CLIPBOARD : DISCOVERY : SEA BREEZE PET CEMETERY

Officer Kim was killed last week in the line of duty.

He was mortally wounded after he tackled a suspect fleeing from a routine traffic stop. The suspect managed to pull a four-inch knife and stab the Huntington Beach officer in the chest, neck . . . and paw.

The K-9 officer who is credited with saving the life of his partner was buried with full police honors at Sea Breeze Pet Cemetery in Huntington Beach.

Though most pets don’t die as tragically, their loss is still devastating to the owners. And Sea Breeze is a comforting alternative for animal lovers who find it unsettling to unceremoniously “dispose” of their pets as if they never mattered.

“Your pet never hurts you; all they give is love,” said Ruth Freedman, who helps run one of Southern California’s few memorial parks for pets. “These pets are like family to the people who bring them.”

Sprawled across 3.5 acres of meticulously kept lawns, shrubs and shade trees, the 30-year-old memorial park is the final resting place for about 33,000 pets--most of them dogs and cats, although there are some chimpanzees, birds, turtles, squirrels, and foxes.

John Wayne’s dog is buried there as are Richard and Karen Carpenter’s German shepherds and Jose Feliciano’s goat. It is also home to departed companions such as Susie, Penny, Freddie, Snoopy, Gigi-Ann, Lumpi, and Ivory Lynn, all remembered with markers bearing sentimental inscriptions: “Our Sweet Girls,” “Our Sugar Bear,” “Our Little Sweetheart,” and “Always Loving and Loved.”

The staff at Sea Breeze understands the loss pet owners feel; Freedman has two of her own poodles buried on the grounds. Owners can either bring their pets in themselves, or someone from the cemetery will pick up the pet from the veterinary hospital.

Base price for burials--which includes the plot, interment, casket, grounds maintenance fees and sales tax--begins at $340 for a small pet and $370 for a medium to large pet; cremations range from $50 to $150.

For owners who want to do something extra for their pets, there are a variety of options. Granite markers range from $65 for something simple to $160 for a sophisticated marker with an engraved laser photo of the pet. Caskets vary from an unadorned concrete casement to elaborate satin-lined redwood boxes; cremation urns come in either wood or bronze and prices begin at $55.

The facility doesn’t offer “memorial services” as such, though there is a viewing room for owners, family and friends to spend some quiet time saying goodby; on occasion however, rabbis and ministers have preformed formal services at a family’s request.

And somehow people are comforted by the idea that they can visit their pets. The park is always awash in colorful flowers and busy with owners who gently fuss over their pets’ resting areas.

“At Christmastime, the way they decorate the grave sites is really something,” Freedman said as she surveyed the park. “It’s nothing but love out there.”

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Address: 19542 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach

Telephone: (714) 962-7111