WE CAN HELP YOU
LOSS OF YOUR BELOVED PET
If you find yourself facing the heartbreak of losing your beloved family pet, understanding your options for final care can provide some much needed comfort.
We understand that transporting a pet after life can be difficult for many people. We offer home pickup, certificate of private cremation, a paw print in soft clay and the return of your pet's ashes in a beautiful urn.
Many pet owners today are choosing pet cremation as a respectful final care solution. You may choose to keep your companion near you or honor a favorite place you and your pet enjoyed. Pet cremation has become the most popular alternative for pet owners seeking respectful options in final care.
Pet cremation is a compassionate, dignified and respectful way to honor a member of your family.
We believe that every pet deserves to be handled with dignity, care and respect.
David Haarsager,
Testimonials
Article in the Everett Herald
December 22, 2019
David Haarsager started Heartfelt Memories 10 years ago in Everett.
His mission: Care and compassion when a beloved pet dies
This Everett business arranges pet cremations, at-home euthanasia and helps families through their grief.
by Sara Bruestle
Sunday, December 22, 2019 1:30amLifeEverett
Many of us love our dogs and cats like they’re our kids. So when they die, the grief hits hard.
David Haarsager’s mission is to help you through that. “It’s the nicest thing I do,” he said.
He is the owner of Heartfelt Memories, an Everett-based business that offers an array of pet cremation services. Since forming the business 10 years ago this month, he’s helped tend to an estimated 4,000 pets.
He does his work with the decorum of a funeral director.
“We’re very, very respectful,” Haarsager said. “We treat the pets as if they were our relative.”
Haarsager or his assistant pick up deceased pets for cremation at a facility in Sultan, and then present the animal’s owners with an urn containing their ashes, a certificate guaranteeing the cremains are those of the pet, and a clay impression of the dog or cat’s paw.
It’s meant to be a service for those who can’t or don’t want to transport their pet to a crematorium after they die.
“I was the only one doing home pick-up for pets that have passed away,” he said of Snohomish County 10 years ago. “I’m still the only one.”
David Haarsager takes a heart-shaped clay paw print impression of Sprite, a 12-year-old dog that passed away in Lynnwood. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Haarsager also can arrange for a veterinarian to provide at-home pet euthanasia. He partners with eight vets for this service.
He mostly helps with the cremation of dogs and cats, but he will pick up any animal — birds, rabbits, ferrets, gerbils, hamsters. The largest pet he’s ever picked up for cremation was a 250-pound pig. The smallest? A beta fish.
Kurt and Nichole Menzer, of Marysville, have said goodbye to three dogs with Haarsager’s help: Daisy, Duke and Dolly.
Dolly, a golden retriever-German shepherd mix, was the first dog they’d ever had to put down, so it was by far the hardest. She was only 4 years old when she was diagnosed with a softball-sized tumor in her uterus. There was no guarantee it wouldn’t grow back after surgery.
Duke, a Jack Russell terrier, and Dolly, a golden retriever-German shepherd, both are now gone. Duke was 13 and Dolly was 4. (Kurt Menzer)
Hiring Heartfelt Memories’ services for Dolly in 2015 was essential to the Menzers because Nichole’s mother had just passed away. Having Haarsager arrange everything took a lot of stress off her. They said goodbye to Dolly in the comfort of their living room. Duke, a 13-year-old Jack Russell terrier, and Daisy, a 15-year-old wire-haired Jack Russell, also were euthanized at home, in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
They still have three dogs — Dixie, Chase and Zola — and a cat named Dehlila. The couple said they’ll call Heartfelt Memories when each of those pets reach their end of life.
They said they appreciate Haarsager’s gentle voice and soothing, compassionate manner.
“I’ll never go to another service if I had to put another dog down,” Kurt Menzer said. “In a time of grief like that, it’s nice to have someone come along and take care of it for you. I’m extremely thankful because our pets are like our kids.”
Michael and Sarah Niemer, of Lake Stevens, recently lost Lammy, an English pointer with a severe autoimmune disease. He was only 6 when he had to be put down this November.
