Young people find their niche in life

When a pet that has died arrives at the business, Wang and his team first clean the animal and place it in a good posture for the funeral. The animal's eyes often remain open after death due to lost muscle control, so Wang's team close the eyelids.

After being cleaned, the pet is placed on a small bed for the owners to say a last goodbye before it is sent for cremation on the outskirts of Beijing.

To ensure owners say a proper farewell to animals, Wang prepares funeral guidance for them.

He encourages owners to send him photos of their pets, recall experiences with their animals, and leave goodbye messages.

If owners want to collect their pet's ashes on site, they watch the cremation live on closed circuit television from a waiting room.

The basic cremation service costs 600 yuan, but owners pay more to rent a compartment to display their animal's urn and pay regular visits to it.

Wang's business has attracted several like-minded young people, most of whom were born in the 1990s and come from different walks of life. Over the past three years, his service has dealt with more than 2,000 pets.

He believes that as every life deserves to be treated kindly, this gives his business a meaning.

"A pet accompanies you like your family, while its lifespan is often only one-sixth or one-seventh that of a human," Wang said.

Some 2,200 enterprises in China offer services related to pet funerals, according to Tianyancha.

The number of households in China keeping pets has reached more than 91.5 million, according to a recent report on trends in the nation's pet industry released by the online platform JD. The figure is expected to surpass 100 million this year, according to the report.

As more people are willing to spend on their pets, this has given those such as Wang a chance to find their true calling.

yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn