And since I’ve written every Carolina Traveler story since we started back in 2002 and Andy shoots and edits them all we would be the guys who know.

I told you I’d write seven behind-the-scenes type journals culled from the 18 new stories in November. And this is journal 2 of 7 (last week was #1, in case you’re chronologically challenged).

On with 2…

What do you do when your beloved family pet dies?

All dogs go to heaven.

You have a furry friend for umpteen years… it has a name and even nicknames. His name is Rufus but everyone calls him “Roofie” or “Roof-Roof” or “Raise da Roof,” you know how it goes.

You know all his funny quirks and he knows all of yours. He’s more than a pet… he’s family!

So what do you do with a family member–albeit a four legged one—when Rufus wags his bushy little tail for the last time?

You and your wife and kids need closure. You want to bury it and you want the burial to reflect the love and care you had for Rufus when he was alive. You want your kids to learn respect for the dead. They remember when Granny Clementine passed on and the beautiful shiny oak casket and all those sweet smelling flowers and the glowing words uttered by Reverend Higginbottom. How are you going to pull that off for Rufus?

So you flip through your phonebook looking for answers, stop by to ask your vet, pick your friends’ brains… and guess what? You don’t have a lot of options.

A plastic garbage bag, maybe a Rubbermaid container for cheap casket? If that’s unacceptable and you really want a casket… it could get weird. You can get a human casket… one made for a child… and that thought is very, very creepy icky.

But what else can you do? You know that’s gonna cost you an arm and a vital organ. Are you ready to pay thousands and thousands of dollars? So what do you do?

Well I have the answer. The Pet Casket Man!

Each casket is finished in hand rubbed lacquer.

I want you to know right up front this story was creepy to shoot because caskets of any kind make me squirm. Andy and I work so much together that we have a completely morbid sense of humor at times… when we’re alone. I try to gross him out… and do.

So on the way to this story we yucked it up good. And then we walked into Ted’s wood shop. Ted makes the pet caskets. I didn’t know what to say and I stammered looking for the right words as I interviewed Ted’s wife when Andy blurted out, “You’re crazy aren’t you?”

It made me howl. Mrs. Pet Casket didn’t laugh.

But here’s the thing… these pet caskets are custom made with solid wood, satin lined, any size you want and the most expensive one is only a few hundred dollars! You can’t beat that.

Linings are bridal satin.

Ted’s long-time pet Teacup Poodle, Princess, died a couple years ago and you know what? Ted couldn’t find an affordable way to say a classy goodbye either. Who can sleep at night if Rufus, or in this case Princess, is buried in the woods in the same kind of garbage bag that tears every time you try to stuff it with a pizza box?

Not Ted. So he marched out to his garage woodshop and started this project… just to give himself closure. And when others started calling and asking if he could make one for them… he did. And yes, now it’s full-blown garage business.

Tune in this November, Saturday nights at 7:30 on WCNC to see the whole creepy --yet somehow touching—story. And yes I left in the moment where Andy asks the lady if she’s crazy! So you can enjoy it as much as I did.

Don’t forget to stop and smell the people.

And if you’re one of those people, smell your pet too,

Mike Redding