SINGAPORE \u2013 When 13-year-old pomeranian Princess died in March, her family did not want her final farewell to feel like a simple cremation appointment.<\/p>\n
For more than a decade, the dog had been part of their daily lives. Wanting to honour their source of joy one last time, they worked with local pet aftercare company Everpet to turn a memorial hall at its Kaki Bukit facility into a garden filled with bespoke floral arrangements.<\/p>\n
According to Princess\u2019 owner, a dental assistant in her 30s who declined to be named, the pooch lived like royalty at home and thus deserved a meaningful farewell.<\/p>\n
Family and friends gathered for the funeral, which included photography and catering.<\/p>\n
Loved ones took turns to share stories and fond memories of Princess. Some reminisced about daily walks and the parks she loved. Others laughed about her enthusiasm for food and how she would patiently station herself beside the dining table in the hope of receiving a morsel.<\/p>\n
What began as a sombre gathering gradually became something else.<\/p>\n
Princess\u2019 family had initially wondered if a farewell ceremony would make the grief even harder to bear. Instead, they found that having dedicated time and space to say goodbye brought an unexpected sense of peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe members found comfort in being surrounded by loved ones who understood the significance of their loss,\u201d says Everpet co-founder Rachael Tay, who started the company in 2025 as an extension of funeral services provider Casket Fairprice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt became less about saying goodbye and more about remembering a life that had touched everyone differently.\u201d<\/p>\n Everpet’s in-house florists transformed a memorial hall into a garden-inspired setting filled with bespoke floral arrangements for the funeral service of Princess, a 13-year-old pomeranian.<\/p>\n PHOTO: EVERPET<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n World Pet Memorial Day falls on June 9, and stories like Princess\u2019 reflect a growing trend among Singapore pet owners seeking meaningful ways to remember their fur kids.<\/p>\n The trend comes as pet ownership continues to grow in Singapore.<\/p>\n Cats and dogs are becoming increasingly integrated into family life, with many owners celebrating birthdays, planning holidays around their pets and treating them as companions through major milestones.<\/p>\n As those bonds deepen, attitudes towards pet loss are changing too.<\/p>\n Once focused largely on cremation arrangements, Singapore\u2019s pet aftercare industry is evolving to include private farewell ceremonies, memorial keepsakes and grief support services.<\/p>\n \u201cPets are increasingly seen as family members and the expectations around their end-of-life care have changed as well,\u201d says Tay, 26.<\/p>\n At Everpet, more than 90 per cent of families choose some form of farewell ceremony, remembrance keepsake or memorial jewellery in addition to cremation. Prices for a pet funeral package start at $988.<\/p>\n For many owners, the desire for a more meaningful goodbye reflects the important role pets play in their lives.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not just mourning a pet,\u201d says Tay, whose family has two cats \u2013 an eight-year-old ragdoll and a two-year-old British shorthair.<\/p>\n Farewell rituals can help families process that grief, she adds.<\/p>\n Throughout Princess\u2019 ceremony, family members gently brushed her fur, adjusted her decorative ribbons and spoke softly to her, much as they had done at home.<\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>