[lisaly]

We are struggling each day with the loss of our little girl in June. We were so lucky to have Ashley in our lives for close to seventeen years, and we were grateful for each precious moment we had with her. I've wrestled with whether I should share our experience more publicly, since I know how difficult it is for those who have lost their babies and hesitate to risk upsetting anyone further. However, I hate to think of anyone experiencing a problem so I've decided to share our experience. Like many people, we were comforted when we were able to bring Ashley's ashes home with us after we had her cremated, especially knowing that she would be with her two sisters that she loved so much in her lifetime. My husband first looked very quickly at the papers we received when I brought Ashley back home with us. I also looked at the paper work quickly and saw that the certificate of private cremation had Ashley's name on it. It was and still is a painful time for me, so I guess I didn't look very closely. In September my husband was more able to cope with looking at Ashley's paper work. He spotted a problem as soon as he looked at it. My husband normally sees every detail, but this is something I can't believe I missed. It had Ashley's name, but under her name is a spot where it has the name of her family. Ashley's certificate had a different family name than ours. It upset us, but we figured it was just a mistake, and we decided to call the pet cemetery to ask them to re-issue a new certificate. The more I thought about it, though, it started to occur to me that possibly they could have mixed up Ashley with the other family's baby. I didn't tell my husband because I knew how upset he would be. When I reached them the next day, they of course apologized and told me that they would immediately mail out a new certificate. I was very shaken by it all, and they knew it. I told them I still would never be sure that we had our baby. They assured me that it was her, and they told me that I could open the ashes up and find the original paperwork there. Once I told my husband my doubts when I came home from work, I saw the color immediately drain from his face as he thought of the possibility of not having our baby. We opened up the ashes immediately, and we definitely have our little girl, but we were really upset by it. It was a mistake that shouldn't have happened as I think they need to be careful with the paperwork too, but neither of us were angry. We were certainly relieved, and it was a painful experience. Luckily, things were resolved with us. I would like to remind everyone to check the paper work immediately so, if there is a problem, it can be rectified. I realize how difficult it is to cope with the loss of a beloved furbaby and I am so sorry for the pain it causes. I truly hope my post doesn't cause anyone more pain.