Glenn Graves built the first facility in Okanogan County to offer pet cremation.
North Central Washington Pet Cremation is the first facility in Okanogan County to offer pet cremation.
Glenn Graves recognized the need for such services early in his career as a funeral director and operating the Okanogan County Crematory. “I heard stories from families I met with who wanted to get their pets cremated,” he said.
At the time, he was unable to help. “Pet cremation requires dedicated equipment that is only used for pets,” Graves said.
Graves set to work, building a new separate wing to the crematory building dedicated to pets and acquiring the specialized equipment for pet service.
NCW Pet Cremation offers pickup from veterinary offices, pet cremation, and return of remains. Home-pickup or pick-up at a specified location is available by appointment.
“We track the pets throughout the cremation process in the same dignified and thorough manner that we care for people,” Graves said. “If a pet has to be put down, all the local vets have our paperwork and will facilitate the process of pickup and cremation.”
Graves started working at a local funeral home in 1999 as a summertime job, setting headstones and tending to the landscape. He became a licensed funeral director in 2005 and built Okanogan Crematory in 2006. The crematory building is located on Cold Springs Ranch, “a homestead ranch that was founded by my great-grandfather over 100 years ago, where my family still resides,” he said. On this scenic and peaceful location, pet owners have the option to leave the remains with the crematory to be scattered on the homestead.
Costs are based on the size of the pet and the crematory option, starting at $45 up to $400. NCW Pet Cremation provides private, semi-private and communal cremations. Each option is detailed on the website, www.ncwpetcremation.com. Private cremation is the premium service for individual handling of the remains and a custom urn. Semi-private services are an economic and energy-efficient option where multiple pets are cremated in the machine, segregated from one another by firebricks. Each set of remains are removed individually and returned to the family. The communal option includes multiple pets cremated together with no form of separation, and the remains then scattered on Cold Springs Ranch.
North Central Washington Pet Cremation is located at 557 Cold Springs Road in Okanogan. They can be contacted via phone at (509) 422-2353, or by email at ncwpetcremation@gmail.com. More information can be found on the website, www.ncwpetcremation.com.
