John Gibson with some of the urns available at Corpus Christi Pet Memorial Center. The dog in the photo is “Bobo,” Gibson’s long-time beloved companion. Photo by Jane Kathleen Gregorio
Losing a pet can be just as painful as losing any other family member, which is why Dee Besteiro and John Gibson founded Corpus Christi Pet Memorial Center: to give pet owners a place to say farewell to their animal companions with dignity and compassion.
The concept for a pet memorial center was inspired when Besteiro, an active licensed funeral director of 36 years, had to euthanize his beloved silver schnauzer of 15-plus years.
“I had just moved to Corpus Christi in January 2015,” he said. “By then, my dog Guero was already 15½ years old, and when I tried to make pre-arrangement services for him, it blew my mind. In a city of 300,000-plus people, there were no pet cremation services in Corpus Christi, the nearest being 40 miles away in Rockport,"
Gibson and his wife, Helen, felt the same way when they had to put down their dogs.
“When my three pets each passed away, I had to send them out of town to New Braunfels for cremation and wait several weeks for the urns because there were no such facilities in Corpus Christi,” Gibson said.
Realizing that Corpus Christi lacked a proper pet cremation service, both men saw an opportunity for a new business and a way to help pet owners.
Besteiro had previously owned and operated funeral homes in Austin, including one for pets, and proposed his idea to Gibson, whom he had been friends with since the early 1980s.
Gibson agreed and came out of retirement to invest in the opportunity.Corpus Christi Pet Memorial Center officially opened its doors in 2016, offering all-inclusive funeral services, cremation, 24-hour pet pickup from home or vet clinics, grief counseling, personalized flower arrangements and more. The facility on the corner of Holly Road and Greenwood Drive also includes a stateroom for memorial services.
“Our funeral home is equipped just like one for humans; only ours are for your furry friends,” Gibson said.
"We have a vast selection of personalized urns,” Besteiro said. “Also available are biodegradable urns and caskets that dissolve in water or underground. Others, shaped like rocks with a nameplate, can be displayed in gardens or homes.”
Pet owners shouldn't have to wait several weeks to get their pets’ remains back nor travel a few hours out of town for faster service, Gibson told Corpus Christi Business News. With Corpus Christi Pet Memorial Center, customers can visit the company website to pre-plan or pre-arrange services online.
“When you're too emotional, you may not have the mentality to deal with decision making,” Gibson said. “That's where the pre-arrangement comes in handy. The client calls us, and everything is already in place.”
The memorial center works with a mobile veterinarian who can be on site with the family and even other pets when the time comes.
“It can be done right then and there while the family is gathered in the stateroom to say their goodbyes,” Gibson explained. “We even encourage the client to bring in all their other pets so they can say their goodbyes and understand what happened to their friend.”
For owners who might be out of town when a pet accidentally dies, the center offers 24-hour pet removal and storage until the owner returns.
“Aside from being the only pet funeral home in town, our prices are actually less expensive than bringing your pet to the vet to be euthanized," Besteiro said.
"You get more value because we provide all of our clients with a grief package, which explains the pet bereavement process, regardless of which service they choose,” Gibson added. “Our most popular service is the Remembrance Package, which includes removal of your pet, a fur clipping, a ceramic paw print of their pet in addition to a handcarved wooden urn with a personalized nameplate and no hourly limit on the use of the stateroom.”
For owners who choose not to have their pet's remains returned to them, Corpus Christi Pet Memorial Center will scatter the ashes by the water “so the pets can continue their run along the beach,” Gibson said.
The company's future plans include developing a cemetery for pets to give their clients other options for burial.
Gibson and Besteiro regret not having a pet memorial center like theirs nearby when their own dogs passed away.
“I don't want other pet owners to suffer like I did,” Gibson said. “Pets are more than just dogs, cats or any other animals. They are part of the family. They stayed by our side, brought comfort to us, so when their time comes, we want to honor their memory with love and respect. At least now, we have a place in Corpus Christi for pet owners to personalize their goodbyes.”
"Whether you lose a loved one that has two legs or four, it's still a traumatic loss," Besteiro said. "Pets have become such a part of our lives that, nowadays, you have doggie daycares, pet-friendly hotels and restaurants; whereas, those were unheard of 15 years ago. Our pet children are finally receiving the respect and recognition they have long deserved."
Corpus Christi Pet Memorial Center is located at 1534 Holly Road. For more information, call (361) 855-8060 or visit corpuspetcremations.com.
