Celebrating the Life of Your Pet

Not everyone – not even some pet owners – are comfortable with the idea of a funeral for their pet. And yet, when you’ve experienced the loss of a beloved furry or feathered friend, you may feel the need to do “something” to properly acknowledge the life and love you had together.

Instead of a funeral, many families and pet parents are turning to another beautiful way of honoring their loved one, with a “Celebration of Life” gathering.

To show you what we mean, one family offered to share the experience they had in creating a Celebration of Life for their St. Bernard, Cherokee.

We hope you find inspiration in their actions, and in the words and advice of these two families:

• Make your tribute be about the relationship you and your family had with the pet.
  “Abbey was one of the family. So, just like you do at a human funeral, we set up a table at home with all of Abbey’s special toys, blankets and treats. As each of us thought of something we wanted to include on the table, we put it there. By the end of the week – what a site! She was our girl!”
• Individualize the tribute to reflect the personality of the pet.
  “There was a special spot that Mr. B liked in the flower garden outside. Oh, the naps that he would take here! At his Tribute, we all went to that spot, planted a flower, and told a memory that we had of Mr. B. Being a typical cat, Mr. B liked it when it was ALL about him! This was a perfect way to pay honor to my little guy!”

“Rituals build community, creating a meeting-ground where people can share deep feelings, positive and negative, a place where they can sing or scream, howl ecstatically or furiously, play or keep a solemn silence.”
-- Starhawk