Best Pets Forever: Business blooms on the other side of grief
by Sarah Barr
Staff Writer
Photos submitted
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes there are no words when you lose the family pet. Sure, they can be cremated and you can keep their remains, but often that just isn’t enough.
Just ask Lauren and Shaun Poglitsch of Newington about Brooklyn their beloved pit bull.
“We rescued her at 10 weeks old,” Lauren said, admitting it is a story still difficult to tell. “She was here for every baby coming home from the hospital. She was all of their besties. She laid next to the crib and all that stuff.”
She made all their hearts whole. They lost Brooklyn in September 2023 at the age of 12-and-a-half.
“She was the most loving, attentive dog ever,” Lauren said. “She could tell if you had a rough day. She was a calm, gentle soul. Losing her was devastating.”
“My first dog ever. My parents had cats,” Shaun said. “Me and Brooklyn were tied at the hip. It took a moment to get over it. Still not over it.”
“We had to put her down,” Lauren said.
But that wasn’t their toughest decision.
“We were given generic urn options and, in that moment, the last thing you want to think about is such a heavy question. We picked up her remains from the vet and put that box on a shelf and it sat there. The girls would ask ‘where’s Brooklyn?’ and we’d explain the rainbow and doggie heaven.”
They shared the original box.
“It’s a pretty box but it didn’t feel like her – so full of life, so much personality,” Lauren added. “To have her in a brown box didn’t do her justice. There’s got to be a statue or something to put her remains in. We wanted something to look at. We couldn’t find anything.”
What started out by solving their own problem has now turned into a thriving business. Shaun turned to 3D technology and got a model made of a pet memorial.
“It was amazing,” he said of the prototype statue. “If we’re feeling this way, others must be, too.”
They turned the idea up a notch and created a customized and personalized way to have your pet’s death memorialized called Best Pets Forever. Two different styles of urns are available, a capsule and a vault. You can pick your color, get it engraved, pick a frame, even put your pet’s name on a virtual memorial wall.
“You create a memorial that honors the life that they lived,” Lauren said.
“It’s a conversation starter,” Shaun added.
“People don’t want to talk about death. Our goal is to not forget about the life you shared for so long. Celebrate their life so when you look at their memorial they’re still here, only in a different way,” Lauren said.
It’s a sentiment and celebration shared by others. Best Pets Forever has a vibrant community page on Facebook and numerous five-star reviews on its website where pet parents share feelings, grieving, and actions, such as how they touch the urn every night and say goodnight.
“It’s great validation for someone” Shaun said, noting that grief’s journey is as individual as each lost soul pet.
“I still cry three years out,” Lauren said. “So grateful we had her.”
“This is the best gift she’s [Brooklyn’s] ever given us,” Shaun said of the business they launched out of their Newington home that helps people with the healing process. Business is as brisk as a dog taking you for a walk. After attending a Veterinary Meeting and Expo (VMX) in January, sales have increased week over week.
“This is very needed in the industry,” Shaun said.
Then there’s the added blessing of family time. The couple gets to work side by side. For Lauren, a former hairstylist, this is full time.
“It’s a big career change, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s a calling,” she said.
Shaun still has his day job building products for insurance companies to stop fraud but that doesn’t stop him thinking of all the “girl dad” lessons he learned from Brooklyn and how he applies that attention to their three daughters Kinsley, 12, Juliet, 9 and Camille, 4.
It’s hard to replace a pet in a child’s heart. Lauren and Shaun say Kinsley is having a bit of a rough go because she spent the most time with Brooklyn.
“Eventually, we’ll get a new dog,” the couple said. “But there’s so much going on.”
That includes getting the word out about Best Pets Forever. Social media is their new best friend. Orders now come in from across the country including as far away as Alaska.
This small business based on intimate feelings hasn’t gone global yet but that’s the goal because soul pets have no borders. Every order represents someone’s best friend and the Poglitsch family does not take that lightly.
“The takeaway is for someone to have a place to create a memorial as special as their pet was to celebrate their life,” Lauren said.
“Make something unique, just like their pet was,” Shaun added.
What started as sorrow has grown into everlasting joy. NL
For more information, log on to bestpetsforever.com or the Best Pets Forever Facebook Community Page.