The loss of a pet is a heavy blow to a family. Traditional ways to memorialize a pet include a headstone in a garden or displaying a beautiful urn of ashes on a shelf, but some pet owners want unconventional ways to honor their pets’ memory. Here are a few unconventional pet memorials that 1FUR1 supporters have chosen:
When Ira’s dog passed, she said she “never considered cremation” or other traditional methods for memorializing him. “We are including a headstone that says ‘We love you more than you love cheese,’ but otherwise the method we are going with is not traditional,” said Ira. “We are burying him in a pet cemetery that is more beautiful than a human cemetery, with more shade and trees, and we are planting a tree next to his body.
“Planting a tree next to his body is giving back to the earth. His life is giving this tree life. We chose a pine box that is biodegradable and a species of tree that is easily cultivated. We can get seeds from the tree to plant elsewhere to continue his legacy,” said Ira.
Memorialize your pet and celebrate your love of art at the same time. Many artists at Etsy and other online craft retailers will paint or draw your pet in oil, watercolor, charcoal, pen and ink, and other mediums. Prefer something three-dimensional? Some create polymer clay figurines for your pet’s urn, some sculpt urns in the likeness of your pet, and some create little needlepoint felt creatures for a more fuzzy version of a pet memorial.
After a pet passes, some people choose to wear the tag on their pet’s collar as a memorial, but memorial jewelry does not stop there. Jewelers can create tiny wearable urns so you can wear your pet close to you. They can also recreate your pet’s pawprint in jewelry or stamp your pet’s name and a memorial message on silver or gold.
The “Rainbow Bridge” poem is a popular poem that has been making its rounds on the Internet for years. The poem speaks of a heaven where your pet is enjoying the activities he did in life and the ‘rainbow bridge’ that he crosses to get there, and it ends on a touching note wherein you and your pet are reunited in heaven. The author of this poem is unknown, but as with pet portaits, there are many artists who do beautiful prints of this poem to display in your house, and you can get prints of ‘The Rainbow Bridge’ personalized with your pet’s name.
We at 1FUR1 are sorry to hear of your pet’s passing and want to help comfort you in any way we can. For some people, a statue of a dog with wings for their garden feels right, while for others it may be a tattoo of their pet’s name. Any way you choose to honor your pet’s memory is a good one.