frequently asked questions

Specialising in individual cremation for horses has made a big difference to the time it takes to carry out our individual cremations for larger animals. Once we have your horse here at Cherry Tree, you will hear from us between 3-7 days at which point we will let you know he/she is ready to come home.

We have recently started another part of Cherry Tree which comes under Cherry Tree Gentle Farewells. Similarly to our views and the standards of our cremations, we believe that the clinical service of saying goodbye to a pet within the surgical surroundings of most veterinary surgeries is a service of the past. This is a surrounding where our pets tend to associate bad things, nail clipping and procedures etc, certainly not a place we want our final moments with our family members to be. 

This is why, with the help of our fantastic vet Nicola Carrier we started Cherry Tree Gentle Farewells. Nicola can carry out home euthanasia where she is able to come to your home and carry out her service in familiar surrounding, or alternatively in our new, purpose built building set in the beautiful grounds here at Cherry Tree. This is not your standard euthanasia appointment, clients will get as long as they need to say goodbye to their pets. The surgery itself will not consist of anything clinical, we want to avoid the veterinary feel, we also have a lovely outdoor patio if you would prefer to have this service carried out outside.

For more information or to contact our vet: https://cherrytreegentlefarewells.com/

We are open for appointments including those collecting ashes on Saturdays from 8:30AM – 12PM. After this time on Saturday open hours rolls over to the staff member on call for the remainder of the weekend. During the out of hour’s period we would be unable to return ashes, however we are open by appointment should you sadly need our services. 

Ideally, as much notice as possible is always preferred and makes booking an appointment much easier. However we completely understand that as pet owners we can’t always know when the time may come. We will always book an appointment for those that need our services and we will fit you in at the earliest time we can.

Please bear with us on this, we can get booked up. The main reason we run by appointment only is for your benefit. It helps us to keep the appointments for emergency situations.

Yes, Cherry Tree works only by appointment, we understand that sometimes this can be a pain however it keeps appointments free for emergency situations.

When you arrive at Cherry Tree there is an intercom found to the right of the gate, after pressing this we will answer and explain what to do next. Once you arrive outside the reception room we will be there to greet you, we will then gently bring he/she into Cherry Tree and proceed to go through absolutely everything with you. We will also go through any special requirements you may want us to carry out including hair cuttings, paw prints and anything there may be to go with the cremation. Once we have gone through everything we will leave you on your own where there will be as long as you need to spend time with him/her to say your goodbyes. After you feel you have said your goodbyes, we will come and gently carry out individual cremation.  

Yes, we do offer ashes into jewellery and this is carried out in house, everything we keep in stock is here on our website. Please note jewellery isn’t something you need to rush and can be done at any time so long as you still have the ashes.

The ashes section of the Jewellery is made with resin and usually consists of three layers. The first layer is a colour of your choice, the second layer is the ashes layer which can also consist of slightly more colour or just a clear layer, then finally a clear layer to really finish the jewellery off and give the piece that stunning personalised look.

Time needed to create personalised ashes jewelery very much varies on the piece of jewellery, but would vary from the same day to up to two days. 

Cherry Tree is located about 10 minutes outside of Ashford in a little village called High Halden. The rough distances from common areas clients travel from are as follows:

Maidstone: 35 Mins / 16.5 Miles, 

Aylesford: 39 Mins / 22.2 Miles, 

Chatham: 46Min / 33.4 Miles 

Rochester: 47 Mins / 33.6 Miles

Sittingbourne: 43 Mins / 22.7 Miles

Sheerness: 57 Mins / 35.8 Miles

Canterbury: 45 Mins / 22.8 Miles

Folkestone: 37 Mins / 24.2 Miles

Faversham: 37 Mins / 20 Miles

Dover: 44 Mins / 31.3 Miles

Tonbridge: 43 Mins / 25.7 Miles

Tonbridge Wells: 41 Mins / 22.5 Miles

Hastings: 54 Mins / 24.3 Miles

Our Address: Cherry Tree Pet Crematorium, Pot Kiln Lane, High Halden, Ashford, Kent, TN26 3HJ

Should you need us out of hours we are on call to help up until 8pm in an emergency. The services will be slightly limited, for example memorial jewellery, laser engravings and the returning of ashes won’t be offered in that time frame but you may request info for a later date. Please call our usual number on: 01233 850929 if we are unable to take your call please call our out of hour’s mobile number on: 07774601429.

