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.

Grieving Exotic Pets: Birds, Rabbits, Reptiles, and More

Grieving Exotic Pets: Birds, Rabbits, Reptiles, and More

When people talk about pet loss, the conversation almost always centers on dogs and cats. But maybe the silence in your home comes from an empty birdcage, a terrarium with...

Disenfranchised Grief: When Your Loss Isn’t Recognized or Taken Seriously

Disenfranchised Grief: When Your Loss Isn’t Recognized or Taken Seriously

When you are grieving a loss that no one else seems to see, the world can feel strangely split in two. On the surface, you go to work, run errands,...

When Kids Blame Themselves After a Pet Dies: How to Reassure and Support Them

When Kids Blame Themselves After a Pet Dies: How to Reassure and Support Them

The loss of a family pet touches every member of the household, but children often experience a unique layer of worry they can’t always express. You might notice it in...

Memorial Tattoos and Body Art: Symbol Ideas, Safety, and Emotional Considerations

Memorial Tattoos and Body Art: Symbol Ideas, Safety, and Emotional Considerations

When someone you love dies, the need to keep them close does not disappear just because the service is over. For some people, that closeness lives in cremation urns for...

Creating Art as Pet Loss Therapy: Painting, Drawing, and Creative Expression

Creating Art as Pet Loss Therapy: Painting, Drawing, and Creative Expression

When a beloved animal dies, the world can suddenly feel strangely quiet and colorless. You may find yourself sitting in the spot where your dog curled up beside you, or...

Horse Loss: The Unique Pain of Losing a 1,000lb Partner

Horse Loss: The Unique Pain of Losing a 1,000lb Partner

The barn smells of straw and leather, the air filled with the soft rhythm of hooves you knew by heart. Every corner holds a memory of shared rides, quiet afternoons,...

Pet Loss and Couples: How to Stay Close Instead of Drifting Apart

Pet Loss and Couples: How to Stay Close Instead of Drifting Apart

When a shared pet dies, the loss doesn’t just leave an empty bed or a quiet corner of the house. It can shift the entire rhythm of a relationship. The...

Pet Loss for Veterinary Staff and Techs: Grief Behind the Exam Room Door

Pet Loss for Veterinary Staff and Techs: Grief Behind the Exam Room Door

When a family walks into a clinic with a sick or aging pet, the room fills with visible emotion: tearful questions, anxious glances at the veterinarian, hands curled in fur....

Trauma Anniversaries and Difficult Dates: Birthdays, Death Dates, and Other Times Grief Spikes

Trauma Anniversaries and Difficult Dates: Birthdays, Death Dates, and Other Times Grief Spikes

There are days on the calendar that feel heavier than others long after a death. You might be moving through an ordinary week and then suddenly realize your chest feels...

Handling Photos, Videos, and Voicemails After a Death: Saving, Editing, and Setting Boundaries

Handling Photos, Videos, and Voicemails After a Death: Saving, Editing, and Setting Boundaries

When someone dies, it’s often the phone in your hand—not a photo album on a shelf—that first reminds you of them. A smiling selfie pops up under “Memories,” a voicemail...

Do People Have Memorials for Dogs?

Do People Have Memorials for Dogs?

If you are quietly wondering whether people really have memorials for dogs, or if that is somehow “too much,” the honest answer is simple: yes, they absolutely do. Around the...

The Final Walk: Stories of Community Support for Dying Dogs

The Final Walk: Stories of Community Support for Dying Dogs

There is a moment in every dog lover’s life when time slows in a way you never forget. The walks grow shorter. The breathing grows softer. The body that once...

Why You Still Cry Over a Pet You Lost Years Ago (and How to Honor That Love)

Why You Still Cry Over a Pet You Lost Years Ago (and How to Honor That Love)

Some grief does not vanish; it settles softly in the places love once lived.It lingers in the doorway where they used to greet you,in the bowl you never threw away,in...

How to Talk About Pet Loss With People Who Don't Get It

How to Talk About Pet Loss With People Who Don't Get It

When a pet dies, the silence in your home can feel deafening. The missing footsteps on the floor, the empty spot on the couch, the unused food bowl in the...

How to Support a Friend Who Lost a Pet: What to Say (and What Not to Say)

How to Support a Friend Who Lost a Pet: What to Say (and What Not to Say)

When a friend loses a pet, it can be surprisingly hard to know what to say. You may feel their grief deeply and still find yourself staring at a blank...

Nighttime Is the Hardest: Coping With Pet Loss When the House Feels Too Quiet

Nighttime Is the Hardest: Coping With Pet Loss When the House Feels Too Quiet

Why Evenings Hurt So Much After a Pet Dies After a pet dies, many people say the same thing: “I can get through the day, but at night, everything falls...