Memorialization

Creating the Perfect Memorial

The following is a list of ideas gleaned from many grieving pet owners over the years. These ideas are as unique and as varied as the pets they are meant to honor. We hope they'll be helpful as you begin your own journey of life without your beloved pet.

• If you’re a writer, write — it could be an article, an anecdote, a story, a poem, a song, a letter, an obituary or a eulogy for your pet. We invite you to share it in our Pet Tribute section of our website. If you don’t want to write something that others will see, keep a private journal and write about your feelings as you journey through your grief.
• Write a farewell letter to your pet as a way of saying an in-depth, thorough good-bye. Say what you are feeling, what you will miss most, what you will always remember with fondness. Say what the relationship gave you and tell how your life will be influenced by having known and loved that pet.
• Share anecdotes and favorite stories about your pet. Sometimes others need permission to talk about your deceased pet. Let them know you would rather keep the memory of your beloved pet alive than pretend that nothing has changed.
• Decorate a candle and light it in memory of your cherished pet.
• Purchase a book on coping with the loss of a pet, and donate it to your local library or school. Ask the librarian to place a label inside the front cover inscribed “In memory of (your pet’s name).”
• Save something that belonged to your pet (collar, tags, bed, blankets, or toys).
• Collect all the snapshots of your pet in a memory box, an album or a collage.
• Frame a favorite picture of your pet and display it in a special place. Give a copy as a gift to another grieving family member.
• Encourage grieving children to draw pictures or write stories inspired by their memories of their lost pet.
• Have a professional portrait of your pet painted or drawn by an artist from your favorite photograph.
• Have a favorite picture of your pet imprinted on something special.
• Buy a stuffed animal that reminds you of your pet, and put your pet’s collar around its neck.
• If you buried your pet in a cemetery, take a picture of the grave site and keep that in a special place you can visit.
• Plant a tree, bush, shrub, garden or flowerbed as a permanent growing memorial to your pet. Mark the site with a memorial plaque, marker or statue.
• If you have your pet’s ashes, scatter or bury them in your pet’s favorite outdoor place.
• Keep your pet’s ashes in a personalized urn that you can display in a special place of honor in your home.
• Inscribe a plaque or nameplate with your pet’s name, years of birth and death, and whatever else you choose to write in tribute. Put the plaque on a framed photograph or wooden memory box, hang it on the wall, attach it to a garden bench or other piece of furniture, or display it near your pet’s grave.