“My husband and I were an emotional wreck,” Sarah Niemer said. “They were incredibly professional and compassionate — everything I could have hoped and wished for during this difficult time.”
Haarsager made their children, Annelise, 9, and Boden, 8, clay paw prints to keep. The kids plan to decorate them.
Sarah said she still expects to hear Lammy’s bark when she pulls into the driveway or see him greeting the kids as they get off the school bus. He’d watch for them from his perch on their play set in the back yard.
“He was a really good dog, and he deserved a good death,” she said. “(They) provided that for him.”
Coco the chocolate lab passed away in October. She was 9. (Tim Connor)
It was a Sunday in October when Tim and Nanette Connor, of Woodinville, said goodbye to Coco, their chocolate Lab. She was 9. Coco had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer that caused her great pain. When she no longer greeted Tim as he got home because she was avoiding the stairs, he knew it was time.
“You have to do it when it’s the right time for them, not the right time for you, because that time will never come for you,” he said.
They didn’t want to wait after making the decision, so they had Haarsager and a vet drive out that same day.
Coco’s urn and clay paw print now sit on a shelf next to the urns of Tim Connor’s mother and father.
“Coco was more than just a dog, she was part of the family.”
Haarsager, 65, has had pets all his life. He’s loved and lost a number of dogs and cats — even a salamander named Sir Isaac the Newt.
He keeps the ashes of a beloved cat in an urn. She was named Taz, after the Looney Tunes’ Tasmanian Devil, and she had long black-and-white fur. He made his own clay paw print memento.
“Our kitty was very affectionate,” Haarsager said. “She gave us a lot of love.”
About 10 years ago, he and his wife, Elizabeth, had Taz euthanized at a vet clinic. She was 16 and her liver was shutting down. Even with both of them there, Taz was so scared that she bit and scratched Elizabeth. His wife had to get a tetanus shot.
“It wasn’t a very good memory,” he said.
Not long after they said goodbye to Taz, David Haarsager was chatting with a veterinarian about pet cremation services — and how they wished they had done home euthanasia — and realized he could start his own business.
Haarsager launched Heartfelt Memories in 2009. He built a website and got his first call that December.
He works out of his home and is available seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. But Haarsager said he will help whenever he is needed. Call him at 206-571-4439.
The Heartfelt Memories website has a list of transportation, pet hospice, veterinary and grief resources. Go to www.heartfeltmemories.pet for more information.
You also can download a free e-book, “Is It Time to Say Goodbye? A Guide for Considering a Difficult Decision for Your Pet,” by Timothy J. O’Brien. Haarsager recommends the book to his clients because O’Brien is an expert on grief management.
O’Brien guides readers through making end-of-life decisions for their pets. His book also goes over the three types of grief, what to expect before and after the procedure, how to deal with feelings of loss and when is the right time to get a new pet.
“Pet loss is sometimes worse than losing a mother or father,” Haarsager said, adding that he still has a 9-year-old black cat named Cosmo. “Sometimes our pets are our closest relationships.”
Haarsager also is dealing with his own grief. He lost his wife last year to esophageal cancer. She was 51.
He said running his business is good therapy for him.
“Helping other people with their grief is helping me with my grief,” he said. “It’s been a wonderful, wonderful outlet.”
Sara Bruestle: sbruestle@heraldnet.com.
Gallery
Daisy, a wire-haired Jack Russell terrier, died in October. She was 15 years old. (Kurt Menzer)
David Haarsager started Heartfelt Memories 10 years ago in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
David Haarsager takes a heart-shaped clay paw print impression of Sprite, a 12-year-old dog that passed away in Lynnwood.
David Haarsager (left) hands Sprite’s paw impression to her owner, Wesley Clement. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coco the chocolate lab passed away in October. She was 9. (Tim Connor)
Dolly the golden retriever-German shepherd mix died in 2015. She was 4 years old. (Kurt Menzer)
Lammy, an English pointer with a severe autoimmune disease, passed away this November. He was 6. (Sarah Niemer)
Duke, a Jack Russell terrier, and Dolly, a golden retriever-German shepherd, both are now gone. Duke was 13 and Dolly was 4. (Kurt Menzer)
Daisy, a wire-haired Jack Russell terrier, died in October. She was 15 years old. (Kurt Menzer)
Dear David,
Warm Regards,
Hi David
I just wanted to thank you again so much for your help in my time of need.
