Memorial Ideas for Pets

Your pet is your most constant companion, your confidante, maybe even your best friend. Our animal companions become members of the family and as such, when it becomes time to say goodbye, we often feel moved to do something to honor them and keep their memory alive. The following is a list of memorial ideas. Every pet is unique, so every memorial will be as well. Use the list as a starting point for coming up with your own ideas and choose something that feels right to you.

• Hold a memorial service. Include music, share stories, make an altar, display photos. Make it as elaborate or as intimate as you choose.
• Release flowers on a river and watch them float downstream.
• Write an obituary, tribute, poem or have someone else write one for you.
• Write a letter to your pet; make it into a keepsake or include it with your pet’s remains. You could develop a website, write a blog, or create a collaborative online memorial that allows for others to share stories and memories. Maybe a journal feels more appropriate, keeping the thoughts more private. Be creative. There are endless ways to celebrate with words.
• Create a photo journal, scrapbook, or video journal. Use art to memorialize. Have a painting commissioned, or paint one yourself. Frame a favorite photo.
• Find an urn for your pet’s ashes. Clay paw prints are an especially popular memento. Maybe crafts are more your style. Needlepoint, canvas, ceramics are all mediums that allow for a creative memorial. Perhaps you want a statue to place either in a favorite spot outside, or in a meaningful location inside. Shadowboxes are attractive ways to display favorite items and photos. You can have a memorial dog collar made. Etsy is a wonderful resource for art and craft ideas.
• Perhaps you would like to have something that you can have with you all the time. Jewelry is a lovely way to honor your pet on your personal body. Some people choose to have their pet’s ashes turned into jewelry or even a gem, like a diamond. You could have your pet’s paw print or nose print put onto sterling silver pendants, and placed on a necklace, bracelet, key chain, or earrings. Silver Pet Prints has lovely options. Maybe you decide to get another ear piercing and have an earring made or buy a special one to wear all the time. If you are looking for something more permanent, consider a tattoo of your pet’s paw print. You could also get a photo realistic tattoo of your pet or design your own.
• If you like the idea of a memorial item that sits outside, you could make a memorial bench, or purchase or make pet memory chimes. Steppingstones or burial markers look lovely in the backyard or in a garden area. Maybe you want to plant something, like a tree, shrub, flowers, or even a memorial garden. Some people have built stone cairns.
• You could have a felt replica of your pet made. There are now options for freeze drying remains and while it might not be for everyone, taxidermy is also an option.
• Donate in your pet’s memory. Animal welfare organizations are a good option. Or donate to help find a cure for whatever ailment your pet experienced. Start a foundation, host a fundraiser, or set up a fund to help treat animals whose families are struggling financially or to support your favorite animal shelter.

Take your time, brainstorm ideas with loved ones, and create a personalized memorial for your cherished animal companion.