Thank you for all the great suggestions. I live near Pender. One time I had a sick hamster named Chester. I took him to Pender. The vet said, "Chester has a tumor in his stomach. he is dying. Do you want us to put him to sleep?" I said yes. They asked me if I wanted his little body. I did so they put him in a little pink box on top of cotton. On the drive home, I peeked in the box and it looked like Chester was just sleeping. I was gonna bury him in my yard but it was raining. Oh and the bill was $100 and I did not want to tell my husband how expensive it was. he gets mad at vet bills. So I couldn't bury him that night because of the rain. I put the little pink box in the freezer. I was gonna bury Chester the next afternoon before hubby came home. However I forgot it was Back to School Night. I went to school.
When I got home from Back to school night my husband was rummaging around in the freeezer and he said "Oh is this some Ben and Jerry's ice cream." He opened the box and saw poor Chester. I had to fess up as to how much it cost to put my sweet Chester to sleep at Pender.
He is buried in our back yard under an azalea bush. RIP Chester.

Trickie

Your husband sounds like kind of a dick, trickie (trickie's dick). He needs to learn some respect for how much pets mean to people. Maybe he just needed the money to gamble on the internet or something.

RIP Chester...

No offense, but I have to agree with RESton about your hub. Our Shih-Tzus have cost us many thousands in vet bills over the years, but they are our "kids" and we have them euthanized only after every treatment option has been exhausted.

And NO WAY are their badies are going to a rendering plant or the landfill! We pay to have them cremated and their ashes go in an urn to be placed on the mantle.

BTW....a neighbor once told me that burying pets in one's backyard is illegal in Fairfax Co.....anybody know if that's true?

I don't know if it is legal to bury your pets in oyur backyard, but if it is, make sure you call Miss Utility (1-800-552-7001) at least 48 hours prior to digging.

IT'S THE LAW

Even with a hand shovel? I thought that Miss Utility stuff was for backhoes and other digging machines....

Unless you want to bury your pet in a shallow grave like a concentration camp victim, don't you think you owe it to them to dig a nice, deep hole woth a backhoe? You can get a pretty good deal on a rental.

LOL Rent a backhoe? I have buried pets and dug down 4 feet with a hand shovel. Any deeper and you run out of room to work the shovel without enlarging the hole way bigger than it needs to be (Shih-Tzus are lap dogs!). 4 feet is pretty deep...deep enough that the surviving pets or other critters digging up the departed is unlikely.

But digging 4 feet down in the rocky soil around here is a real ballbreaker...that's why I started cremating the guys when they pass on.

come on folks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> BTW....a neighbor once told me that burying pets
> in one's backyard is illegal in Fairfax
> Co.....anybody know if that's true?


yes

Yes, 4 feet deep, dangerous. I call MU if I haven't planted my garden in a while to make sure some cable hasen't been layed while was not watching.

My house's previous owners buried their cats.

http://www.friendsoflittlerockyrun.com/More_Info_Virtual_TourPAGEFIFTYSIX.html --see bottom

Even If the cops caught you, would they make you dig it up?

Seems that Ffx Co. is ok with buring a pet. Inferred from a ffx. co. web page about waste management:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/trash/dispaccept-a-b.htm

(make sure you have two feet of dirt above buried pet, also helps to sprinkle crushed limestone in the grave.)

Animal Carcass Burial on Private Property:

•Only on the private property of the animal’s owner, if a tenant only with the property owner’s permission.
•Deep enough to prevent a nuisance to the neighbors.
•Deep enough to cover the top of the animal with at least two (2) feet of compacted soil to prevent scavengers from unearthing the animal.
•At least 100 feet from domestic water supply wells.
•At least 25 feet from ponds and streams.
•Applying ground limestone helps neutralize odors.
Animal carcasses from sites engaged in raising or husbandry of domestic livestock must comply with all federal and Virginia regulations, to include the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality regulations.

Ever heard of a RAT TRAP and a TRASH CAN. Rat trap $1 trash bag 50 cents.