Thinking about creating a memorial

Okay, so hopefully you’ve already begun to un-disenfranchise your grief and offered yourself some validating, compassionate words, because what you’re going through makes total sense!

The next step is to create a memorial.

A memorial is something created to honor and remember your furry baby after they’ve passed. It can take many forms:

• A ritual, like a memorial service, or
  
• A physical tribute, like a framed photo, a plaque, or even a small replica of your pet

There are many beautiful options out there. I also suggest accompanying the memorial with a personal gesture, such as writing a heartfelt letter to say goodbye and thank them for the time you shared, or planting a tree in their honor.

A memorial is a meaningful way to hold onto the connection you had.

Honoring your pet in a personal way can bring comfort and help you process your grief. A memorial or tribute gives you space to acknowledge your loss while celebrating the love, joy, and companionship your pet brought into your life.

When Lara passed, I drew a cartoon of us hugging (I used to draw little cartoons back then). In the drawing, I told her, “Now I know what true love is.” I framed it and placed it on my bedside table. It was my way of keeping her close while honoring everything we shared.

A memorial will help you acknowledge and accept what happened, and accepting the reality of the loss is the first step in navigating grief. It can also help to talk about the details of the loss: how it happened, where, what the experience was like.

These conversations and reflections help bring peace over time. So think of a memorial as a reminder of both the love and the loss, because from now on, you’ll carry both. That’s part of the cycle of life.

Death is part of life.

But love doesn’t end there.