For many pet parents, losing a dog means saying goodbye to a member of the family. And when that difficult day comes, having a place where they can perform the last rites with care and dignity can mean a lot. Ahmedabad has had such a facility since February 2026, when the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) inaugurated a CNG-based crematorium at its CNCD Animal Birth Control Centre in Behrampura.
The facility offers a more respectful way to bid farewell, from collecting the deceased pet from home to allowing families to witness the cremation and take the ashes back in an urn. For now, the facility is meant for dogs, although Ahmedabad’s earlier plans for an animal crematorium had also envisaged facilities for cats and other animals.
A final farewell, with family by their side
The facility is designed to make the last journey a little more dignified. An ‘Antim Dham Jeev Seva Rath’ can collect a deceased pet from home, while arrangements for floral garlands and puja materials are also available for the initial rites.
At the crematorium, an automated trolley carries the pet into the cremator, reducing manual handling. Once the cremation is complete, the ashes are placed in an urn, wrapped in red cloth and handed back to the family. There is also a CCTV facility, allowing pet parents to watch their companion’s last rites remotely if they cannot be physically present.
Yes, pets can get a death certificate too
The facility also provides pet parents with a formal death certificate for their companion. For families who have spent years with their four-legged companions, such documentation may seem like a small detail, but it adds a sense of closure to an otherwise deeply personal goodbye. AMC has also planned remembrance messages for families on the anniversary of their pet’s death.
For a registered pet, the death can be reported by calling 155303 and providing the registration receipt. If the pet is not registered, AMC provides provisions for online registration at the time of availing the service.
It is a civic facility that deals with a difficult part of pet ownership, but in doing so, gives families a dedicated place to pause, remember and say goodbye to a companion who was once a part of their everyday life.
Extending dignity to stray dogs
While the facility was introduced with pet dog owners in mind, the crematorium is also used for stray and sick dogs from municipal shelter homes. Within its first two months, more than 100 dogs had reportedly been cremated, with around half being pet dogs and the rest stray or sick dogs handled through municipal facilities.
So, the service isn’t exclusively limited to privately owned dogs, although the civic body’s public-facing service procedure is primarily framed around registered pet dogs.
