When a beloved pet dies
Animatrans is a funeral home that caters to beloved pets offering funeral services as well as the option of turning dead pets into an even more tangible reminder with taxidermy. Here's an inside look at the first ever funeral home exclusively for pets in Belgium.
Chantal Bauchez poses with her stuffed barbary macaque, named Moukys, at her home in Rebecq, Belgium April 29, 2016.
Taxidermied pets
Patrick Pendville, owner of Animatrans, poses with a stuffed dog at a taxidermist's workshop in Aalst, Belgium April 29, 2016. He set up the funeral service after seeing first-hand what animal disposal often looks, and smells, like.
Dropping a dead dog off at an animal rendering plant, a guard instructed him to unpack the carcass, remove its collar, and throw the body into a two-meter-high (7-foot) container swarming with flies, among other animal remains.
Taxidermied pets
Cathy Vertongen works on a dead dog at her workshop in Aalst, Belgium April 29, 2016.
Pendville says his company - which charges between 35 and 350 euros for a cremation - provides a humane way for people to say goodbye to animals they feel were part of the family. But by law it is classified as a processor of hazardous waste.
"I totally refuse (that) name," he said. "I eagerly wait for when a pet is considered to be sentient and not an expired common commodity when it dies."
Taxidermied pets
Myriam Waeles nuzzles her nose against her stuffed duck, a mallard named Arthur, at her home in Lennik, Belgium April 29, 2016.
Arthur stares ahead with the same expression he has had for the last eight years, since he died and Waeles took him to Animatrans to be stuffed.
"Arthur was a special duck... He was always waiting for me at the door when I came home, walking next to me in the living room," Waeles said. "Having Arthur, stuffed next to me, comforts me."
Taxidermied pets
Monique Kroonen-Dupont poses with her stuffed Yorkshire, named Doudou, at her home in Genval, Belgium April 29, 2016.
Taxidermied pets
Cathy Vertongen, a taxidermist, works on a dead dog at her workshop in Aalst, Belgium April 29, 2016.
Some customers choose to stuff their dead pets to have them with them always.
Taxidermied pets
Cathy Vertongen, a taxidermist, works on a dead dog at her workshop in Aalst, Belgium April 29, 2016.
Taxidermied pets
Cathy Vertongen, a taxidermist, works on a dead parrot at her workshop in Aalst, Belgium April 29, 2016.
Taxidermied pets
Cathy Vertongen, a taxidermist, poses with a stuffed dog at her workshop in Aalst, Belgium April 29, 2016.
Taxidermied pets
Chantal Detimmerman weeps next to the body of her dog Chico, a Chihuahua, placed in a decorated basket at the Samsara Eternity crematory for animals in Soignies, Belgium on April 12, 2016. Animatrans prepared Chico for cremation.
"I loved him so much that I decided to keep his ashes, to always have Chico next to me," Detimmerman said.
Taxidermied pets
The body of Bianca, a Canadian shepherd, lies in a decorated basket at the Samsara Eternity crematory for animals in Soignies, Belgium on April 12, 2016.
Pet resin mask
Patrick Pendville, founder of Animatrans, shows a resin mask depicting the face of a dead dog at the Samsara Eternity crematory for animals in Soignies, Belgium April 15, 2016.
Among the services offered by Animatrans is making a death mask, casting an impression of an animal's face in long-lasting resin.
Taxidermied pets
Patrick Pendville, founder of Animatrans, adjusts coffins made for animals at his shop in Brussels, Belgium April 15, 2016.
Taxidermied pets
Paolo Presti reacts next to the body of his dog Bianca, a Canadian shepherd, at the Samsara Eternity crematory for animals in Soignies, Belgium, April 12, 2016.
Taxidermied pets
The body of Charlie, a Jack Russell terrier, is seen in a decorated basket at the Samsara Eternity crematory for animals in Soignies, Belgium on April 8, 2016.
Pet cemetery
A grave of a dog is seen at a cemetery for animals in Aywaille, Belgium, April 8, 2016.
Pet cemetery
A statue of a dog is seen at a cemetery for animals in Aywaille, Belgium April 8, 2016.