Whispering Pines Pet Cemetery

My beloved little girl maymay took her eternal trip to the rainbow bridge. I called Whispering Pines♡, Wanda was so caring and lovely with me through my grief. She told me to bring her in and they would help us immediately. So we did! I picked up by baby maymay from the vet and drove to Whispering Pines. Wanda was so good to us. She took a paw print of my sweet little girl to give me then took her lovingly and promised to call me to come back and get her within 24hours. Amy called approximately 12 hours later telling me Maymay was ready to be taken home. I am beyond grateful to these lovely people who helped me through one of the most traumatic times in my life. I will never forget them for this. Thank you Wanda! Thank you Amy! Blessings on you and your family ♡ ~morgan and maymay Rest in Paradise Maymay I recommend Whispering Pines to any and all who are looking for caring people to help you through your hardest time 🐾💗

I hope that nobody ever has to go through such a horrible and devastating experience like we went through with Whispering Pines. Recently my daughter’s beloved one year old kitty passed away. In the midst of our heavy grief we chose Whispering pines for the cremation(one of the greatest regrets of my life), trusting them to handle our kitty’s final journey with the care and dignity she deserved. We brought her the day after she passed and were called to come pick her up the next morning. The state we received her in was shocking, devastating and gut wrenching. Her remains look like very coarse black charcoal with very large bone fragments. I could have never imagined this was remotely possible to receive remains like this. Stunned by how this could go so wrong, I called whispering pines to understand how this could have remotely happened, Wanda responded “you can bring her back and we can grind her more..” I’m speechless by this disgusting, disturbing complete lack of consideration. No apology no compassion. I would never even dream of taking our baby back there. In desperation to repair what I possibly could I consulted another cremation service, the one that I wish to God I had gone to in the first place. They were located in Sacramento and they were stunned as well by what they saw, they had never seen anything like it. There was no processing of the bones and there was random debris and even wood chips in with her remains. My daughters cat had not been properly or respectfully processed to say the least and there was no consideration of whispering pines to let us know ahead of time. I returned to whispering pines the following day to try and make sense of it, and get some answers, I wanted to know what had actually happened to our cat and to hopefully believe this was actually her. A staff member Amy came out and listened to what I shared as well as looked at my photos I had, she admitted that the remains were “not burned enough and not processed at all”. At this time she did say it was unacceptable and assured me she would investigate what happened so I could have some answers. I guess I wanted to know that it was a tragic but honest mistake rather than our kitty was horrifically disregarded. Amy never called back, I had to call multiple times and was met finally by a very aggressive, angry man(didn’t get his name) He had not intention of apologizing, or taking any responsibility for the situation. “There was a mechanical error and sorry your cats remains were not to your liking”, he refused any other explanation or any care when I stated the trauma it caused my daughter to see her cats remains like that, he fully yelled “we are not responsible for your feelings!” Obviously by now I’m outraged myself and shocked beyond belief at this business, and their inability to answer all I wanted to know a legit explanation for what happened to our cat. He repeatedly shouted at me and ultimately hung up on me while I heard other people laughing in the background. What we experienced at whispering pines was way more than a service failure, it was a complete breakdown in compassion, accountability, professionalism, and basic human decency. The way they handled it is unbelievable, unforgivable. Our family was already grieving a beloved and cherished pet, and this experience added a layer of emotional harm no one should have to endure. Families trust cremation providers to offer not just competent service but a basic level of care and respect for what they do. Whispering Pines could not have been more opposite.

I recently called Whispering Pines Crematorium for a quote and they treated me with genuine kindness and respect from the very first moment. They were patient with my questions and never made me feel rushed or uncomfortable. While it’s a sad and difficult thing to have to arrange, their compassion made the process a little easier. Because of how they handled everything, I plan to go with them in the future when the time comes.

9/25/25 This one’s on me—I should have read the reviews. I’ve had nothing but respectful, caring experiences at Heaven’s Gate Pet Memorial east of Sacramento, where we’ve brought many animals from our rescue. That’s a facility that honors your pets and treats you like you matter. I should have made the drive again. Instead, I brought my beloved pet chicken, Michelle, to Whispering Pines Pet Cemetery in Sebastopol. When I called in advance, I asked specifically about private cremation, and the woman (Wanda) on the phone told me, “All cremations here are private—we can only fit one animal in at a time.” That felt reassuring. I dropped Michelle off and was told to come back in 24 hours. When I arrived, I was told they only accept cash. I found that odd—and now, in hindsight, I can’t help but wonder if that’s to avoid disputes or chargebacks from angry, grieving people who realize too late that something’s wrong. The place felt a little hokey to me when I got there—something was off—but they had signage, and I wanted to trust. I mean, who the hell lies to someone during a moment like this? Who would exploit someone’s grief and pretend to give their pet a dignified goodbye? A few days later, I returned to pick up Michelle’s ashes. When I got home and opened the box—about 45 minutes later—I was hit with a strong, soil-like smell. What I saw was horrifying. Inside a Ziploc bag was what looked like black dirt—chunky, with rocks, larger bone fragments (not hers), a visible fragment of a feather, and to top it off: dried weeds. Like someone had scooped this mix straight from the ground and called it “ashes.” I’ve seen cremains dozens of times through our rescue. Ashes are supposed to be light gray or white, powdery or like crushed bone. These looked—and smelled—like garden soil with debris in it. I called the crematory multiple times. No one answered. I drove back. Rang the bell again and again. I could hear people inside, but they refused to come to the door. Just… silence. That moment? When you realize they won’t even face you, after handing you a bag of something that may not even be your pet? That’s a kind of heartbreak and fury that’s hard to describe. I called another cremation provider and described what I received. They confirmed that nothing about it was right—the smell, the color, the feather fragment, the rocks, and yes, even the weeds. A feather doesn’t survive cremation. Nothing should have survived if they actually did what they claimed. Which makes me ask the question I never wanted to ask: What did they do with Michelle? Where is she? That thought haunts me. And all I’m left with is a bag of who-knows-what, a bunch of ignored phone calls, and a pit in my chest. You have to be a special kind of heartless to do this to someone who’s grieving. To take control of their pet’s final moments and treat it like garbage behind closed doors. I don’t recommend Whispering Pines to anyone. I will be reporting them to the BBB, the and Sonoma County Animal Control. They didn’t just mishandle cremation—they stole my peace of mind. I now live with the reality that Michelle may not be with me at all. If you’re reading this, please—go to Heaven’s Gate Pet Memorial or other trusted crematoriums instead. I’ve never had a single issue there. Their ashes are clean, respectful, and unmistakably what they should be. This? This was a betrayal. And I’ll never forget it. (Photo attached: what I was given in a Ziploc bag and told were “ashes.”) In addition, I like how they added “Michelle” in quotes because they knew it wasn’t her either.

When I brought my dog to Whispering Pines he was on his special favorite bed. I picked up his ashes but the bed was returned to me crawling with maggots. The horror of imagining how this happened is a complete trauma for our family. Just be aware