Can I bury my dog in a blanket? Here’s the Answer

How to bury your cat, dog, or other pet after they’ve passed

The death of a pet is always a hard time and can be difficult to manage. Making decisions about how to take care of your pet after they have passed away can put added stress on your and the pet’s family. That’s why we’ve created this article as a resource for you to use if you choose to bury your pet close to your home. Here are several things you should consider if you want to bury your pet at home.

5 Reasons Burying Your Pet in Your Backyard Is a Bad Idea

Why not bury your pet in your backyard? Here are five reasons the practice is not a great idea:

If you bury your pet in your backyard, other neighborhood pets or wild animals may dig them up. As pets decompose, they emit gases other animals can smell. Some hunting dogs are specifically trained to find and communicate about items beneath the earth’s surface. When animals like dogs and foxes detect a buried pet, they will dig it up if they can.

Resurfacing becomes a particular issue if the pet had a contagious disease or received euthanasia. Euthanasia generally involves a concentrated anesthetic drug, pentobarbital, that can linger in a deceased pet’s body for up to a year. If another animal digs up your pet and comes into contact with the drug, it could become sick or die. And if your pet died of a contagious illness like parvovirus, that illness could infect other animals and spread through the neighborhood pet community.

If you bury a pet in your backyard, it may resurface after heavy rains. A pet that resurfaces in flooding can present the same health risks to other animals as the first point.

More importantly, seeing your late pet washed up after- or swept away during- floods could cause tremendous emotional distress.

A decomposing pet can cause bacterial contamination in the soil it touches. That contamination then seeps into the groundwater, which can spread it to other areas. If other humans or animals come into contact with the contaminated soil or water, they could become seriously ill.

Because of the health and safety issues outlined above, backyard pet burial is illegal in some cities and states. Check with local authorities to determine what regulations apply to you. If you bury a pet in violation of local ordinances, you could risk fines. And even if backyard burial is allowed in your state, regulations may govern how soon, how deep and how far from groundwater you must bury your pet.

What Happens When You Bury an Animal?

Still don’t believe us? Let’s take a look at the scientific breakdown of the biological processes that take place when you bury an animal in the backyard.

A pet’s body begins to decompose several minutes after death. Bacteria in the digestive system begin to break down the intestines and spread to nearby internal organs and start to decompose them as well. Enzymes within individual cells start to break down cell structures.

After a few days, bacteria and insects continue to break down tissues and start releasing fluids into the pet’s body that cause bloating. This bacterial activity can release malodorous gases like:

In this stage, other animals can use the distinctive smells of the gases to find and uncover the remains of a buried pet.

Animal decomposition could take days or months. Numerous factors can affect decomposition time, including:

Where and how the animal was buried — including depth, soil and temperature conditions

The size of the animal

What the animal was buried with — whether a blanket, box or bag

If you are going to try to bury your pet, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Cremation: Even if you plan to bury your pet, consider having them cremated first. Cremation incinerates the pet’s body so that the harmful parts of decomposition will not take place. Cremains are much safer to bury, and they will not contaminate the environment or harm other animals.

Depth: Make sure you bury your pet deep enough that other animals and floodwaters cannot unearth them. If you have not cremated your pet, plan to bury them at least 3 feet deep.

Utility lines: Call the relevant authorities to inquire about utility lines before you bury your pet. You don’t want to end up striking a sewage line, electric line or gas pipe as you dig the grave.

Location: Spend time thinking about where you want to bury your pet. It’s best to choose a high, dry place if you can to avoid water contamination. An elevated burial site can help keep floodwaters from exposing your pet and prevent groundwater from leaching contaminants into the environment.

How to Bury your Dog at Home – Is dog home burial legal and how to do it?

No one wants to think about the death of a beloved pet. But it may be helpful to know in advance, the options that you have once the time comes. It can be a very stressful and upsetting time. So having an idea of what to expect will take some of the pressure off and allow you to be there in the moment for your pet when they will need you the most.

As vets, we deal with death regularly, often on a daily basis. But we appreciate that for most people, it is thankfully a rare experience. As pets get older, and owners start to think about the end, the majority of people will wish their dog could slip away in their sleep. Unfortunately, this is quite uncommon and except for the poor few that may succumb to disease or an accident, euthanasia is often required.