Fou Fou, a pampered pomeranian, had a taste for the finer things in life and was adored by his owner Varunthip Manthin. When Fou Fou was tragically hit by a motorbike and passed away, Manthin was heartbroken. She was determined to give him a funeral that was fitting for a child. On a Saturday morning, Fou Fou’s body was brought to a small chapel in Bangkok’s Wat Krathum Suea Pla temple, placed in a fuchsia pink coffin surrounded by plastic flowers, and given a monk’s blessing, before being sent into eternity.
Traditionally, this temple only provided funeral rites for humans, but now they also offer services for beloved pets. According to Buddhist beliefs, animals such as dogs, cats, elephants, and horses have the potential to be reincarnated as humans. By giving them full funeral rites, including prayers for forgiveness, blessings from monks, gold fillings in their coffins, and “tickets to the next life,” owners hope to increase their pets’ chances of returning to this world in a higher form.
Amidst tears, Varunthip Manthin expressed how complete she felt now that she was able to give her dog, Fou Fou, a funeral ceremony just like she would for any of her children. She scattered petals over his body, nestled in an open pink casket, and believed that he would be reborn as one of her children in the next life because he was different from other dogs and understood her better than anyone. The emotional ceremony included Manthin and her daughter wearing black and weeping as the monk performed the last Buddhist rites and placed a sandalwood flower on the body. Fou Fou was then taken for cremation, but Manthin lamented that their family cat, Fou Fou’s best friend, could not be there to say goodbye.
Phatcharakorn Likanrapichitkun bids a final farewell to Fou Fou before the latter’s cremation. Theerawat Saehan, who runs pet funerals in Bangkok, reports that his business is booming. His temple conducts up to 300 funerals per month, costing 3,000 Thai baht (£70) for animals under 20 kg (44 lbs) and 4,000 baht for heavier ones. Although most of the funerals are for dogs, cats, rabbits, reptiles, goldfish, catfish, monkeys, iguanas, roosters, pigs, and even a small horse have also received such services.
The idea for these services came to Saehan after he attended the funeral of one of his dog grooming clients. He was saddened by the burning and destruction of the beloved pet’s body. Therefore, he approached the Wat Krathum Suea Pla temple about providing proper Buddhist ceremonies for pets’ funerals, which the monks agreed to. Soon, many people contacted him for arranging similar funerals for their pets. The ceremony aims to help with the pets’ reincarnation to give them what they need in the next life.
Apart from funerals, the temple also offers monthly boat trips for scattering the ashes of pets. Over 120 families participate each month, casting their pets’ remains over the Chao Phraya River as a part of the ceremony.
At the final stages of a pet funeral ceremony, family members pour water from one container to another to dedicate merit for the deceased pet and reduce bad karma. While some prefer a simple ceremony involving just one monk and lasting half an hour, others opt for more extravagant arrangements. For instance, a wealthy Thai businessman hired Saehan to arrange a grand funeral for his golden retriever, which involved 60 monks and 80 guests, a custom-made coffin, and a costly motorcade funeral procession, amounting to a total of 400,000 baht (£9,300). However, Saehan was most touched by the funeral of Daam, a street dog from a Bangkok vegetable market. The payment for the ceremony, consisting of numerous small coins and bills, was donated by dozens of market stallholders who loved the dog. On a busy Saturday, numerous heartbroken pet owners come to the temple with their deceased pets wrapped in towels or boxes, keeping the overseeing individuals occupied.
Ninja, a mixed breed dog, was too large to fit in a coffin and was instead laid to rest under his favorite Mickey Mouse towel. Sadly, he was diagnosed with cancer last year, causing his owner, Pimpha Darakon Na Ayuttha, to feel relieved that he is no longer in pain. During his cremation, Pimpha pleaded for Ninja to come back to her in his next life. Klom Klom, Apicha Taninchotikorm’s 20-year-old pomeranian, had also passed away that morning. Even though Klom Klom had difficulty eating towards the end, his death was still devastating to Apicha. She believes that Klom Klom will become a human in his next life and didn’t want to bury him. The ceremony was important to both owners as they felt it was a necessary farewell to a beloved family member. Saying goodbye to their pets gave them a sense of closure and the feeling that they had sent them away to heaven.
