2014 - Volume #38, Issue #4, Page #09
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Pet Crematory Takes Horses, Too
When James Scheffler, one of the owners of Midwest Cremation Service of Mn, Inc., (MCS) says they cremate pets, he means all pets - including horses. The Anoka, Minn., facility has a crematorium large enough to accommodate a draft horse. While burial is allowed in most areas (with regulations regarding depth and distance from water), Scheffler says his clients want something more.
“Some clients have had their horses for 30 years or more,” he says.
Instead of paying someone to haul the carcass away, they prefer a respectful end for their horse and a keepsake - a Minnesota-made oak box that contains their pet’s ashes.
For $1,600, Scheffler picks up the horse (within 50 miles), cremates it and returns with the ashes. For additional mileage, he has traveled as far as northern Minnesota and South Dakota to pick up horses.
He uses a tilt bed trailer with a winch to load and transport the horse, covering it with a tarp. After the horse is transferred to the crematorium using a forklift with special forks, it takes about 13 hours at 1,800º F for total cremation. The remaining ashes in the wooden urn average 50 lbs.
Ideally, Scheffler says he prefers to be called before a horse is euthanized, so he can be present and remove the horse immediately. But he picks up horses wherever they are throughout the year.
MCS also has a Wisconsin location.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Midwest Cremation Service of Mn, Inc., 20323 St. Francis Blvd., Anoka, Minn. 55303 (ph 763 753-5510; www.mcsofmn.com).
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