Burying a Dog at Sea

[Bobcat]

My apologies to Joe for the timing of this. I was touched by his send off to his dog.

My dog is elderly and her time here is drawing to an end. I would like to bury her in the Salish Sea when the time comes.

How do you go about a DIY sea burial. Laws be damned. I am looking for the best way to carry it out without the obvious complications. My request is for the practical nuts and bolts.

Thanks

[Paul Pless]

My apologies to Joe for the timing of this. I was touched by his send off to his dog.

My dog is elderly and her time here is drawing to an end. I would like to bury her in the Salish Sea when the time comes.

How do you go about a DIY sea burial. Laws be damned. I am looking for the best way to carry it out without the obvious complications. My request is for the practical nuts and bolts.

Thanks

I would think cremation followed by spreading ashes at sea would be the least complicated with regards to legal authorities.

[John of Phoenix]

Cremation then sprinkle the ashes.

[Ian McColgin]

The classic is to stitch him up in a canvass bag that's weighted. I'd attach the weight to the dog with something that won't rot away to ensure that nothing can float up. For my two cats who had lived over a decade aboard the old schooner, I used a bit of the schooner's ballast. Seemed right.

[David G]

If you want to do it in a way that is both traditional and environmentally sensitive, you can follow the example of the British Navy. Sew into a cotton shroud, weighted with iron. Say the words with whatever ceremony you feel needs be. Tip her over the side with a final salute. The iron will rust away. The cotton will decompose. The crabs & fishes will feast on your friend.

[Peerie Maa]

I'd go for cremation and scatter.
If you do go for tradition, go a long way off into deep water, but even then it conjures up the wrong sort of images.

[Phillip Allen]

cheap cotton shroud (the hammock) and iron... (don't use anything that won't eventrally rot away... certainly not the shroud) (if it's deep enough, nothing can float due to the pressure)

[ron ll]

I'd go for cremation and scatter.
If you do go for tradition, go a long way off into deep water, but even then it conjures up the wrong sort of images.

And remember, contrary to intuition, the "Salish Sea" is a lot deeper nearby, say off Edmonds, than far away in the Straits.

[Bobcat]

Thanks for the replies. If I follow through with this plan. It will be in deep water. There's a 100 fathom or more nearby. I like the idea of canvas and iron, which will melt away eventually.

Of course, if she is in pain, there will be a last trip to the vet, and there will be a cremation.

I do remember that the last stitch in sewing up the hammock is through the nose to make sure the sailor is really dead.

I just don't want to dig a hole in the backyard and plant her. That's how I dispose of rats I trap. I am aware that Elvis is buried in his backyard "just like a hamster," as a friend puts it.

[BrianW]

I've buried two at sea. Both sans the shroud but with weights tied to the dog. One is buried next to a channel marker buoy, which we can see from our deck.

[David W Pratt]

Well you came to the right place for nuts.
Seriously, I would be concerned about floating due to decomposition. Net for the shroud maybe, and lots of weight
Good luck.

[Wavewacker]

Any other option? We have a pet cemetary at the farm, a nice spot amongst the trees with a small fence around the family pets.