REAL LIFE
When Alexandra Ashe’s beloved pets passed away, she found an unusual way of coping with her sadness
When Alexandra Ashe, 35, walked out of a tattoo parlour in November 2019, she felt an overwhelming sense of peace. Over the years, Alex has had 30 images of her beloved pets inked onto her body, but the two she had done that day were extra special.
She’d gone in with the urns of her deceased tabby cat Lamb and pet fox Matilda, and came out with their ashes actually embedded into her skin – giving her an extra sense of closure and comfort.
Alex knows cremation tattoos would be controversial for some, but for her they’ve been vital in helping her to grieve the pets who were there for her through the darkest times of her life.
Alex has loved animals for as long as she can remember. When she was growing up, her mother Nanci had lots of pets, including cats, dogs and rabbits.
DRUG ADDICTION
Alex, CEO of her own animal sanctuary, Kinkatopia, says, “My mother’s maiden name is actually Doolittle so it’s always been a joke in our family that it’s in our blood to love animals. When I was 14, I got my first baby dragon lizard and my collection grew quickly from then.
“By the time I was 16, I had around 18 reptiles, which I kept in aquariums in my bedroom.” When Alex was 18 she went to university to study writing, but unfortunately the student accommodation didn’t allow pets. So to have one nearby, she kept her bearded dragon, named Stellar, at her boyfriend’s house.
Stellar inspired her to get her first tattoo – atribal lizard. Sadly, the pressures of studying full time while also managing a restaurant became too much for Alex and she spiralled into drug abuse.
A year into her course, in July 2007, she went to a rescue centre and fell in love with a kitten called Lamb, who gave her the purpose she needed during a dark time.
Alex says, “In September 2008 I was at my lowest point, so I moved back to my parents’ home the following spring. For the next few years I tried various drug rehabilitation programmes to get clean and Lamb was there for me every step of the way. I loved coming home to her and she’d follow me around everywhere.”
Alex became sober in 2012 and a year later, she met her husband Michael, 41. They bonded over their shared love of animals and after moving into their three-bed home in Florida, USA, in 2015, they adopted more.
She says, “Michael had never had a pet, so I inspired him to start training for handling venomous snakes and reptiles and that’s when he started getting some as pets too.”
A frien
