The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

Are You Ready for a New Dog? 7 Signs You’re Not (And Why That’s Okay)

Are You Ready for a New Dog? 7 Signs You’re Not (And Why That’s Okay)

There’s a moment after losing a dog when the house feels unnaturally quiet. You still pause, expecting to hear paws on the floor, or glance at the corner where they...

How to Honor a Pet’s Birthday or Adoption Day After They’re Gone

How to Honor a Pet’s Birthday or Adoption Day After They’re Gone

The first time your pet’s birthday or adoption day comes around after they’re gone can feel unexpectedly heavy. The date carries a strange gravity, pulling memories forward, the “gotcha day”...

Grieving a Pet While Living Alone: Filling the Silence With Compassion

Grieving a Pet While Living Alone: Filling the Silence With Compassion

Living alone while grieving a pet creates a uniquely quiet form of loss because the relationship was woven into the physical fabric of daily life. Pet loss in solitude changes...

Bereavement Leave and Time Off Work After a Death: What Employees Should Know

Bereavement Leave and Time Off Work After a Death: What Employees Should Know

Experiencing a death in the family can make work feel both distant and urgent at the same time. Balancing funeral arrangements, paperwork, and family communications while managing job responsibilities often...

How Can I Explain a Pet’s Death to Children?

How Can I Explain a Pet’s Death to Children?

For many children, a pet is their first encounter with deep loss. They curl up with them during storms, whisper secrets into fur, and count on that steady presence in...

How Can I Support an Older Adult Who Has Lost a Pet?

How Can I Support an Older Adult Who Has Lost a Pet?

For many older adults, a pet is more than a companion, it is daily structure, emotional grounding, and often their most consistent source of affection. When a pet dies, life...

What Does the Bible Say About Pets and Animals in Heaven?

What Does the Bible Say About Pets and Animals in Heaven?

When a beloved animal dies, the grief can feel just as sharp as it does for any other family member. Many people of faith find themselves holding a collar, staring...

The Rebound Pet: Why You Shouldn’t Get a Lookalike

The Rebound Pet: Why You Shouldn’t Get a Lookalike

When a beloved dog dies, there is often a moment when your heart whispers a dangerous little wish: If I could just find another one exactly like them, maybe this...

I Don't Want Another Pet Ever Again: Is This Feeling Permanent?

I Don't Want Another Pet Ever Again: Is This Feeling Permanent?

In the days and weeks after losing a beloved animal, a fierce thought can rise up and take over: “I am never doing this again.” It can feel like a...

Christian Views on Pets in Heaven: What Pastors, Theologians, and Ordinary Believers Say

Christian Views on Pets in Heaven: What Pastors, Theologians, and Ordinary Believers Say

When a beloved pet dies, many Christians find that their grief quickly turns into a deeper question: Will I ever see them again? You might hear very different answers, sometimes from...

When Families Disagree About Euthanasia: Navigating Conflict When a Pet Is Suffering

When Families Disagree About Euthanasia: Navigating Conflict When a Pet Is Suffering

When a pet you love is suffering, the question of euthanasia stops being abstract and becomes painfully real. One person looks at the dog who no longer eats and thinks,...

How to Bond with a New Pet When Your Heart Is Still Broken

How to Bond with a New Pet When Your Heart Is Still Broken

Grief has a way of soaking into the walls of a home. The empty bed in the corner, the worn spot on the couch, the way you still catch yourself...

Atheism and Pet Loss: Finding Comfort Without an Afterlife

Atheism and Pet Loss: Finding Comfort Without an Afterlife

When a beloved animal dies, the ache is often as sharp as any human loss. You may still catch yourself reaching for the leash, listening for paws on the floor,...

How Long Does Pet Grief Usually Last?

How Long Does Pet Grief Usually Last?

The loss of a pet can leave a profound emptiness that touches every corner of daily life. The absence of their presence, whether in the quiet moments at home, during...

What Are Some Simple Memorial Rituals I Can Do at Home?

What Are Some Simple Memorial Rituals I Can Do at Home?

Grieving a pet at home often brings an acute awareness of absence. The quiet spaces where your pet once slept, the corners of your home now strangely still, and the...

Is It Normal To Feel This Devastated After My Pet Dies?

Is It Normal To Feel This Devastated After My Pet Dies?

The emptiness hits in quiet moments, an empty food bowl, a bed no longer warmed by familiar weight, or the silence that greets you when you come home. You might...