Ploysai Passornsiri, 31, Founder of Pet Master
How did you end up in this business?
It’s all started with the family business: selling incinerators. When I was studying architecture at Silpakorn University, I was inspired to design eco-friendly incinerators for dead bodies for my school thesis. My dog died soon after my graduation, so I adapted my incinerator know-how to cremate my dog at Wat That Thong. After the cremation, I planned to donate the pet incinerator to the temple, but the monks and temple staff hesitated because they had more human remains to deal with. I foresaw the opportunity so I decided to start a pet funeral business myself. I rented a space in the temple to operate my specially designed incinerators. It’s been six years.
Walk us through the services you offer.
After receiving your call, we can arrange a car to pick up the body or you can also bring it to the temple yourself. Our undertaker will prepare the flowers, incense, candles and pet coffin according to your order. We usually start cremating bodies at around 8am. (Walk-ins are not recommended.) After the cremation, our staff will gather the bones and wrap them up in a piece of white cloth to give to you. We also provide a boat service to scatter ashes into the river.
What do we do if our dog dies in the middle of the night?
Our call center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Once you call to book the service, we will explain to you the standard operating procedure. For example, there’s a possibility that fleas will surface from its skin, so you may want to leave the body outside the house, away from your children.
How much do your services cost?
Prices start from B1,500 for pets of one kilogram or less. The price depends on the size because the larger they are, the longer it takes to cremate. But if the bodies are of stray dogs sent from charity organizations, we do it for free.
How does the service differ from a human cremation?
Pet cremation takes less time. A temple can cremate around three human bodies a day; we can complete up to 30 pet cases in a day.
What’s the most unusual request you’ve ever received?
There was a client who wanted her dead dog stuffed. But we don’t do taxidermy, which requires soaking the body in a solution and removing the organs. She went to have it done elsewhere. A few months later, she returned to us with her stuffed pet and asked us to cremate it. She said, when looking at it, that she didn’t feel like it was her dog anymore.