A final farewell for furry friends

By Zhang Yangfei | China Daily 

A funeral home for deceased pets is offering succor to bereaved owners. Zhang Yangfei reports.

In 2019, when Wang Yinghao decided to resign from his job as a furniture designer to become a pet mortician, his boss was shocked.

The existence of such morticians, who provide services related to pet deaths, only really gained widespread attention in December after two celebrities experienced the work as part of a reality TV show.

The occupation is new, so when Wang entered the profession, neither his parents nor his boss understood his motivation.

The 26-year-old decided to change careers after reading an article that detailed the process of pet funerals, illustrated by a photo of a man hugging his deceased golden retriever.

The image hit Wang hard as it reminded him of Xiaohua, a pet dog he had as a child. Wang was brought up in rural Jiangsu province, and Xiaohua accompanied him throughout his years at primary school.

One day, Wang's grandmother told him that Xiaohua had bitten someone, so the dog would have to be euthanized as a form of apology to the injured person.

"I wanted to save her, but I was scared. I was so little," he recalled.

Xiaohua was euthanized and Wang never learned what happened to her body. Guilt crept up on him when he read the article and made him determined to help others give their furry friends a proper farewell.

"I have pet cats, so I think from a pet owner's point of view. When my cats die, I certainly don't want them to be taken to a place that's cold and uncomfortable," he said.

Wang quit his designer job and contacted the few providers of pet cremation services in Beijing, expressing a wish to learn from them.

Most rebutted his approach, but one introduced him to Lin Junguang, who had some experience as a pet mortician. The two young men decided to open their funeral home, Rainbow Planet, in the capital.