Tips on How to Remember Pets

As soon as you bring your furry friend home, it becomes a part of your life -- even a family member. When pets die, then, the entire family suffers and wants to memorialize the pet just as if you would memorialize any other loved one. You can carry on your pet's memory and remember your pet in a number of ways.

  1. Backyard Memorial

    • Many families like to keep their pets in the proximity of their own backyard when they pass away. This idea works particularly well if you have children, as they can take comfort in knowing that their pet is still with them, sleeping peacefully in the backyard. You can bury your pet in your backyard, perhaps under its favorite tree. Include a headstone with the pet's name on it or simply place some flowers around where the pet is buried so family members can visit the spot and remember their pet.

    Collage

    • Memories fade, and pictures can capture the many good times that you had with your pet. Collect some of your favorite pictures from your pet, from the time it was a baby to its older years. Create a collage of your pet's photos. You can purchase a collage frame and then frame each photo individually or you can attach pictures to a corkboard to honor your pet. The corkboard idea works well if you want to get kids involved in remembering your pet, as it can spark their creativity.

    Keepsake Box

    • Remember your pet by creating a keepsake box full of your pet's favorite items. You can include its collar and leash, as well as any tags that it wore. You might even have a lock of your pet's fur to include in the box. Your pet's favorite toy is another meaningful item to include in the keepsake box. Use a wooden box to hold these keepsakes. Engrave a gold plate and attach it to the outside of the box with your pet's name, birth date and death date.

    Family Letters

    • If your family is having a difficult time coping with the loss of a pet, one way to deal with grief and remember the pet at the same time is by writing a letter to your pet. This letter can reflect on happy times in the pet's life, tell the pet how much the family misses it or discuss what you miss most about the pet. Have each family member read her letter aloud and bind the letters together so that you can look back on them for years to come to remember your pet.