Friday 26 December 2014

Tengoku Pet Crematorium - Sendoff to the Rainbow Bridge

I know this is primarily a beauty blog but I feel there are people who would benefit from such a review though it may be rather depressing.

As some of you may know, my family has not had the best Xmas. One of our family dogs passed away on Xmas evening from what we now realise was most probably a heart attack. As you can imagine, it was very sudden and unexpected. Some Xmas.

After a few calls to 24hr crematorium services, my dad was quite upset as some of the people who answered our calls did not sound empathetic in the least. Then we called Tengoku, a 24hr standby same-day single pet cremation service located at Pasir Ris Farmway 2, just next to Mutts & Mittens.

Perry, the guy who answered our call and drove by promptly to pick up our old girl, was very professional and respectful of our grieving, explaining gently and slowly the procedures involved and what time we should come by for the cremation the next day (i.e today). He and my dad transferred Miko to a very sturdy and well-designed black (styrofoam I think) Tengoku collection box and brought her back to their facility.

The next day, we arrived at Tengoku at 8.45a.m, 15 minutes earlier than our appointed time and were pleasantly surprised that they were ready and waiting for us. Perry ushered us to a small open air space and wheeled Miko out to us for us to say our last goodbyes. They left us to ourselves for awhile, only asking that we let them know when we were ready.  Some fresh white carnations had been placed between her paws, which was really a beautiful touch and made her look asleep and at peace.

When we were ready they wheeled her round to the furnace and ushered us to the viewing area where Perry stood silently by the side while it commenced. Later we went to the office to fill out some paperwork and select Miko's urn before returning a couple of hours later to pick her up.

Tengoku has a pretty good range of urns though the ones that come free with the cremation are of a very oriental design. So we took a look at the more modern designs and topped up $38 for a round minimalistic white medium urn. Plus the $380 (the price for small breed cats & dogs) for her cremation, it was one of the most affordable rates around and the service (we met another guy at pickup and he was very nice too) was top notch. I regret that we forgot to take his name but he was just as gentle and empathetic as he explained that they don't grind the bones at Tengoku and that they had placed her skull bones at the top of the pile in the urn.


For all of us who have pets, sending them off is an unfortunate part of the package. We've had dogs in the family since the day I was born so I'm no stranger to goodbyes and it doesn't get easier. All we can do is make the best of it and it means a lot when the final steps are as dignified and nicely done as with Tengoku.

So a heartfelt thank you to Perry, Nice Guy No. 2 and Tengoku for their empathy and professionalism, your good work really helped my family with closure.

Tengoku - 24 hr hotline 6749 5039 
www.tengoku.com.sg
11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2 (By appointment only)

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