2008-05-10 01:11:07 -

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon is recommending changes in the handling of troops' remains, after it was revealed that crematoriums contracted by the military are used for both human and animal cremations.
A military official said there have been no instances or charges that human and pet remains were mixed. But officials are now recommending

that troops' remains be incinerated at a facility that is dedicated entirely to humans.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes that it is «insensitive and entirely inappropriate for the dignified treatment of our fallen,» said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.
«Our heroes deserve to be better treated than that,» Morrell said, adding that a sign at one of the crematoriums noted that it also does pet cremations.
The Dover Air Force Base Port Mortuary, where troops' remains arrive from the battlefield, does not have its own crematorium, so it contracts with two funeral homes for the cremations.

While most facilities don't advertise the fact that they handle both human and animal remains, there is a sign near the Torbert Funeral Home crematorium in Dover, Delaware, advertising the «Friends Forever» pet cremation service.