What is Aquamation for Pets?

Updated and now with more.

If only they could live forever! No one wants to think about the end-of-life decisions for your beloved pet. Tranquil Tides can give you peace of mind and assist you in honoring your family member with a dignified and gentle goodbye that will not harm the environment through an Aquamation process. A relatively new—yet old—method of preserving the remains of your beloved pet can offer some solace to pet parents. Join us as we explain the benefits for both pets and the planet.

Aquamation for Pets

They formed a special bond, your best friend, and a source of joy when needed. Our water-based pet cremation is one way to pay tribute to your pet’s memory. In the past, your choices were limited to burial or fire cremation. Thankfully, today, an eco-friendly Aquamation process allows pet owners to have a peaceful farewell that matches the love and care given to their pet throughout its life. Using water instead of fire, a pet’s body is restored to its natural state. The result is the same: anything you can do with fire cremation ashes, you can do with Aquamation ashes. The word is spreading about our water cremation and for some it is emotionally easier to think of their pet in water and not fire. Others just like the idea of water over fire.

The Science Behind Aquamation

As we die, our bodies naturally decompose through alkaline hydrolysis. A hydrolysis reaction is any type of reaction where water molecules break the bonds of organic materials. With the addition of alkali, the design of the equipment, the continuous flow of the solution, and warm water, this Aquamation process breaks down all organic material into its most basic building blocks.

Aquamation Process

Join the many pet parents who have chosen our water-based pet cremation as a dignified farewell for a life of unconditional love. Tranquil Tides is here to guide you through the aquamation process. The body is respectfully placed into the Aquamation chamber that fills with warm water and alkali and will gently circulate for 20 hours. The high pressurization prevents the water from boiling, though. All organic material is reduced to its most basic building blocks, leaving a sterile water solution and mineral bone remains. After a drying period, only your pet’s ashes will be returned to you and placed in an urn. The nutrient-rich and environmentally safe effluent will be returned to the environment.

How Long Does Aquamation Take

Simply Put, Aquamation speeds up the normal process of being laid to rest in nature. Usually, this process can take up to 25 years, but with the advancement in Aquamation technology, water-based pet cremation now takes less than 20 hours. Aquamation uses warm water, time, and alkali to mimic what happens in mother nature.

Aquamation vs Cremation

One reason families choose cremation is to preserve their beloved pet’s remains. One significant benefit of water-based pet cremation is that it preserves at least 20% more of your pet’s remains compared to flame cremation, as some of the bone is destroyed and expelled into the atmosphere through incineration. Also, in comparison, aquamation has no emissions of harmful greenhouse gases, no burning of fossil fuels, greater than 90% energy savings, and only 1/10th of the carbon footprint. Your pet deserves the best! You can help reduce the environmental impact and cherish your pet’s memory all at the same time. Contact Tranquil Tides today if you are interested in using our Aquamation services.

Outside of burying a pet in a cemetery or on your property, most pet owners choose cremation citing simpler and cheaper reasons. One would think flame cremation was a sustainable form of disposition for animals. However, by incinerating an animal, cremation destroys the potential a pet has to give back to the earth after a pet dies. There is no decomposition and it uses an energy intensive process to turn bodies to ash, polluting the air we all breathe and contributing to climate change. All told, cremation in the USA emits nearly 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide directly into the atmosphere annually. Unfortunately, the last thing a fire cremated pet will do to our earth…is poison it.

There is a reason that Nature is really, really good at death. The basic building blocks breakdown in nature and create new life. When organic material dies in nature, bacteria and microbes break it down into the now nutrient rich soil. The body is recycled back into the earth in a clean manner and other life benefits from this and flourishes. Nature has no smokestacks, Nature has no spewing of smoke into the air.

Pet Aquamation mimics Mother Nature. Enough said! There is no comparison when it comes to the most gentle, safest, cleanest, and peaceful way to honor your dog, cat, hamster, bird, rabbit, or small animal. Life comes full circle and you can feel really wonderful that you are doing the right thing.

History of Aquamation

Aquamation for pets is an environmentally friendly, gentle, and natural alternative to flame cremation. It is a water-based cremation known as Alkaline Hydrolysis and was patented in the 1880s for livestock management more than 130 years ago. By 1994, two professors at Albany Medical College had patented a hydrolysis machine for animals. This modern technology has existed for over 25 years and is used for both pet and human deposition in hospitals like the Mayo Clinic and major universities like UCLA and Duke University. Human Aquamation is approved for use in 27 states, and pet Aquamation is approved in all 50 states. It was thrust into the spotlight at the end of 2021 when anti-apartheid hero Desmond Tutu elected aquamation, and continues to gain awareness and popularity for both people and pets in the US and abroad.

Get Water-Based Cremation Services

We are animal lovers, pet parents, and environmentally conscious thinkers, and we have experienced the grief of losing a loving pet. We hope that we have made it an easy choice for you to call Tranquil Tides for a water-based pet cremation. With Aquamation, pet parents can contribute to a more sustainable, eco-friendly aftercare option for their pets. Learn more about our family and what inspired us.