Noted funeral director Jim Marocco offers your pet dignity

Your pet is a member of your family. Your mourn the loss the same way. And when the heart-breaking day comes, you want someone who understands unconditional love, one who can show your pet a dignity you never thought imaginable. That man is Jim Marocco.

Faithful Companion's Jim Marocco

Jim and his family have been in the funeral business for 112 years, but his Faithful Companion is a service that is as cutting edge and modern as it is affordable and gentle.

Jim has been the owner/manager of Marrocco Memorial Chapel & Powel-Marrocco Funeral Home in Clifton for several years, an outgrowth of the business his great-grandfather, Peter, launched in Paterson in 1899.

Faithful Companion has been open round-the-clock ever since Jim and his staff opened it 14 months ago. They’ve handled hundreds of cremations -- not just dogs and cats but hamsters, turtles, guinea pigs and others.

The mission is simple.

“We understand that a pet is a family member,” Jim told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “We provide comfort. The program is designed to help families through the grieving process.”

Jim revels in being able to provide a local service for an area rich with pets. Yet he draws clients from South Jersey, New York City and upstate N.Y., as well. A superstar comedian from Pascack Valley recently relied on Jim's special care. And while he won't disclose the person's name, Jim is proud that his service was appreciated.

Special touches include same-day transportation to and from your home or an animal clinic, which Jim says helps the grieving process along. And in case you're wondering, everything is tracked, so there can never be a mix-up.

“We pick up the pets daily, sometimes within an hour,” he said. “Pets are never frozen. The cremation is done within 24 hours.

“There is a family room where loved ones can spend time with their pet and say goodbye. They can witness the process if they want. Only one pet is ever placed in the cremation chamber at a time, insuring that all the remains are returned to the family.”

Other pet cremation services, which aren’t local, pick up pets once a week, place the bodies in large plastic bags and cremate multiple animals at a time.

Faithful Companion's process takes 45 minutes to two hours, depending on the size of the pet. Still, Jim’s charge is for the service and not determined by weight.

It’s a measure of the unique company's reputation that veterinarian clinics have begun using it.

“Vet clinics understand that their practice is not what it was 30 years ago,” Jim told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “If our service is better for families, why not participate?”

Go to the Faithful Companion website by clicking here: