Cremation of pets as a business.

The loss of a pet can be devastating,no matter the cause of death. Pets are nowadays regarded as a member of the household,so their deaths are usually so emotion laden that most owners want the transition to be less traumatic.

 This is what this company is offering pet lovers.Traverse City native Kerri Collier was devastated when one of her pets died a few years ago and she was not impressed with the lack of choices she was given to dispose of the remains.

 Dustin Collier is a contractor. He built the structure that Great Lakes Pet Memorial occupies. The business opened in 2008. It was the first time Kerri Collier had run a business. There was a learning curve involved.

 Collier discovered that many local veterinarians used pet crematories in southern Michigan. She became a sales agent, visiting local veterinarian offices and touting the advantages of local service and reduced turnaround times.

 The business now deals with about 2,000 pets each year, mostly dogs and cats, but also iguanas, gerbils, ducks, birds, pigs, alpacas and llamas. One client wanted a beloved pony cremated, but the crematory at Great Lakes Pet Memorial can only handle animals that weigh a maximum of 450 pounds.

That animal had to be transported to a larger facility. Cremation services account for about two-thirds of the company's income. It charges between $85 and $250 to cremate a cat or dog, according to weight — which determines time needed in the crematory.

 A smaller portion of the operation's income comes from memorials including stones, urns, jewelry and other products that can contain portions of the pet's ashes.


The business employs four people in addition to Collier. Collier said her goal is to provide caring service to clients.

The facility includes a cold storage area with separate spaces for each pet It's dignified — each animal has their own space while waiting for cremation.

 Read more http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/20160410/traverse-city-company-helps-owners-deal-with-pet-death

E.B.O.L.A; overlooked causes of spread of virus from rural communities.

The recent E.B.O.L.A infection/deaths have sparked a lot of researches into how the virus spread silently and how it can be contained with surveillance and biosecurity measures. Controlling rural outbreaks is critical to eliminating Ebola,as research shows that 85 confirmed Ebola cases in the Kissidougou prefecture in Guinea were linked to a single funeral. The findings of this investigation highlight the importance of controlling local outbreaks in difficult-to-reach communities as a key component of the effort to eliminate Ebola, . In mid-December, rapid response teams were sent to villages in Kissidougou, where suspected Ebola cases had been reported. The teams of epidemiologists, clinicians and local public health officials interviewed patients and their household contacts and conducted testing. The teams admitted patients with suspected Ebola to a treatment center for confirmation testing, according to the researchers. In all, 62 patients, all from the Kissidougou prefecture, tested positive for Ebola and of these patients, 90% had Ebola-compatible symptoms, 51 patients died, 33 died in an Ebola treatment center and 18 deaths were community deaths. Patients who died in the community had not sought medical treatment; instead, family members reported the deaths to local health authorities, who considered them as suspected Ebola cases according to findings. The rapid response teams collected oral swabs from all the decedents within 24 hours of notification of death and all swabs tested positive.Household contact interviews revealed that all of the dead had attended the funeral of a well known midwife assistant, patient 1, in early December. Patient 1 traveled to a village in mid-November to perform a circumcision on an infant, who later died of an unknown cause, the researchers wrote. About 1 week after his return, patient 1 became ill with Ebola-like symptoms and he died on Dec. 4, without seeking medical attention. The funeral was attended by about 100 people from his own and other nearby villages. In Guinea, it is typical for funeral attendees to wash, touch and kiss the body of the deceased, according to the study and several funeral attendees probably had direct contact with the body and body fluids. The study shows that improved training for prompt reporting of cases, investigation and contact tracing and community acceptance of safe burial methods can reduce the risk for Ebola transmission in rural communities. Research