Memorial Gifts for Dogs

Dogs provide their owners with unconditional love for many years, and when that pet dies, the grief can be overwhelming. According to Pet-Loss.net, the death of a pet evokes four stages of emotions: anger, denial, guilt and depression. Memorial gifts can help grieving dog owners through these stages by letting them know their loss was significant and worthy of an acknowledgement.

  1. Picture Frame

    • Memorial picture frames allow pet owners to display a favorite picture of their dog and often feature comforting verses or poems reflecting the special relationship between dog and owner. Many are customizable, which allows for engraving.

    Donation

    • Memorialize a dog that has passed away while simultaneously helping others in need by making a donation to a shelter or other animal-related organization in memory of the dog. Guiding Eyes for the Blind, for example, uses memorial donations to help support the health care of dogs that are being trained to become seeing eye dogs for the visually impaired. The grieving former dog owner will receive a card confirming all the details of the donation.

    Life Celebration Kits

    • Companies specializing in pet loss, such as The Comfort Co., have created life celebration sympathy kits for grieving pet owners. These kits are designed to honor the memory of the deceased dog and help ease the grief process for the owner. The kits often include some type of satchel to store the dog's collar or favorite toy, a healing memorial candle to light in memory of the dog, some type of stationary item to record favorite memories shared with the dog and a photo frame.

    Jewelry

    • A myriad of jewelry-related items specifically designed to memorialize a lost dog are available. Different designs to choose from include a sleeping dog with angel wings, a dog's paw print and a dog bone.