About Us
Our History
In 2020, Erik began researching what it would take to open a pet water cremation facility on Cape Cod. What he found was a near-total absence of credible operational guidance — the kind that only exists after someone has actually built and run one.
He opened Pawsitive Memories in 2021 and spent the next several years building every system from scratch: facility layout, pH compliance protocols, proprietary odor mitigation, and single-operator workflows. The facility served Cape Cod and the Islands and was completed on his own terms — thoughtfully, without shortcuts.
Other founders began reaching out. They were hitting the same walls he had — layouts that didn't work, compliance gaps, procedures that didn't survive staff turnover. In 2022, Erik launched Water Cremation Consultants to give serious operators a direct path to what took him years to develop. The consulting practice exists because the knowledge is too useful to keep to one facility.
Our Founder
Erik Tarvin
Erik holds a BSME from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and spent nearly a decade as a process development engineer in the MEMS field, earning two issued US patents. He later opened and scaled a Cape Cod retail business from one location to three stores, surpassing $1M in annual revenue.
In 2021, driven by a lifelong love of animals and a gap he saw in his own community, Erik founded Pawsitive Memories — a pet water cremation facility serving Cape Cod and the Islands. Alkaline hydrolysis appealed to him for the same reasons it appeals to his clients: it is gentle, environmentally responsible, and honors animals with the dignity they deserve. The business was dedicated in part to his dog Snoopy, who passed in November 2022 after 13 years.
What followed was two years of building every operational system from scratch — facility layout, pH compliance protocols, proprietary odor mitigation, and single-operator workflows. When other founders began reaching out for guidance, the consulting practice launched in 2022. The goal was simple: give others a direct path to what took him years to figure out.
Outside of work, Erik is an avid skier, backpacker, and hiker. He practices mindful meditation through the Cape Sangha and First Light Sangha, and lives year-round in Brewster with his fiancée and dog Lari.