Memorialising your pet
Memorialising your pet in some way can help you to remember your pet in a positive way. This may help you to work through your grief, and allow you to remember the nice things about having a pet, the funny things your pet did, as well as validate the important status that they had in your life. You’ll find many memorialisation items online which can be personalised from plaques to engraved stones, jewellery to memory boxes. But your memorialisation doesn’t need to cost you money: some ideas include:
- Make your own memory box with photos and mementoes of your pet in it, such as their collar or lead, a special blanket or favourite pet toy. You could include a lock of their hair.
- Plant a small bush or tree in the garden or a pot plant. Putting some kind of ornament or item to mark a spot that was favoured by your pet, or where your pet was buried will give you somewhere to specifically think of your pet, and give you happy memories when the plant blossoms. You could paint or decorate a pebble or stone, and place it in a flower bed.
- Make a special Christmas bauble for the tree, with a picture of your pet or a drawing decorated by your kids.
- If you are keeping your pet’s ashes at home, choose an urn or container to keep them in, and choose the spot where you’d like to place it – perhaps in a spot that your pet favoured.
- You may wish to have a ceremony for your pet, lighting a candle, and inviting each person in the family to share their most happy memory of their pet, or for you to simply close your eyes and think of them.
All of these things will help you in coping with your grief. You can also participate in pet forums for remembrance, and many newspapers and other media also carry pet remembrance notices if it will help you to do this. Do what feels right for you. With time, you will start to feel better and will be able to focus on the happy times you shared together.