We have invented our own bespoke ways of carrying out individual cremation on smaller pets. Therefore we can safely say that no matter the size of your companion, individual cremation is guaranteed. We can carry out individual cremation on anything from a goldfish to a Great Dane.

At Cherry Tree we love personalisation and making our many keepsakes specific to you and your pet is what makes them so special. Before cremation has been carried out we can offer ink or clay foot prints, we can also cut a small clipping of hair for you to keep. After cremation we offer smaller keepsakes which are made to hold a smaller amount of ashes, examples of these would be our wooden keepsake hearts or our memory bears. Photo examples can be found on the website. 

Here at Cherry Tree Pet Crematorium an individual cremation is a cremation where your pet will be handled and cremated entirely on their own.  We do not communally cremate pets and separate ashes afterwards. If you do not choose the service at Cherry Tree it is vitally important that you find out what does happen at the crematorium you intend to use as practices vary greatly.

At Cherry Tree ALL pets are looked after as if they are one of our own. They will be handled and cremated with the utmost care and respect. Each pet is cremated entirely on their own ensuring you recieve only the ashes belonging to that of your pet.

Cherry Tree is NOT involved in the incineration of clinical waste and only carries out genuine individual cremations.

We are also members of the Federation of Private Pet Crematoriums we adhere to a strict code of conduct that assures our cremations are carried out with due respect and that individual cremations really are individual.

Cherry Tree Pet Crematorium now only offers individual cremation.

Clients can choose to have blankets, toys or collars cremated along side their companion, disposed of, or returned to you. Things like carriers and baskets should be taken home with you when you leave Cherry Tree. Any bedding, baskets and carries that are left at Cherry Tree are donated to a local rescue charity.

Payment for our services for horses is taken in advance. Payment for our services for small pets is normally taken in advance, or when you return to collect ashes. 

We can accept cash but for the majority we have card machines on site and can take most major credit/debit cards either over the phone or in person.

Cherry Trees appointments run every half hour, however everyone has different needs when coming to Cherry Tree, some require more time with their loved ones than others. On average, clients spend fifteen minutes with us when collecting ashes and between 20-30 minutes when bringing a pet to us. Please note this is only a rough guide based on experience.

Yes, lots of people contact Cherry Tree in advance before they need us to make sure that their exact wishes are carried out. We would always recommend that owners check with their vets directly to ensure that their pet comes to Cherry Tree and is not sent for mass cremation.

We offer what we call a same day cremation whereby if your booked with us Monday-Friday before 2:30PM (or Saturday morning before 9AM) we can carry out immediate cremation and as soon as he/she is ready to come home we will call you to let you know. You can then rebook to collect and bring him/her home.

If you’re after 2:30 ashes will be ready from the following day but we will call you to let you know exactly when.

We can carry out same day cremations outside of our normal operating hours, however this would require a staff member coming into Cherry Tree during thir hours off and may therefore incur extra charges.

Most people will come and collect their loved one from Cherry Tree and bring them home. After cremation, as soon as your pet is ready to come home we will be on the phone to let you know he/she is ready. We can then make you an appointment to come collect and bring them home where they belong.

We are able to return pets to your home or vets however an additional charge is made for this service. We will NOT return your pet by courier and will only hand deliver the ashes to your home ourselves.

As pet owners ourselves the thought of a loved one being anywhere for a prolonged period of time is not a pleasant one. Therefor Cremations Monday – Friday happen pretty much as soon as your pet is with us here at Cherry Tree. Over the weekend, cremation may well be carried out however if we are unable to carry out your cremation we have an air conditioned chapel of rest where your pet will remain peacefully tucked up in our pet beds until cremation can start.

Cherry Tree offers home or veterinary collections for clients who aren’t feeling up to the journey. We are able to collect from your home, or vets by appointment after euthanasia. All of our collections are made in our discreet collection vehicles.

At Cherry Tree all pets are treated with the utmost respect and dignity, as if they are one of our own.  Your pet will be handled very carefully throughout their stay with us.