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Peaceful Pets Aquamation

Peaceful Pets Aquamation is a Southern California-based company that provides alkaline hydrolysis services to pet owners as an environmentally friendly alternative to pet cremation. The company has performed the process on companion animals ranging from domestic cats and dogs to sheep and exotic tigers.

Established in 2013 and based in Newbury Park, California Peaceful Pets Aquamation was founded by the husband and wife team of Jerry Shevick (a former television executive and 20-year Hearst Entertainment Productions veteran) and Susan Booker (formerly the owner of an entertainment casting company).

According to the EPA, animal cremation can cause the following pollutants to be released into the air: arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, formaldehyde, mercury and nickel. Crematories often have what are called secondary burners that burn off the toxic particles that they've created by the initial burning. The incinerators used in cremation burn a great deal of fossil fuel to maintain their temperatures. This spews large amounts of carbon monoxide into the air. There are no toxic emissions with alkaline hydrolysis and the process requires one-twentieth the amount of energy of cremation.

Using a combination of flowing water, heat and alkalinity, alkaline hydrolysis or “aquamation” replicates and accelerates the natural way in which a body decomposes if buried or left out in the elements. At the end of this process, the animal’s remains have been broken down into its organic elements and dissolved into the water. The only solid remains are the animal’s bones, which Peaceful Pets Aquamation returns to pet owners as ashes in a decorative container.

Peaceful Pets Aquamation has established partnerships with veterinarians and animal hospitals across Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties to make its services available to pet owners across the region.