My Day as an Office Manager for a Pet Cremation Company
My alarm is going off, it's 7:30 in the morning and my dogs and cat are wide awake waiting for potty breaks and breakfast. As I open my eyes my small dog is on one side of my pillow eagerly watching my every move and my cat is on the other side meowing, my large dog is standing on the bed wagging his tail, all waiting for me to pull my covers off and get up. Once my eyes adjust and I've checked the notifications on my phone I'm ready to get out of bed. All three animals jump down, the cat is in the closet now where his litter box and food are kept, and the dogs are waiting impatiently at the bedroom door waiting to be set free into the condo. The litter box is clean, the cat is fed, and now it's time to take care of the dogs and bearded dragon. I can find the bearded dragon sun basking in his tank or eating his food, I turn his UBV light on, check his food and water levels and he's set for the day. My little pup, Rylee, is waiting by her food bowl and my big pup, Doug, is at the back door waiting to go outside. Now that "the zoo" is taken care of I can start on myself. I brush my teeth, get dressed and start my car. It's winter in Alaska right now and has been in the negative temperatures, needless to say leaving the comfort of my home is unpleasant and cold.
Now that I've arrived at the office it's time to get to work. I start with the typical office manager/receptionist duties of checking voicemails and emails, making coffee and engaging in small talk with my coworker. Every other week day our full-time crematory technician is in charge of doing pick-ups around our city from local vet clinics. We also have people coming into the office for drops offs and this is where I handle intake.
When someone comes to our office with a deceased pet I am in charge of getting owners information, pet information, helping the owner decide what services they want and collecting payment. We deal with all species of pets, not only cats and dogs as some people think or assume. I enjoy hearing people's stories and seeing photos of their pets and getting an idea of each personality before they came to us. After the owner leaves I start on their requests. Sometimes it's nothing more than placing the pet in a cremation safe bag and other times they have requested prints, fur and even a tooth from time to time. I enjoy doing prints for the pets we see, it's nice creating a keepsake for the owners to cherish through the years when they can no longer love on their pet. Once each request is completed the body is bagged and taken to our secondary location for cremation.
Our crematory technician works hard to ensure our clients pet gets to go back home as soon as possible. Once the cremains arrive back at the office I call the owner and let them know their pet is ready to be picked up. We never rush our clients to come and pick up as it is difficult for some people to adapt to life without them and we want them to grieve in their own way and in their own time.
This job can be difficult at times as we are dealing with people on one of the hardest days they've had. It is also a rewarding job when you see the smiles through happy tears as the owner looks at the prints you have made for them and the pet is being returned home.
Happy the Bird
Duke the Dog