Losing a pet is a universally profound feeling for long-time pet owners. This feeling unfortunately comes with the upside of the love, affection, and time spent with your furry companion. Though the physical loss of your beloved friend is painful, it does not mean you lose the memories you share. You can also pay tribute while grieving for a lost pet in many different ways. Gone, but surely not forgotten, here are some ways that you can commemorate the life of your departed pet.

Compose a Physical Photo Album to pay respects as you're grieving for a pet

This image is of a sleeping dog with a toy. This image relates to creating tributes to a pet who has passed. It discusses pet tributes, pet memorabilia, and pet memorialization.

A common way for pet owners to memorialize a pet’s life is to create a photo album. You can print photos from your devices such as a smartphone or laptop and/or gather physical photos you may already have handy and put them all in one place. By adding captions, dates, locations, and other notes, you can later reminisce on your pet’s beautiful life. You can find pet-specific photo albums in places like Etsy, Wayfair, & Zazzle. Prefer to keep things digital? Feel free to use services like Pet Photo Saver or stick to a tried-and-true USB Drive to keep all those wonderful memories of you, your loved ones, and your pet.

Start a Tributing Blog / Write an Obituary

Putting your love into words is a great way to not only memorialize but also process your grieving for a pet. If you’re a more word-savvy individual, you can start a blog celebrating the life of your companion. Tell of funny, touching, or personal stories you’ve had with your friend. Not only will you think of the great times you’ve had with them in the process, you may even help readers who are going through a similar experience as you. Spread your love, build a community, and never forget the good times by creating a blog to memorialize your pet. Sites to help even the least tech-experienced pet owners create their own blog include WordPress and Wix.

If the idea of starting an entire blog sounds daunting, that’s no problem and understandable. A one-time option for those wanting to express their love for their pet can be writing an obituary. In your obituary, you can author the story of your pet’s life. Unsure of where to start? See how to write an obituary for your pet here.

In their Honor...

This image is of Dr. Chandler with her childhood dog. This image relates to creating tributes to a pet who has passed. It discusses pet tributes, pet memorabilia, and pet memorialization.

Another way to help process your grieving for a lost pet is to help other people and organizations with animal-related causes. Monetarily, you can donate to a local shelter or pay the adoption fee for another family looking to include a pet. Finances aside, you can also donate your time volunteering at an animal shelter. Don’t know where to start? Services including VolunteerMatch allow you to find various volunteer opportunities relevant to you. You can find volunteer opportunities based on criteria such as any personal cause you’d like to support (e.g., animals, education, disasters, etc.), location (both in-person or virtual positions), and your work experience.

Cremation Jewelry make for great tributes whilst grieving for a pet

Shine while keeping your pet’s memory alive with jewelry that mixes in your pet’s ashes. A more unique way to commemorate your pet, the process to turn your pet’s ashes into items such as pendants, bracelets, and rings is fairly simple. Sites such as Spirit Pieces and Ashes into Glass will send a kit that will give you everything you need to properly send your beloved pet’s remains for them to then transform into a beautiful piece of your choosing so that you can still keep your pet close to you at all times.

Garden Stones

Another adorning way to commemorate your pet’s life is through garden stones. Sites such as Personalization Mall allow you to create and personalize a decorative stone for your garden. These stones often consist of a short, heartfelt message, the name of your pet, key dates, and, at times, a photo of your loved one so that people can admire your companion as they visit or pass by your home. Another place to get lovely garden stones is through the crematory we here at Love Always Veterinary Care use, known as Koefran.

A Paw-Tapping Tribute

Maybe you had music playing as you jogged with your dog in the park. Perhaps you and your cat had a favorite song you both fell asleep to. If you and your pet shared a bond over music, you can press their ashes into an audio vinyl. Vinyly lets you provide an audio of your choice and convert the ashes of your loved one into a vinyl record complete with a customized record sleeve/label and audio content of your choosing. A unique commemoration, it’s noteworthy that prices could be fairly high, ranging “between £1000 and £3000 GBP*”. Regardless, music can be a powerful and sincere way when paying tribute and grieving over a beloved pet.

For further resources about memorializing your pet, please see our Pet Memorialization page or Contact us to learn about what we can offer.

Paying Tribute While Grieving for a Pet