20 Loving Ways to Memorialize Your Pet After They’re Gone

By: BeChewy EditorsUpdated:

small dog in a field watching the sunset
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20 Loving Ways to Memorialize Your Pet After They’re Gone

There are no words for the grief of losing a pet—but creating a memorial to keep them with you in spirit can help ease your pain. Whether it’s a physical keepsake, a goodbye ritual, or something else entirely, there are so many ways to memorialize a beloved pet after they’re gone. This list of pet memorials is just the beginning—pet parents tend to go all-out when it comes to honoring their furry friends.

Consider these memorial ideas to carry your pet’s memory with you into the next chapter of your life.

candles at a memorial
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1Plan a Memorial Service

A sensitive, personalized pet funeral ceremony can bring loved ones together to recall happy memories of your pet, offering a sense of closure to the grieving process. It can be held whenever your family is ready, and what you do at your service is entirely up to you. Pet memorial services often include:

  • Displays of photos of your pet
  • Time allotted for loved ones to say a few words to the group about what the pet meant to them
  • Burial of the pet’s remains or scattering of their ashes

A sensitive, personalized pet funeral ceremony can bring loved ones together to recall happy memories of your pet, offering a sense of closure to the grieving process. It can be held whenever your family is ready, and what you do at your service is entirely up to you. Pet memorial services often include:

  • Displays of photos of your pet
  • Time allotted for loved ones to say a few words to the group about what the pet meant to them
  • Burial of the pet’s remains or scattering of their ashes

If you plan a burial, adding farewell messages or charms into the casket or box, or wrapping the pet in a cherished blanket, can add meaning to the ceremony. You can also find or make a grave marker or plant a tree on the grave.

But burials are just one of many ways to lay your pet to rest. Some pet parents opt for cremation, keeping their pet’s ashes in an urn or scattering them in a meaningful location. Other pet parents choose taxidermy, or even mummification. Remember: Just like there’s no wrong way to grieve, there’s no wrong way to commemorate your pet’s life.

2Create a Memory Box

Creating a keepsake box of your pet’s favorite things to display in your home is a popular way to memorialize the love you shared. Common mementos to display in a memory box include:

  • their collar
  • their ID tags
  • their favorite toys
  • a favorite photo of them

3Hang a Memorial Frame

Pet memorial frames let you display a photo, often with a meaningful quote or alongside a small keepsake, like a collar or an imprint of their paw. Display it in a meaningful location, like the wall above their bed, or simply in an area that feels comforting to you, like on your bedside table.
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iStock.com/Charday Penn

4Create an Online Memorial

After the loss of a pet, you may feel compelled to tell the whole world about how wonderful they were. You can do just that by creating an online memorial. Online memorials provide a virtual gathering place for family and friends all over the world, which can be comforting if you’re living far from your loved ones. Check out these sites that offer online memorials:

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iStock.com/sarayut

5Plant a Tree or Flowers in Their Honor

Many pet parents do this as part of their pet’s burial, but a memorial tree or plant doesn’t have to mark their final resting place. It can add extra beauty to their favorite backyard spot, a park you loved to visit together, or any other location that was meaningful to you both. Think of it as a lovely way to keep their memory alive while also giving back to the Earth. Just remember to get permission before planting anything in a public space.
a collage of photos of a cat
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6Make a Collage or Scrapbook

If you’re like most pet parents, you probably have about a billion photos of your pet on your phone. Printing them out and creating a physical scrapbook has several benefits: It helps you process your grief by reliving all the great times you had with your pet, and you get a heartwarming keepsake to remember them for life when you’re finished.
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iStock.com/South_agency

7Get a Tattoo

Your pet has already made a permanent mark on your heart. Why not honor that bond with a permanent mark on your skin? Tattoos aren’t for everyone, of course, but plenty of pet parents choose to commemorate their pet’s life by inking their name or likeness onto their own body. Some tattoo artists will even mix your pet’s ashes into the ink, so you’ll literally have a part of them with you wherever you go.
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iStock.com/luza studios

8Create a Gratitude List

You’ve probably heard of people making bucket lists for their pets, where they do special activities as part of their end-of-life plans before a pet dies. But many pet parents also find gratitude lists to be helpful after their pet has passed.

In this exercise, you make a list of the things you did together with your pet. It can help you realize just how full your pet’s life was—and whenever you’re missing them, you can read through the list to remember the good times.

