A fond farewell for faithful friends
<p>All Pets Cremation Services laser etches photos and text to provide customers with personalized memorials for their pets.</p>
<p>John Gribbin, owner of All Pets Cremation Services, prepares a customers photo for laser etching onto a tile for an urn Friday at his Post Falls business.</p>
POST FALLS - Little did John Gribbon know that the death of Jager, the family's adored yellow lab, would turn into a business.
When the pet of 12 years had to be euthanized after he became deathly ill with cancer, Gribbon's desire to have a dignified farewell turned into a horrible experience.
"When we had him cremated, his remains came back in a cardboard box covered with pink flowered material and he was a big macho dog," Gribbon said. "And his name was spelled wrong."
It wasn't what Gribbon had in mind for the dog that had saved a person's life who had nearly drowned at a beach and was a trained hunting companion.
The situation gave Gribbon the idea to change careers from an industrial account manager at Snap On Tools to start All Pets Cremation Services in Spokane Valley six years ago. Gribbon and his wife Gayle, who live in Post Falls, recently relocated their business to 4195 E. Third Ave. in Post Falls because they needed more space and wanted to work in their hometown.
"I thought it made more sense, especially when having to meet customers in need at odd hours of the night," John said.
In addition to cremation services, customers have the option of purchasing a wood urn that Gribbon custom engraves. The urns, Gribbon said, sets his firm apart from other pet cremation firms in the Northwest. With the urns, Gribbon is able to utilize his background with running photo labs.
"It's really limitless as to what you can put on the urns," he said. "They make it really unique for the owner. Some things you see and say, 'I don't get it,' but the family gets it and that's what's important."
Gribbon performs cremation services for all types of animals, including horses, cats, birds and lizards.
"We've even done goldfish, if you can believe it," he said.
Gribbon said his business has grown by about 30 percent each year.
"We have a great relationship with some of the vet clinics and a lot of our business comes from repeat customers or through word of mouth," he said.
Costs vary depending on the pet's weight. For instance, cremation for a cat in which its remains aren't returned is $40 and dogs are in the $55 range. A full service that includes an urn and engraving can vary from $115 for a cat to $240 for a dog.
White plastic scatter burial urns are less expensive than wood urns.
For more information, call 704-1426 or visit www.allpetscremationservice.com.
For Gribbon, the business is a labor of love.
"It's a part of the healing process," he said. "I feel good about it every day."