Free Pet Cremation Services Offered to Greenfield Pet Owners

DES MOINES, Iowa — Hamilton Funeral Home in Des Moines is offering free pet cremation services to Greenfield pet owners who lost their pets in the deadly EF-4 tornado that swept through the city ago three weeks.

The funeral home said it wants to offer its services free of charge because employees understand how difficult this time is.

“We obviously saw the devastating news,” said Sanita Simms, director of Hamilton Pet Services. “It was a shock to us. We have an employee here from Greenfield, so that first shock to her family that’s still here, we just wanted a way to support her.”

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So Simms and Hamilton’s Pet Services, who have been doing pet cremations since 2018, wanted to help their colleagues and Greenfield residents who might need that extra support with counseling and grieving.

“(Some residents) lost everything. So the only way we can help our community is by offering them our services for free,” Simms told Local 5 News.

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Hamilton’s says its pet cremation services are completely private, meaning the funeral home cremates one pet at a time, instead of several at a time. However, Simms mentioned that sometimes people prefer community cremation over anything else.

“The biggest thing I think I’ve seen in people is just guilt,” she said. “Like ‘what could I have done to help them?'”

Simms knows saying goodbye is never easy, but she said she wants to help families get through this difficult process with dignity and respect.