I’m not referring to the anxiety of animals from humans as it’s perceived to be, rather the kind that occurs between body and soul at the end 
of an experience. Either human, animal, plant or crystal. At some point during this incarnation every being separates from physical form. So that the soul can continue evolving and choosing other experiences if need be. Not all souls need more than what they’ve received here and some do.
Given the design on this wonderfully self-recycling planet the solution – if we let it – seems simple where disposal of the body is concerned. And perhaps disposal is too strong a word for some. Yet this is what is occurring, and Animals know this better than most. That’s why instead of fear or dread at the time of their transition they become so peaceful and accepting. It doesn’t mean they loved less and they’re looking to leave. They just know what’s important which is most definitely soul path.
With my own cat’s transition several years ago, I knew that cremation was the way to go for us. And I also knew that I didn’t want to keep her cremains. For me even that small physical reminder of who she had been in this lifetime would be a point of attachment for me. A holding onto a point in the past that wasn’t in either of our highest and best good and might even form a barrier to our reconnecting in pure energy form.
It’s a personal choice and decision every guardian must make at some point. Some choose to return the whole physical form to Earth by burial and others choose cremation. I often say to clients that if they can, a release of even a small amount of cremains back to the Earth is important. For both them and their animal companions. It serves as another type of physical release over which humans perceive they have control and which for the Animals is a return to Gaia, their mother, in this experience. It’s often a request by the Animal when a guardian’s emotions are getting stuck in guilt, regret and the like. Those can form barriers to reconnecting later in energy and so are best let go.
There have been different ways of accomplishing this release and remembrance at the same time over the years. Urns, pieces of jewelry, and glass art are all a way to bridge our need for remembrance in our human experience and for release of the physical in a way that feels good to us and them. An article in the newspaper caught my eye about a company that offers composting of Animal physical forms up to 100 pounds. It’s apparently cheaper than cremation and requires less land space at one cubic yard than a graveyard. The body is composted either alone or along with other animal bodies and either returned for scattering in a garden or yard or with a plant as a form of “living memorial”.
The bottom line of all of this is separation between our beloved family members of any kind and most especially at the end of a shared experience is a challenge. It requires strength, courage and compassion to safeguard this surprisingly intimate journey with another whose trust in you as a human is complete. At some point release of the separation illusion of having “lost” someone – because it truly is illusion – will yield some magical points of connection perhaps not possible because of the barrier of the individual physical. I invite you to remember that no matter how you continue to connect after the body and soul are separated energy remains the truest form of all of these. It has no boundaries and can flow anywhere and did while the body was alive. So too, it will continue after the body is gone if you choose to expand your awareness of this dimension into the beyond. That’s where they’re waiting for you and always will be.