The death of their beloved pet Teddy, a pit bull boxer mix, led Iggy Gozman and Dr. Jess Van Loon to launch Full Circle Water Cremation & Pet Memorials. The aquamation facility, located at 15 Appian Way in Smithfield, opened its doors last Valentine’s Day.
“We didn’t have a good experience when Teddy passed,” Gozman recalls. Indeed, the couple felt like they were on an assembly line at an afterlife care facility. “So we wanted to make saying goodbye to a pet, who is really a member of your family, into something special.”
And they aimed for a method that would be much more gentle to the deceased pet than the 2,000-degree Fahrenheit fire of a traditional crematorium. Also, fire cremation has the ecological effect of driving an automobile 500 miles, the soft-spoken co-founder points out.
In stark contrast stands a stainless steel machine made specifically for the aquamation process. In the big tank, which is located on a lower floor beneath a mural of Teddy painted by a local veterinary technician, a propeller circulates a combination of 95 percent water and 5 percent salt.
“Water cremation does what Mother Nature does in the soil, only without the soil, using alkaline to break down the tissue of the pet,” Gozman explains. The process takes 20 to 24 hours, depending on the size of the animal.
“Our water cremation process is very eco-friendly,” Gozman emphasizes. “There is no burning of fossil fuels, so there are zero emissions in our process. And it consumes 90 percent less energy than fire cremation.”
There’s an added plus, he continues. “Because of this, our clients get 20 percent more remains of their pet. Nothing is lost up the chimney or to soot, as we have no chimney.”
Aquation was devised by a farmer in the late 1800s. He didn’t want to waste the nutrients of his dead livestock. So, using water and salt, he replicated the alkylation that occurs in the soil if the animal had been buried. He fertilized his crops with the nutrient-rich water.
Gozman and Van Loon got advice and help from the folks at Petrichor Aquamation in Woburn, MA, which had opened two years earlier, also on Valentine’s Day.
Within a month of getting their business going, the couple lost their pet Gypsy, an Aussie cattle dog mix. This time, however, they were able to give their pet the compassionate and special farewell that Teddy had not gotten.
The death of a pet is in many ways like losing a family member. Indeed, it’s considered one of the hardest things for a pet owner to get through, and is certainly a stressful experience, according to the co-founder. So when clients come into the facility, they’re sad.
“When they leave,” Gozman says, “they feel a bit better, and that means a lot to me and Jess.” For the past decade, Van Loon has served as a veterinarian in the emergency room of an animal hospital. She’s spent a lot of time with owners whose pets could not be saved.
That was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of Full Circle Water Cremation.
There is a gentleness to Gozman’s comportment as he conducts a tour of the facility. First is the reception room, where the client will sit while he takes the pet into the Goodbye Room for preparation.
Here, the owner has the opportunity to write a note to their pet. This note will follow the pet through aquamation, emerging as a soggy blank piece of paper. The ink vanishes as the animal’s tissue breaks down during aquamation.
Also going with the pet through the entire process is a heart-shaped tag that is numbered and has the pet’s name on it. This assures the client that the remains, or cremains as they are sometimes called, are actually of their pet, and no other animal.
Full Circle offers transportation of a deceased pet from the home, or a veterinary clinic. And, by appointment, an owner can bring their pet to the facility.
The Goodbye Room is an intimate setting with indoor water fountains adding to the tranquil ambience as the owner bids farewell to their pet. They can take as long as they like. They’re not rushed.
Along with an urn, Full Circle offers a number of keepsakes for the owner to choose from, such as paw prints, jewelry, art, engraving, a nose print, or a ceramic figure of the pet.
From a gallery, the owner can watch Gozman place the pet in the aquamation machine for a final farewell. Gozman tells the clients they can return in two weeks to pick up the cremains, along with any of the keepsakes they’ve chosen. That’s because the bones have to be dried out before they’re placed in the urn.
The owner also has the option of saving some fur or whiskers of the pet, which are put in a small glass corked bottle.
After the water cremation is completed, the sterile water that remains is safe to the touch and, equally important, rich in nutrients. It can be used as a fertilizer.
“If your dog had a favorite tree in the yard, say, you could pour the water at the base of the tree, and your pet’s nutrients will feed the tree. That’s one way of keeping the memory alive of your pet,” Gozman explains.
Full Circle also offers houseplants, garden plants, and terrariums that are fertilized with the water.
“So, in a way, the pet lives on in the plants, along with your memories,” he concludes.