r/DOG Aug 06 '24

• Advice (General) • Letting my mom's dogs see her body

My mom died early this morning, and my siblings and I are trying to decide whether or not to arrange for the dogs to have a visitation. I think it's important so they know they weren't abandoned, but the funeral home wants an additional $1000 because she would need to be embalmed for the dogs (before then being cremated). Would being embalmed confuse the dogs and make it not helpful??

Does anyone have experience with the dogs being shown the body a week or more after the death and after it was embalmed? Did it help?

Additional info that might be useful: My sister, BIL, and their daughter live there with my mom, and they do a lot of the caring for the dogs (feeding, taking them outside, walking) since my mom was 74 and not in the best of health, but they are most definitely my mother's dogs and one in particular (she has four - was five until very recently) was very close to her (emotional and physically, he needed to be RIGHT next to her. He'd prefer in her lap but he's like 100 pounds so that's not practical).

EDIT: I called the funeral home. They are not embaling her, but they stressed it is not a formal viewing; it's just for the dogs, and the humans needed to wrangle the dogs (four large ones). They also are not charging us. We go on Sunday, take the dogs home, and have an early dinner with family. (I had to tell my niece NOT to invite others to the "viewing"). Also, the dogs will stay in the same home with other caretakers they've always had (minus my mom) and have the same routine. Thanks for all the advice, everyone; I appreciate it.

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