Last summer, I met a newly graduated Celebrant. The mother of my friend B, she told me all about the Celebrant Foundation and Institute and I was struck—celebrancy seemed an ideal option for me. Celebrants are non-religious “ceremony officiants”—we study the history of rituals and their place in our lives to facilitate us in ceremony building. Doing events like weddings, funerals, divorce ceremonies, and downsizing ceremonies, the celebrant works closely with the participants in order to build a significant and personalized ceremony for the occasion.
I decided to “major” in funerals. Some might call it morbid, but I was drawn to the rituals surrounding death much more than weddings and child namings. Attending online classes from October to April, I’ve finally received my celebrant certification and am ready to start. The business sense of celebrancy is difficult—you’re essentially starting your own enterprise.
After putting a lot of thought into it, I decided to do animal funerals instead of human funerals. I came to this conclusion after realizing that I—and thus the general public—would prefer to have an older (i.e. more experienced) person officiating a loved one’s funeral, among other things. Further, I think Los Angeles is the perfect place to start a doggie funeral home.
At this point, it’s about building a website and contacting people—is it too dark to talk to doggie day care places? Dog walkers? Veterinarians? I’ll end with the poem I gave to my friend C after the death of a loved furry one—it resonates with me as a dog owner and serves to inspire my fatalistic entrepreneurial spirit.
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
yeah it's a corny poem but the pet-owner relationship is a corny affair: deal with it
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