Memorializing Your Pet

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Tips for Paying Tribute to Your Pet

There are countless ways in which to memorialize, pay tribute to, and remember your beloved pet. Use your creativity to come up with something that really resonates with you, based on the relationship that you had with your animal companion and your spiritual or personal beliefs. Below are some ideas to help you get started:

• Hold a funeral, ritual, or memorial service and invite supportive others who may have loved your pet or understand what they meant to you.
• Do a bubble release.
• Write a love letter or poem to your pet.
• Draw or paint a portrait of your pet or have one commissioned.
  
• Create a photo collage on your wall.
• Start a pet blog and write a story about how you first met, or about their life with you.
• Set aside a time for you and your supportive friends or family members to share fond memories of your pet.
• Decorate a headstone or memorial stone for your pet’s place of burial.
  
• Have a special shelf or other area to display your pet’s photo, urn, paw print, collar, favorite toys, or other special items.
• Create a tribute on Pet Love & Loss.
• Create a scrapbook or shadowbox with photos and keepsakes.
  
• Have a special candle that you can light at significant times.
• Jot down things you loved about your animal companion on small pieces of paper and fill a Memory Jar with them. When you are missing them, reach inside and grab several to read.
• Plant a bush, tree or flower garden in your pet’s memory.
• Buy a special urn for your pet’s cremains and keep it in a prominent place.
• Put some of your pet’s ashes in a piece of jewelry that you can wear (it might be helpful to have someone else do this for you).
• Scatter some or all of your pet’s ashes (cremains) in a place that was meaningful to him or her.
• Put a favorite photo of your pet in a locket that you can wear.
• Hang wind chimes with your pet’s name on it, so that you are reminded of them with every gentle breeze.
• Have a pillow or blanket made with their likeness on it that you can snuggle with.
• Donate to a rescue or animal shelter in your pet’s name or volunteer your time in their honor.
• When you feel ready, allow your pet’s legacy of love to continue by adopting again. You can share bedtime stories with your new pet about the special one who came before.