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Danny and Aimee Keller, who have recently opened Peaceful Paws, the first Pet Crematorium in Clare. Its the only one between Clare, Limerick and Galway. Photograph by John Kelly

Clare’s first pet crematorium opens following planning battle

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A NEW pet crematorium has opened its doors for the first time this week having gotten the green light from An Bord Pleanála.

“Peaceful Paws”, which has been supported by local vets, opened on the Gort Road in Ennis on Monday.

Planning permission was initially granted by Clare County Council before being appealed by a resident of County Meath, “Don Weldon”.

It was established by Aimee and Danny Keller in response to the lack of this service within the county and surrounding areas.

The nearest similar facility is in Kerry, with the developers stating that the associated delay following the loss of a pet “can be very distressing” for owners.

Mr Keller outlined when a person loses a pet, they can be collected from their house, from a veterinary surgeon or the person can bring the deceased animal to Peaceful Paws.

Once the pet is cremated, it can then be returned in an urn, tribute box, a specially designed scatter tube, casket or other product, depending on the customer’s requirements.

He said a lot of people like to keep their pet’s remains in a tribute box on their mantelpiece in the house, while others use a scatter tube to dispose of the ashes in a wood where they used to regularly use.

If a person decides to keep the pet’s remains in their home, he said this can be a source of great solace and comfort to them.

Ms Keller recalled that the idea for the crematorium came to her in 2019 when she was working in the Grooming Parlour where a lot of the animals were old and dying.

“Cremation was a relatively new process for the animals. People were coming and saying my dog died, he was sent to the vet and it took two to three weeks before they came back.

“Animal owners were emotionally finding this very hard. They felt they were going through the grieving process twice.

“Danny and I discussed it during Christmas 2019. I knew we could provide a better and quicker service. I felt we could provide more of a personal touch for pet owners.”

Having worked in the Grooming Parlour since 2007, this has given Ms Keller a good insight on how animals should be treated.

Over the coming weeks, she will be phasing out her work in the Grooming Parlour to concentrate on their new business.

As the population of Ennis continues to grow, she pointed out a lot of people are living in apartments or rented dwellings where they can’t bury their deceased pets in their gardens.

She is delighted the new business is open after a protracted planning battle.

“We never gave up on the idea, we knew it was the right thing to do. We are tucked away at the back of the Enterprise Centre on the Gort Road. The location is ideal and ticks all the boxes.

“It is private and discreet and our neighbours are here a lot of the time. Some of the units are used for storage so there isn’t a huge flow of people coming out here.”

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