ST. GEORGE — Mummies are often considered a thing of the past, best left to museums and history books. But in a small pyramid in Utah, the art of mummification is still practiced today.

Summum, a religious organization located in Salt Lake City, is the only place in the world where people – and their pets – can undergo modern mummification

“We’re the only ones that do permanent body preservation anywhere on the planet,” Ron Temu, who oversees the mummification process, said.

Anyone can choose to be mummified. Since Summum opened their doors in 1975, over 1,000 people have made arrangements to have their body mummified after death.

The cost to become mummified is $67,000, while the cost of a sarcophagus or burial casket runs from $20,000 to over $100,000, depending on how elaborate the person wants it to be.

Most of the mummifications performed, however, are on pets.

Su Menu, the current president of Summum, said that many of their clients who choose to mummify a pet do so because they don’t like the burial options typically offered for animals and want to remain close to their pet.

Menu knows this not only from what she has heard but also from making the decision with her own pets.

“I feel like it was a fitting monument for them, for the lives that they lived with me,” Menu said. “I felt like they deserved to have a better burial. It’s like a beautiful piece of art and a reminder of who they were and what they meant to you.”

The cost to mummify a pet depends on the animal’s size. It typically ranges from around $9,000 for smaller pets like cats and small dogs and up to $30,000 for a larger dog breed.

Read the full article at St. George News.

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