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.

Pet Loss and Spiritual Signs: Comforting “Visits” and Symbolic Moments

Pet Loss and Spiritual Signs: Comforting “Visits” and Symbolic Moments

When a beloved dog or cat dies, the silence afterward can feel almost unreal. You might still expect to hear the familiar jingle of a collar, the thump on the...

Group Goodbyes: Including Family and Friends in a Pet's Final Moments

Group Goodbyes: Including Family and Friends in a Pet's Final Moments

When a pet is nearing the end of life, time can start to feel strangely stretched and compressed at the same moment. You may be trying to fit a lifetime...

Making a Memory Box for Your Pet: What to Include and Why It Helps

Making a Memory Box for Your Pet: What to Include and Why It Helps

The quiet corners of your home can feel heavier than usual when a beloved pet is gone. A collar hanging by the door, a worn-out toy tucked under the couch,...

Creating a Pet Memory Book or Photo Album: Telling Their Story One Page at a Time

Creating a Pet Memory Book or Photo Album: Telling Their Story One Page at a Time

Memories have a way of appearing when we least expect them, an unexpected pang at the sound of a paw on the floor, a vivid flash of a shared morning...

Losing a Service Dog or Emotional Support Animal: A Unique Kind of Grief

Losing a Service Dog or Emotional Support Animal: A Unique Kind of Grief

Some losses leave a silence so deep, it changes the way you move through the world, losing a service dog or emotional support animal (ESA) is one of them. This...

The Loneliness of Losing a Pet When You Live Alone

The Loneliness of Losing a Pet When You Live Alone

When you live alone, a pet is never “just a pet.” They are the one who greets you at the door, the one who listens to your voice in the...

When a Pet Dies in an Accident: Trauma, Guilt, and How to Begin Healing

When a Pet Dies in an Accident: Trauma, Guilt, and How to Begin Healing

The world can change in an instant. When a pet dies suddenly in an accident, grief often hits like a shockwave. One moment, life feels ordinary; the next, everything is...

Sleeping After a Pet Dies: Why Nights Are So Hard and How to Cope

Sleeping After a Pet Dies: Why Nights Are So Hard and How to Cope

The first nights after a pet dies are often some of the longest of your life. Days can feel heavy, but nights carry a unique weight, made of silence, emptiness,...

How Soon Is “Too Soon” to Get Another Pet? Emotional Timing Explained

How Soon Is “Too Soon” to Get Another Pet? Emotional Timing Explained

The house feels quieter. The routine you built around your companion is suddenly empty. You miss the soft weight at the end of the bed, the jingle of a collar,...

Talking to Children About a Pet’s Death: Honest, Gentle Guidance for Families

Talking to Children About a Pet’s Death: Honest, Gentle Guidance for Families

Losing a beloved pet is often a child’s first encounter with the permanence of death. The wagging tail, the soft purrs, and the joyful companionship can vanish in an instant,...

Feeling Guilty About Loving a New Pet After a Loss

Feeling Guilty About Loving a New Pet After a Loss

Bringing a new pet into your home after a loss can feel like stepping into two worlds at once. On one side is the love you still hold for the...

Grieving the Loss of a Cat: The Quiet, Deep Bond You’re Mourning

Grieving the Loss of a Cat: The Quiet, Deep Bond You’re Mourning

There is a particular kind of grief that follows the loss of a cat. It does not always roar. It does not always appear dramatic to others. Instead, it settles...

Honoring Your Pet Through Volunteering: Turning Grief Into Quiet Action

Honoring Your Pet Through Volunteering: Turning Grief Into Quiet Action

When a much-loved animal dies, the silence can feel louder than anything. You may still move through the same routines—filling a food bowl that no longer needs filling, glancing at...

Pet Loss and Pregnancy or Postpartum: Grieving While Caring for a Baby

Pet Loss and Pregnancy or Postpartum: Grieving While Caring for a Baby

There are seasons of life that feel almost too full for one human heart. Being pregnant or caring for a newborn is already one of them. When a beloved pet...

When a Small Pet Dies: Why Hamsters, Guinea Pigs, Rabbits, and Other “Little Ones” Leave Such a Big Hole

When a Small Pet Dies: Why Hamsters, Guinea Pigs, Rabbits, and Other “Little Ones” Leave Such a Big Hole

People often assume that losing a small pet should hurt less. They look at their size and imagine that the grief must somehow match it. But anyone who has loved...

Pet Loss in the Age of Social Media: The Comfort and Pressure of Public Grieving

Pet Loss in the Age of Social Media: The Comfort and Pressure of Public Grieving

When grief goes online Not very long ago, losing a pet meant phone calls, a few printed photos, and quiet conversations at home. Today, for many people, the very first...