Because the villagers in the village feel taboo, the pet funeral agency jointly run by Cui Hao and a friend plans to move. Under the epidemic, his pet funeral agency has been empty for more than a month. This not-so-promising industry has provided some pet owners in Weifang with a pure land to place their mourning.

Comparatively speaking, the industry prospects of big cities will be better, but it cannot be ignored that pet owners in third-tier cities also have this demand. Cui Hao said that he likes small pets very much, and he also understands He has experienced the pain of losing his pet, which is also the original intention of his choice of this industry.

Loving pets from the beginning of the heart

The service includes farewell and cremation

Starting from January 2021, Cui Hao and friends began to plan and start a business, We will start in February. I started doing it.

First of all, I personally prefer 'hairy children', which is the original intention of this industry. People who love pets like to call their dogs or cats hairy children Because I have also raised pets before, and there are many friends who have pets around me, and they all have such demands. He said that he had searched the Internet with his friends, and other cities have already seen the pet funeral service industry. He hopes to be able to Be a place in Weifang to provide spiritual support for pet owners who have lost their pets.

Cui Hao used to be one of the pet owners. In 2007, he raised a Labrador. Because I had no experience in raising a dog for the first time, I didn't know that the puppy I raised was actually a sick monthly dog. Although he took good care of it, the puppy died within half a month. After the dog was gone, I felt very uncomfortable. In the end, I buried it by the Zhangmian River.

Years have passed, when a friend proposed in January last year that he wanted to engage in the pet funeral service industry Cui Hao readily agreed.

It sounds absurd to provide funeral services for pets. Cui Hao explained: In fact, it is to treat dying pets like people, because for pet owners, pets that have been with them for many years have long been like family.

The funeral service mainly includes farewell and cremation. After the pet dies, we will go to the pet hospital or pet store to pick up the pet and perform a simple cleaning of the pet. This is the first step. When cleaning, usually wipe with a wet tissue and spray water locally. Two ways. The reasons why pets die are different. Some die in car accidents, some die from illness, and some die naturally, so the cleaning methods you choose are also different. Afterwards, the barber will cut off the pet's hair and keep it for cover. Put on the quilt and leave the pet owner half an hour to say goodbye. After cremation, according to the pet owner's wishes, the pet's ashes are stored or made into crystals for permanent preservation. In addition, a certificate of cremation will be provided.

Cui Hao said that during the farewell session, there are often emotions such as crying, sadness, and even collapse. Seeing the release of pet owners' emotions, Cui Hao can truly feel the value of this industry at this time. He said: For pet owners, this is actually a way to spend money to relieve distress, and it is also a kind of spiritual sustenance.

The pet funeral agency they run is called Chongdu, which means pet soul the ferryman.

I once received a call from a pet owner in the middle of the night

Every hairy child has a story

Is there any special pet owner that you will remember?

Actually, each one has a story.

With more than a year of practice, he has witnessed many stories between pet owners and pets, whether warm or sad, each of which is impressive .

He talked about his first customer, a young man in his 20s from Qingdao. Cui Hao received his call in the middle of the night, I told him that Qingdao also had related services, but he said that since he contacted us, he planned to drive over, and I agreed. The next morning, the young man drove Came to the store.

According to Cui Hao, the young man brought a deceased Samoyed. When he arrived, he was covered in mud and had already begun to rot. The beautician cleaned up the body in the room, and Cui Hao planned to unravel him. As soon as Cui Hao spoke, the young man started to cry. He told me that his pet died in a car accident. Originally, he buried the dog in the flower bed downstairs of his house, but because the burial was not deep, it was dug out by other dogs the next day. . The young man couldn't hold back after seeing this scene, and while crying, he went to the Internet to find services related to pet funerals.

Besides being his first customer, what moved Cui Hao even more was the young man's self-difficulty. He sighed that his love was so deep that even a stubborn man could not cry like a man. When grooming his pet, he went in to take a look and then came out with his mouth covered. He went in and took a look and came out with his mouth covered, but he was reluctant to look at it and wanted to look at it. That's the state.

Cui Hao said that as long as they are pet owners who have communicated with him, they can remember their stories. Some pet owners are from the central city, and some are from the county. They got up early in the morning, spent an hour or two renting a car, took a car from their home to downtown Weifang, and then took a bus to the small village in Fangzi District, where Chongdu was located. They basically spend half a day on the road, and the whole process takes an hour and a half to two hours. They are busy with it all day, but for them, it is a big deal.

