With paper flowers and music hanging around in the air, Lyu Jun was hosting a small farewell ceremony at an industrial zone in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. It was a funeral for a pet dog. Lyu came up with the idea of becoming a pet mortician (殡葬师) four years ago when he was preparing to start a business.
"At that time, there was only one brick-and-mortar(实体的) business that provided funeral services for pets in Shenzhen, but hundreds of pets die every day in this city," he said. According to Lyu, many pet owners used to bury the remains of their beloved animals near their homes, which had a harmful impact on the environment and created the risk of spreading disease.
He saw a gap in the market for someone able to properly handle the death of pets. "A pet funeral service provides treatment of the bodies that is harm-free, and it is the greatest comfort to pet owners," Lyu said.
He takes good care of the remains of the pets and tidies up their appearance before the funeral. In addition, he prepares funeral addresses and selects suitable tombs for the pets. He also films funerals for owners who cannot attend the ceremonies, and provides paper and pens for those who want to write down their blessings and hang the notes on the wishing tree.
Over the past four years, Lyu has bid farewell to more than 2,000 dogs, cats and other kinds of animals. He also does volunteer work in his spare time to promote responsible dog raising. "The pet funeral service industry is still in its babyhood, and I hope there will be a set of strict standards for people who take on this job and a belter environment for the industry," Lyu said.
