07/15/2026
As of Wednesday, July 15, 2026, after being open a little over a year and three months, I have had the privilege of helping more than 475 families honor a beloved pet through Wright Pet Crematory.
As the sole operator of this extension of Wright Funeral Home & Crematory, reaching this milestone is more gratifying, fulfilling, and rewarding than I could have ever imagined.
Every family who has placed their trust in me has helped confirm something I believed from the very beginning: our area needed a more personal and dignified way to care for the animals who have become part of our families.
Truthfully, I probably had more faith in that need than the general public—and even more than the owners of the business, my parents, Natalie and Derek, did at first. I knew there were people throughout our community who loved their four-legged, winged, shelled, and occasionally less-conventional companions as deeply as they loved anyone in this world.
Sometimes, people will even admit that their bond with a pet is stronger than certain relationships they have with their own blood relatives.
As families began entrusting me with some of the most sacred souls they had ever known, I started quietly asking them to tell me about that bond.
I have listened to the older, gruff man who had not shed a tear in years struggle to remain standing as he brought me his best friend. I have met young couples bringing me the dog they raised together before they ever had children. I have cared for cats, birds, rabbits, reptiles, and other “different” pets whose importance could never be measured by their size, species, or the ability of others to understand their place within the family.
Although every story is different, their explanations usually arrive at the same truth: these sweet souls are among the most wonderful gifts God allows us to experience.
They may not be able to speak for themselves, but they can show a form of loyalty that words could never adequately convey. Even when they are sick, even when we are having a bad day, or even when they have gotten into some mischief while we were gone, they are still ready to become our shadow again at a moment’s notice. They trust us completely. They remain by our side without pride, resentment, conditions, or an expectation that we must first earn our way back into their good graces.
Their love is uncomplicated, but it is never insignificant.
Building Wright Pet Crematory has also given me access to the places my families trust most before they ever need my services: the veterinary practices from which I am frequently asked to make removals.
The relationships I have formed with local veterinarians and their staff members have given me a newfound appreciation for what they face every day. These doctors are regularly placed in difficult situations involving complicated medical decisions, limited resources, emotional families, and animals who cannot explain what they are feeling or advocate for themselves.
Every veterinarian I have personally worked with has demonstrated genuine concern for these animals, and I have witnessed many of them go above and beyond for the families we share.
The hardest part of their profession is not the families who consider their pets part of the household. It is the reality that not everyone sees animals the same way—and, at the end of the day, the measures of care provided must often depend upon the decisions made by an owner. That reality is especially difficult because the patient cannot speak up and ask for more time, another test, a second opinion, or additional treatment.
On top of that challenge, our area faces a shortage of small-animal clinics. From the outside looking in, that can occasionally make a practice appear overwhelmed or spread thin. Waiting rooms become crowded, phones ring constantly, emergencies arrive without warning, and staff members must balance the immediate needs of numerous patients.
However, a high-volume practice should not automatically be mistaken for an uncaring one.
I have visited lower-volume clinics that did not provide care as thorough as some of the busiest practices I work with. Personally, I am willing to wait in an office filled with puppies, cats, worried owners, and ringing telephones when that activity is simply physical evidence of how many people trust that doctor.
Medical emergencies will always require immediate attention, but I have full confidence in the staff members of our local veterinary practices to provide my families and their pets with the appropriate time, concern, and attention—as though the animal were one of their own.
This business has also allowed me to demonstrate to my father how dedicated I am to the funeral-service profession without having to follow his footsteps exactly.
I have always known that I did not want to assume the exact role he established through more than 25 years of consecutive service as Henry County Coroner. I will always be grateful for what the Coroner’s Office has provided my family. It helped put food on our table long before Wright Funeral Home was even an idea.
My position is different because I entered this profession with the privilege of knowing that Wright Funeral Home is here to stay. My father had already done the hardest part. He worked a full-time job, fulfilled the demands of the Coroner’s Office, and accepted trade-work contracts from funeral homes throughout the Wiregrass at all hours of the day and night. He worked tirelessly so his standards of care could eventually be recognized, trusted, and appreciated enough for Wright Funeral Home to become a reality.
Because he carried all of those baskets for so many years, I have the privilege of placing all of my eggs into this one.
Lately, I have jokingly—but sincerely—told people who know our family, “This is my Coroner’s Office.”
The comparison is not about the nature of the cases. It is about the responsibility, the unpredictable hours, and the obligation to respond when someone needs professional help.
Since opening Wright Pet Crematory, none of my responsibilities at Wright Funeral Home have been neglected. The public still sees me assisting with visitations, recording and streaming funeral services, helping families, and remaining in our on-call rotation for a full week every third week.
At the same time, the Pet Crematory phone can ring at any hour.
Sometimes it means meeting a family during the night to receive their 200-pound Great Dane of ten years. Other times, it means driving 30 minutes away because a family’s lizard deserves the same respectful care and attention as any other beloved companion entrusted to me.
Rain, shine, sleet, or snow, when our professional assistance is needed, we will be here.
Operating Wright Pet Crematory has shown me firsthand how difficult it must have been for my father to build the life my family has been blessed to live. It has also shown me how much effort it takes to sustain a business that supports not only its owners, but the devoted staff members who help Wright Funeral Home serve our community every day.
I now understand his sacrifices in a way I never could have without carrying a responsibility of my own.
To the more than 475 families who have trusted me: thank you. Thank you for allowing me into one of the most vulnerable moments of your life. Thank you for telling me their names, their habits, their favorite foods, their funniest stories, and the countless little details that made them uniquely yours. Thank you for trusting that they would be treated privately, individually, and with the dignity they deserved.
What began as an idea has become a calling that I take personally.
No beloved companion placed into my care is treated as “just an animal,” because I know that is never who they were to the person bringing them through my door.
They were family.
— Hayes Wright
Sole Operator, Wright Pet Crematory
An extension of Wright Funeral Home & Crematory