Some consumers also need a psychological buffer zone

There is no relevant legal norm in this industry at the moment

Consumers in this line basically come to their homes by themselves, and most of the publicity is done through pet hospitals and pet store. For pet owners, direct publicity may have a negative effect and is psychologically unacceptable. Cui Hao said: For example, if you meet a pet owner in the community, if you introduce him to pet funerals, he may think that you are cursing his pet. And propaganda through a pet hospital or pet store will not help pet owners. In other words, relatively speaking, there is a psychological buffer zone, which can make pet owners more receptive to this industry.

From the perspective of the pet owner's personal feelings, burying the body in the soil without cremation is equivalent to throwing the corpse in the wilderness. After being cremated and placed in a tank, find a tree to bury the ashes. Paying tribute in the past on the anniversary is a way to relieve pet owners' thoughts, and many pet owners also choose this way. , Especially those pet owners who have been raising them for many years, they especially like to choose this method. But Cui Hao revealed that for ordinary people, it may be more insensitive. Because there are friends around me who don't keep pets, and they may still be quite taboo about this industry.

The reason why Cui Hao's pet agency is moving this time is because of the taboo from the surrounding area. In addition to the epidemic, the current Chongdu has also encountered new difficulties. People in the village are more taboo, so they asked to move out. Cui Hao had negotiated with the people in the village many times but to no avail. If we don't move out, file a complaint with the Environmental Protection Bureau.

Cui Hao is a little helpless, although the operation process belongs to the scope of harmless treatment, which is in line with environmental emission standards. But what is embarrassing is that there are no relevant legal provisions for pet funerals in national laws. pains for the industry. Although there is a compliant business license, there is no standard for the entry threshold of the industry, and there is a lack of corresponding market supervision.

I have no experience in this business for the first time. I plan to select a site away from residential areas on the basis of meeting relevant regulations. Cui Hao said that the situation he faced was also the current situation of the industry. For example, a colleague in Linyi was forced to rent a factory in a township. The delivery fee for each order was about 100 yuan. It's a loss, but there is no way.

Customer group Younger

Hope to be an industry benchmark

Whether you spend hundreds of dollars to choose a farewell ceremony for your pet depends on whether the pet owner has established a relationship with the pet. Emotional bond. Because the cost is relatively high, pet owners who have kept them for one or two months have different emotions than those who have kept them for four or five years. Those who have been raised for more than four or five years may be willing to spend hundreds of dollars for cremation. As can be seen in the price list, different service items range from 600 yuan to 1,600 yuan.

Cui Hao concluded that pet owners who can choose funeral services for their pets are younger, and there are few elderly people. Divided by age group, there are relatively more middle-aged people between the ages of 35 and 45, and then there are young people. There is only one elderly person, and the children are the ones who help.

Cui Hao's pet funeral The organization opened in a village in Fangzi District, Weifang City, with a total investment of about 100,000 yuan and a turnover of about 50,000 to 60,000 yuan in the first year of operation. consumables and labor. Due to the epidemic, it has been temporarily closed for business. It's been a year and I haven't paid back, but it's expected to be a year and a half to two years.

In this regard, Cui Hao views the development prospects of the industry in this way. People in first-tier cities have a strong awareness of environmental protection, the degree of road hardening is high, and the cost of burial is higher. For various reasons, people are more willing to accept this industry, although Weifang's acceptance of this industry is relatively low, and the industry prospects are better than big cities. However, the service needs of third-tier cities in this regard cannot be ignored.

According to the 2021 White Paper on China's Pet Industry, the urban pet (dog and cat) consumption market in 2021 has reached 249 billion yuan , an increase of 20.6% over 2020. The data gave him more confidence. Cui Hao said that although he can only do it as a side business, with the increase of pet owners, he believes that the industry will develop in a better and better direction.

There was a pet funeral service before us, but they only did cremations, not farewells. A young man contacted us a few years ago and wanted to come and learn from us, because the epidemic was delayed. Opened for more than a year, this industry is not just a whim for Cui Hao and his friends. They also want to set a benchmark for industry services in Weifang, so that the industry can develop better and better.

“When the industry reaches a state of blowout development, the relevant laws and regulations will naturally follow. This is what every industry does.” Cui Hao said that he is very confident in the future. , and is willing to grow together with this industry.