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iStock.com/Kateryna Onyshchuk

9Remember Your Pet on Social Media

Many pet parents post an obituary to their Facebook, Instagram or other accounts, with photos of their pet and a few words about what they’ve meant to them. It’s a healthy way to express your grief, and it also has another, more practical benefit: It’s a lot easier to make one social media post than to call all your friends individually to tell them about the loss.

Plus, it can help you feel less alone. After all, you’re not likely to get a sympathy card from all your friends in the mail, but you’ll probably get a comment expressing their sympathy or sharing a memory about your pet from them online.

10Make Paw Print Art

Save your pet’s sweet paw prints for posterity by using an ink pad or impression kit. You can frame and display the results, or just tuck them into your purse or wallet to carry them with you throughout the day.

11Place a Memorial Stone in Their Favorite Outdoor Spot

If your pet was the outdoorsy type, a garden stone might be the most appropriate way to honor their memory. These can be personalized with your pet’s name, a meaningful quote and even their photo, so you’ll think of them every time you walk by.

12Wear a Piece of Memorial Jewelry

For some pet parents, keeping their pet’s memory close to their heart means wearing a memorial necklace. These can be as simple as a pendant that reflects their breed or fur color, or as deeply personal as a custom metal replica of their nose on a chain. Some pet parents opt for a piece of cremation jewelry, like this locket made to carry some of your pet’s ashes inside it.
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iStock.com/Alessandra Sawick

13Make a Donation in Their Name to an Animal Shelter

Donating to a shelter or rescue organization is a memorial that has life-saving impact. If your pet was a rescue themselves, giving back to the organization where you adopted them might be an especially meaningful gesture. Alternately, find a shelter or rescue in your area and make a monetary donation, or send them the products they need using their Chewy Wish List.

14Hang Memorial Wind Chimes

The inscription on these memorial wind chimes says it best: “Every time the wind blows, I think of you.” Hang chimes on your porch or balcony and remember your pet each time you hear their music.
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iStock.com/Anna Pismenskova

15Commission a Custom Pet Portrait

Here’s a great way to honor your pet and support the arts at the same time: Search Etsy or Instagram hashtags like #petportraitartist to find an artist whose work you love. Then, ask them to capture your pet’s essence on the canvas (or watercolor paper, or digital file, or any other medium). You’ll end up with a work of art that’s one of a kind, just like your pet.
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Pictured: a memorial bottle by Etsy seller Goodluckpetcollar

16Keep a Lock of Their Fur

If you’re feeling like you need to keep a physical part of your pet near you, consider keeping a bit of their hair in a small keepsake container. Glass bottles etched with a pet’s name and sometimes adorned with a charm are popular on Etsy.
a felted replica of a dog
Pictured: a felted replica of a dog by Etsy seller MiniPupCreations

17Make a Keepsake From Their Fur

Did you know there are felt artists out there who can create a miniature sculpture of your pet using their own fur? You’d be surprised at how expressive and lifelike they can be. If your pet’s fur was one of your favorite traits of theirs, this may be a unique tribute.

18Light a Memorial Candle

Your pet lit up the room, so why not memorialize them with a candle that does the same? Lighting a candle can have a calming, soothing effect on your psyche, and it can be a great reminder to relax and reflect on the good times with your furry bestie. Just remember to choose a pet-safe candle if you have other pets in your home.
a metal keychain in the shape of a chihuahua
Pictured: a keychain by Etsy seller ZebraHandmadeJewelry

19Carry Them on Your Keychain

A keychain personalized with your cat or dog’s name, likeness, or even just a simple paw print can be an easy and comforting way to carry them with you all day long. Some memorial keychains are even designed to hold a small amount of your pet’s ashes.

20Hang a Personalized Ornament on Your Christmas Tree

The holidays are a time for traditions that last a lifetime. Why not start a new tradition this year: remembering your beloved pet? A personalized ornament can turn decorating your Christmas tree into a meaningful moment to share with the whole family.

Losing a pet is hard—but you’re not alone.

If you’re feeling depressed, anxious, or just need someone to talk to after the loss of your pet, support is available. Call 800-662-HELP for free, confidential mental health treatment referrals and information . If you are in crisis, dial 988 to connect with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which is available 24/7.
No matter how you choose to memorialize your beloved pet, remember to take care of yourself too. Mental health experts recommend these tips for processing your grief.

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By: BeChewy EditorsUpdated:

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