Many pet owners view their animal companions as members of the family and grieve their loss as much as they would the loss of a relative. A growing number of businesses now offer funeral and bereavement services for pets and their owners.

These pet funeral homes offer the same kinds of services regular funeral homes offer the families of deceased people, plus some services that cater to the differing needs and requirements of animals.

For instance, terminally ill animals are routinely euthanized in order to end their suffering. The process is quick and painless, but pet owners still agonize over the decision. Pet funeral homes can provide both home euthanasia and counseling for the bereaved.

Some of these businesses have been established by animal care professionals who realized there was an unmet need based on their own experience. That describes Tammy Wynn, a veterinary technician, licensed social worker hospice care specialist and animal lover in suburban Cincinnati. When her cat passed away in 2002, she discovered that there was no one she could turn to for support and assistance the way she could get help if a relative died.

That led her to establish Angel's Paws, a pet funeral home in Blue Ash, Ohio, in 2010. In addition to home euthanasia, pet hospice services, private cremation, funeral and memorial services for pets and their owners, the company also sponsors pet loss support groups and offers a children's bereavement center.

“I thought, I can provide pets and their owners with the same end-of-life care and counseling that our human loved ones and their families rceeive,” Wynn said in a recent blog post on Cincinnati.com.

While most pet funeral parlors do not yet offer such a comprehensive range of services, they do strive to assist grieving pet owners of all ages in their hour of need. Many cities now have at least one such facility; a quick Google search on "pet funerals" produced 750,000 results.