The death of a beloved dog led Lauren and Chris Calvey to establish a place where pet owners can give their furry friends a proper sendoff.
The Calveys founded Aspen Meadows Pet Aquamation & Memorial Services in September — one of three such providers throughout the state — in memory of their German shepherd, Aspen, said Lauren Calvey, CEO and supervisor for Aspen Meadows.
“I truly believe people should have the same options for their pets as they do for humans,” Calvey said. “Many people don’t have kids and don’t have loved ones. These animals live in our houses. It’s something that I have a lot of faith in and pride behind. It kind of goes with our branding with Jennings-Calvey that just wanted to be a one-stop shop for people. We wanted people to be able to be comfortable with the brand and say we can go to Jennings-Calvey and we can take care of our loved ones, whether they’re people or pets.”
When the Calveys faced a difficult decision following the sudden death of Aspen in June, they decided to take him back home from the Plains Animal Hospital and place him into refrigeration at the funeral home while they considered the next steps.
“We couldn’t imagine leaving him behind without honoring the love he had given so freely,” Lauren Calvey said. “Aspen wasn’t just a pet; he was my therapy dog, our best friend, our steady companion, a member of our funeral home family, and a source of comfort to countless grieving hearts. He was our first dog as a couple … he was kind of like our first kid.”
The Calveys opted to bury Aspen after holding a small viewing at Jennings-Calvey Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Clarks Summit so the staff, and their other dog and toddler, could say goodbye.
Lauren Calvey recognized the luxury of being able to temporarily preserve their pet, an option many others don’t have, which led her to launch Aspen Meadows.
COO Chris Calvey and his wife Lauren, CEO and supervisor for Aspen Meadows Pet Aquamation and Memorial Services discuss the aquamation machine in Jennings-Calvey Funeral and Cremation Services in Clarks Summit Tuesday, January 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Various urns used for pet remains are for sale in Jennings-Calvey Funeral and Cremation Services in Clarks Summit Tuesday, January 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Animals can be placed in seperate compartments before they are lowered in the solution conisiting of 95% water and 5% potassium hydroxide to gently decompose of the bodies in Jennings-Calvey Funeral and Cremation Services in Clarks Summit Tuesday, January 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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COO Chris Calvey and his wife Lauren, CEO and supervisor for Aspen Meadows Pet Aquamation and Memorial Services discuss the aquamation machine in Jennings-Calvey Funeral and Cremation Services in Clarks Summit Tuesday, January 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
“In these situations where you have to move so quickly, and make serious decisions so quickly, you have no time to breathe or even know if you’re making the right decision,” she said. “I said to my husband this has been so traumatizing, but it would have been way worse if I had to just leave him there to get cremated.”
Although Jennings-Calvey introduced an on-site crematory for humans in 2020, it can’t be used for pets, Lauren Calvey noted.
The Calveys began offering pet cremation, performed by Cherished Companions Pet Memorial Center in Dupont, in September and plan to offer aquamation — a more eco-friendly alternative to cremation that uses water and alkaline solution instead of a flame — during the first week of February, Calvey said.
The aquamation machine, which has a roughly $110,000 price tag, represented a significant investment for the Calveys, although they received a full machine loan from NEPA Alliance, Lauren Calvey said.
The aquamation process — which is legal for pets but not humans — involves 95% water and 5% alkaline and takes about 18 hours, according to Calvey.
“It heats, and it rotates around, and you get remains, but all you have is bone,” she said. “It’s a very clean process and you get remains to pulverize to return to people. The good thing about aquamation is you can do a semiprivate communal, which means we can run more animals at once and they each have their own compartment without having to commingle the remains, which is great.”
As cremating a pet can be costly — about $300 for a dog that is 1 to 10 pounds — Calvey stressed some aquamation options offer a more affordable solution.
“We’re hoping to have full private, semiprivate and communal aquamation services,” she said.
Through the communal services, multiple pets are respectfully placed together in the same basket and processed during a single cycle, Aspen Meadows officials said. Then, instead of returning the remains to the families, they are blended into soil and used in tree plantings within the community.
Additionally, the leftover water from the aquamation process — called effluent — will be collected and donated to local farms for soil enrichment as a fertilizer, Calvey added.
“You’re basically leaving no carbon footprint of death at all,” she said.
Although Aspen Meadows operates as a separate LLC, the business works in conjunction with Jennings-Calvey.
“Everybody seems really excited about it,” Lauren Calvey said. “Pet owners seem relieved.”
Aspen Meadows provides a variety of memorialization options, including goodbye sessions, memorial and viewing services, burial and interment assistance, postmortem refrigeration, transportation options and more.
“Anything you want to do for a human, you can do for a pet,” Lauren Calvey said. “Some people look at me like I’m crazy, and some people say I’m a genius.”