My 16 year old cat, Little Girl, was in the last stages of dying and I really wanted to let her pass at home in familiar surroundings.
I had all but given up finding someone to come out to my home that I could actually afford. By the grace of God I found your website and called you when I saw that one of the services you offered was for at-home euthanasia. Fortunately for me, Dr. Victoria was available and you sent her out to my home.
I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect person to come and help in my and Little Girl’s time of need. Dr. Peterson came to my home and was here within an hour. She was kind, caring and compassionate. She didn’t rush the process – even though she had somewhere else to be in a couple of hours, she sat on the floor with me and Little Girl and allowed us the time we needed to go through her final moments on this earth. She helped me handle Little Girl’s passing with dignity and respect.
I really feel that the Universe (or God) brought you and Dr. Peterson in my life that day, and I’ve told everybody who asked about Little Girl’s passing about your kindness, help and compassion and about Dr. Peterson’s kindness and gentleness. Being able to let my Little Girl die in peace at her own home meant so much. It is truly the first time I have been able to assist in a pet’s passing without feeling tremendous guilt. I just felt her and I were surrounded by love and compassion. I can’t thank you enough.
I really appreciate the services you offer. I have told everybody who will listen and passed on yours and Dr. Peterson’s information (website link) to several people already. It’s nice to know that people like you are out there to help during their time of need. You are truly a god-send.
Best regards and thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart,
Robin
Little Girl’s “mom”
Seattle, WA
David,
I can't express enough how much your company's services mean to us in helping us say 'good-bye' to Jay (Jay Bird). She came into our lives after my Dad passed away, and now they are reunited.
Your ability to empathize with us when you picked up the body allowed me to know that it was okay to grieve at our loss. You handled all the explanations in a professional manner but with compassion. The blog/obituary for Jay was both emotional and comforting to see. You arranged the pictures beautifully. Every picture holds a story.
When you returned Jay's ashes and the heart-shaped memorial impression, it was very emotional. I had wished that I had asked you to include impressions of Jay's feet. As I opened up the plastic that held the clay, I saw the foot imprints framing the impression of her head. The box with Jay's ashes is in a prominent place in our home now, along with the cremation certificate. The feathers that you saved for us are going to be cast in resin with 12 feathers that I found.
I'm sorry that I couldn't thank you properly when you returned Jay's ashes. I will recommend you to anyone that I know who has a furry/feathery member of the family that passes on.
Robert
P.S. Today my Dad would have been 91.
Dave,
Just wanted you to know that we really appreciated your services today and will recommend you highly to all our friend who may need your services. You and Dr Peterson were so nice and made the event so much earier. Thank you so much.
Beckie (Lucky's mom)
Posted @ Monday 12:49 AM by Shawn
David, I want you to know how much I appreciate your service. You and Victoria made the experience as comfortable as it could possibly be. Thank you for your compassion, sympathy, understanding and care. You are a special person. Please don't stop what you do. Thank you, Shawn
Thank you for your kind words David. You and your company really do provide an invaluable service. Ozzborn was my pride and joy baby boy. His life was great and I hope I did enough for him. He was totally obsessed with playing ball/fetch and had more focus on such subject than any other dog or human could possibly imagine. I will miss him dearly. Thank you. I love you Ozzborn!!!
John
Thank you David for providing this service. I had a bad experience going through a previous vet for our 14 year cat that passed away. And you were very thoughtful and understanding in all my distress over Cleo's untimely accident. I planted sunflowers today in her favorite garden patch and she will be dearly missed even though she was with us for such a short time.
Michael
Marley will always be in our hearts, we loved him so dearly! He brought the sunshine to our days. We want to thank you David for being so compassionate in our time of grieving. We wouldn't have wanted anyone else to handle him.
Thank you!
Kim
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