This is the moment a pet gerbil called Nibbles was given a Viking-style river cremation - complete with burning river barge.
The beloved rodent had a funeral fitting of a Norse warrior - with his body placed in a wooden raft and set adrift on fire.
It was pushed gently down a stream as his mourning family watched from the bank.
Owner Emma Pickerill, who revealed her family has "pagan leanings", decided her beloved critter needed a Viking-style farewell.
It was only after the three-year-old pet's death that a friend of Ms Pickerill suggested Nibbles deserved better than a simple burial.
Rain lashed the water and harsh winds shook trees on the bank on the day of the funeral, making the scene suitably epic.
Nibbles actually died on Samhain, the Gaelic festival celebrating dead ancestors and the end of the harvest season.
Ms Pickerill, from Glastonbury, Somerset, explained that his owners saw this as a sign.
She said: "I can see him now, sitting at the table in the halls of Valhalla surrounded by Valkyries, quaffing mead from a drinking horn.
"He'll be recounting tales of glorious battles, in gold studded armour with a garnet encrusted shield, of course."
Ms Pickerill said she likes "momentous occasions to be as epic as possible".
She added: "His friend Scarlet died a few months ago.
"But Nibbles died at astrological Samhain, which is the pagan feast of the dead ancestors, so it seemed like having a magnificent funeral was the thing to do.
"My son Ben said 'it was very sad but we were all happy to give him such a good send off'.
"It felt like a felt like a great way to send someone's soul sailing down the River Styx to the otherworld."