Condolences – and a fat profit margin – on the loss of your pet

Hafner has three stray kittens she is caring for now, but Fluff, she said, "is my pet soulmate."

So when he died, because Hafner had no place of permanency, like a backyard, where she could bury Fluff, she was determined to do right by him. She chose a pet memorial park about a three-hour drive away, spending close to $300 to have him cremated.

Some time ago, Hafner's pet cremation might have been seen as a curiosity. Today a pet cremation is considered mainstream. There are some fringe elements in the pet loss industry — for instance, you can have your pet stuffed with cotton and freeze-dried for around $500 to $700. Is it possible that some businesses exploit a pet owner's grief? Quite likely. Hafner thought it was a bit much that the memorial park charged her an extra $100 to view the cremation.

Now, not only are there funeral homes, crematories and cemeteries for pets across the country — some numbers suggest as many as 700 nationwide — there are pet loss support lines for grieving owners. For instance, Procter & Gamble, which manufactures numerous brand names including Iams dog food, has a phone line open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday (888-332-7738), and several animal-rescue nonprofits and colleges of veterinary medicine maintain phone lines as well. (Ohio State University has a helpful web page with hotlines, here.) Many pet food television commercials and pet stores routinely refer to dog and cat owners as "pet parents."

It may seem like too much or even silly to those who don't have pets, and even to some pet lovers. But Dr. Jeff Werber, a veterinarian who has a private clinic in Los Angeles, Century City Veterinary Group, isn't surprised that pet loss has turned into a money maker. There is definitely a need, said Werber, who has become known for taking care of the pets of some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Britney Spears, Julia Roberts, Eddie Murphy, Mandy Moore, Ben Affleck and Mark Wahlberg.

He said it's natural that the funeral industry would gravitate toward pets. "Funeral homes across the nation are trying to build relationships with families," said Strohofer, adding: "You know, that's the unique aspect of funeral care. There's no legal way to generate demand in this industry."

But there probably will be no shortage of demand for pet funerals. Werber says he hears a lot of people vow to never go through the loss of a pet again, and in almost every case, the same person will get another pet.

"When you've experienced the love and bond of a pet, there's no way your heart will allow you to live without one," Werber said.

Which is good for the pet business. "There's a whole sort of industry that's emerged for pet loss, that goes beyond the urn," said Strohofer. "There are a lot of memorial-type products that have gotten their start with humans. People are creating personalized blankets and memorialized quilts and photo books — anything that you've seen at a funeral for a human, you're starting to see similar versions for pets.

"What I hear from customers," said Strohofer, "is that they're somewhat amazed at how much money some customers will spend on their pets. A lot of funeral directors joke that they have families who would spend more on their pets than their own mother."