After Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Monday allowing New Yorkers to be buried alongside the cremated remains of their pets in certain cemeteries, it begs the question - Is this legal in New Jersey?

Technically, no. But there are ways around it.

Garden State residents can be buried with their furry friends only if their cremated remains are placed in pet cemeteries.

Debra Bjorling, owner of Hamilton Pet Meadow Memorial Park and Crematory in Mercer County, said she has buried several women with their pets in her cemetery.

"The laws say that once a human is cremated, that's final disposition," Bjorling said. "A family can scatter a loved one's remains in a garden, throw them off a mountain or shoot them into space. What they do with the cremains after that is up to them."

The New York law says humans can be buried with their cremated pets at not-for-profit cemeteries and the cemetery also has to sign off on it.

"For many New Yorkers, their pets are members of the family," Gov. Cuomo said. "This legislation will roll back this unnecessary regulation and give cemeteries the option to honor the last wishes of pet lovers across New York."

Officials say the desire for humans to want their final resting place to include their pets is a natural one given how pets are often considered family members.

"We're humanizing our relationship with our pets," said Coleen Ellis, co-chair of the Pet Loss Professionals Alliances. "We've done it through life and of course we're going to want to do it through death."

Bjorling, the pet cemetery owner in Hamilton, says she thinks it's something that will continue to expand.

"New cemeteries are popping up exclusively for that purpose," Bjorling said.

An increasing number of states, like Virginia and Pennsylvania, have loosened regulations allowing cemeteries to create special sections for pet-human burials.

Bjorling says that helps alleviate the concerns people may have about disrespecting burial grounds.

"Anyone who may be offended that a dog is buried in the same cemetery as their parents or grandparents, they want to avoid that," she said.

Despite the regulations surrounding pet-human burials in New Jersey, people find a way to do it anyway, Bjorling said.

In one case, a woman stated in her will that she wanted to be buried alongside her pets in a pet cemetery. After the woman died, her daughters approached Bjorling and sought permission.

Bjorling agreed to let them fulfill their mother's wishes, to which they responded: "We're glad you said yes because we were going to come here in the middle of the night and do it anyway."

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.