Paws Finding Peace Announces Opening of Pet Aftercare Center
CHICOPEE — Pet parents now have a local, eco-friendly option for aftercare. Located in Chicopee, Paws Finding Peace offers water-based cremation for those who have had to say goodbye to their beloved pet companion.
Paws Finding Peace was founded by Dr. Lauren Atkins in 2018. For the past six years, it has offered at-home euthanasia, allowing pet families to say goodbye in the comfort of their own home.
“I wanted to ensure that the same amount of attention, love, kindness, and dignity that was given to the pets at home was extended throughout the cremation process,” Atkins said, noting that, before she opened the aftercare center in Chicopee, pets would be transported out of state for cremation.
Water-based cremation has been around for decades but is more popular in other states, including California and Colorado. In Massachusetts, there are three pet aftercare centers offering water-based cremation: Paws Finding Peace in Chicopee, Petrichor Aquamation in Woburn, and Pawsitive Memories in Sandwich.
Water-based cremation is also known as aquamation or alkaline hydrolysis. A combination of gentle water flow, temperature, and alkalinity are used to accelerate the breakdown of organic material. It’s the same process that occurs as part of nature’s course when a body is laid to rest in the soil.
With traditional, fire-based cremation, the bones that are left after the process are ground and given back to the family as ashes. With water-based cremation, the bones that are left after the process are also ground and given back to the family, but, since water-based cremation is so gentle, more ashes are returned. Because this is such a gentle process, it is often preferred by pet families with small pets such as guinea pigs, rabbits, bearded dragons, and birds.
Since opening the aftercare center at 904 Meadow St. in Chicopee, Paws Finding Peace has helped hundreds of local pet families. “They will always be my first choice for our little angels,” pet parent Kim Bonacker said. “Thank you for everything you do; this world needs more amazing people like you. No request is ever too big or too small, and every time I have needed their services, it’s made a difficult time so much easier to process.”