![Side by side photos showing an empty cross-shaped urn and two pre-school boys.](http://blog.sevenponds.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Empty-cross-urn-and-rambunctious-toddlers-who-spilled-it--513x343.png)
PawPaw’s cremains were accidentally vacuumed up after his rambunctious grandkids spilled them. Credit: Monica Long, TikTok
A recent story in People magazine about two little boys getting ahold of “pawpaw’s” cremains, making a mess and possibly eating some of dear old grandpa’s ashes, highlighted the growing popularity – and risk – of keeping cremains at home.
Their mother, Monica Long, had stashed her father’s remains safely on a shelf in a transparent cross-shaped urn, out of reach – she thought – of her two active boys, ages 2 and 3. “But they’re climbers,” she told People. “They climbed their little way up and got ahold of him.”
She didn’t realize that the “dirt” they had dumped on the carpet was her dad until after she had vacuumed it up and cleaned the remains off the faces of her little boys who had probably consumed a bit of their granddad.
She was horrified when she discovered the truth, and yet at the same time, found it comical, believing that pawpaw “would have found the humor in all of this.”
She made a video to share with her sister, making light of the situation. Then she shared it with friends on Facebook, and finally on TikTok @molo.solo, where she was only expecting friends there to view it. It ended up going viral with over 2 million views.
Another recent mishap involving cremains held by relatives occurred when a thrift store worker found a keychain urn among the donations. She had never seen anything like that before.
“I thought it was a container that you’d carry like [Ibuprofen] in or small jewelry,” Nicole McClain told People. “When I opened it I was confused for a second, then I checked out the outside more closely and saw the dates. I put two and two together. It was one of the most unique things I’ve found… It didn’t feel right just throwing it away, so I took it home and hoped [their] family would be local.”
They were, and the relatives were gratefully reunited with the remains.
![](http://blog.sevenponds.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Glass-urn-art-from-Artful-Ashes-e1737555418165-513x498.jpeg)
Hand-blown hearts, stars, orbs and other objects offer one option for keeping a loved one’s ashes close. Credit: Artful Ashes
While it’s common to carry the cremains of a loved one in jewelry, a keychain urn is one of the less common ways to keep remains close. Other more unusual options include pressing remains into a playable vinyl record that could include the person’s favorite song or their voice, mixing ashes with oil paint to make a portrait, using remains to create art ranging from glass stars to tattoos, or pouring them around the roots when planting a tree in the backyard.
As far as keeping the cremains safe, those options at least avoid the possibility of spills, which can expose them to their worst enemy: the family dog.
Barbara Kemmis, executive director of the Cremation Association of North America, says dogs will wolfe down the contents of an urn if given the chance. That’s because while cremains are commonly referred to as “ashes,” they aren’t really ashes – they’re bone fragments. “And, animal bones are tasty to dogs,” she said. “I hear stories about dogs eating cremated remains all the time. It can make their tummy upset, but it doesn’t hurt them.”
![Close-up of dog's face as it licks its nose.](http://blog.sevenponds.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Dog-licking-its-nose-and-looking-guilty-scaled-e1738105465585-513x472.jpg)
Credit: cotton bro studio via Pexels
Mishaps with cremains are frequent because holding them at home has become quite common. According to a 2022 CANA study, they’re present in 26% of American households. “And that’s not just full-size urns, it’s also keepsake size jewelry – that kind of thing,” Kemmis said.
Aside from getting spilled or devoured, cremains don’t always get the dignified care and attention the cremated person might have desired. A number of cremains are simply forgotten.
CANA estimates that over two million sets of cremated remains have been abandoned at the crematory, left in limbo on a closet shelf at home, or tucked away in a storage locker, only to show up for sale at a flea market or a resale shop. The latter situation can occur because a family fails to decide where to keep or spread the remains, and the container will be handed down until it’s unrecognizable or forgotten, which is how remains end up at a garage sale or buried in a landfill.
For that reason, said Kemmis, her number one recommendation for avoiding future regrets is to get specifics when discussing funeral plans with a family member. “Don’t let the conversation end with, ‘oh, just cremate me,’” she said. “Talk about it: You want cremation? Great. Okay. But then what’s right? Those ashes have to go somewhere…”
To help guide that discussion, a number of recommendations can be found on CANA’s website.
One popular option is to build a backyard memorial, creating a place of reflection and tranquility to remember a loved one. With a backyard memorial, it’s also less likely that forgetfulness, accidents or active kids can disturb the remains of mom, dad or dear old pawpaw.