counselling support also comes as a huge part of the services offered.

“To know that I could have established Faithful Friends as a company that offers its unique services with 100 per cent integrity and honesty, is that part of the achievement I hold very dear to my heart,” he said.

With the operations of the cremation company now bolstered by the addition of new equipment, his business over the last few years, Ingledew said, have grown to become a highly sought after one, especially for pet lovers across the country who seek internationally certified facilities to process the remains of their animals.

“Eight years and 3,500 plus clients later is testimony that clients appreciate the business and that word is spreading. The business continues to grow on a positive upward path. I started with one small incinerator and now own four — one being a state-of-the-art, computerised modern machine,” the company’s sole proprietor, currently assisted by a team of two other members further said.

Having specially curated the business model and the services offered, Ingledew, in noting that the business does not immediately plan on expanding physically, said that a much greater level of focus currently surrounds the growth of its client base.

“The company continues to be a Kingston-based single outlet operation from which we work six days a week and I don’t intend to expand the business as I insist on having a personal hands-on approach, one where I can ensure that the right procedures and protocols are adhered to and that clients gets what they expect and have paid for. Having added a number of products over the last few years, we, however, continue to be on the lookout for new products of interest to the Jamaican market,” Ingledew said.

“We continue to advertise through brochures at most vet clinics, printed media advertising and social platforms as the company moves to reach more clients and expand its customer base leading up to the 10-year mark and in subsequent years,” he added.