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.

Money, Grief, and Impulse Decisions: Big Purchases, Gifts, and Avoiding Long-Term Regrets

Money, Grief, and Impulse Decisions: Big Purchases, Gifts, and Avoiding Long-Term Regrets

In the first days after a death, money can start to feel strangely unreal. Some people swing toward caution and can’t bring themselves to buy anything at all—not even groceries....

When the Vet Bill Comes After the Loss: Financial Stress and Grief

When the Vet Bill Comes After the Loss: Financial Stress and Grief

The first days after a pet dies can feel like walking through fog. You might still be stepping around the food bowl out of habit, still listening for the familiar...

Do Animals Go to Heaven? Faith Perspectives, Grief, and What to Do When an Animal Dies

Do Animals Go to Heaven? Faith Perspectives, Grief, and What to Do When an Animal Dies

This article explores how different faith traditions and spiritual viewpoints answer the question “do animals go to heaven?” while also offering practical guidance on what to do when a pet...

Home Memorial Corners and Altars: How to Set Up, Maintain, and Adjust Them as Grief Changes

Home Memorial Corners and Altars: How to Set Up, Maintain, and Adjust Them as Grief Changes

There’s a moment many families recognize after the calls are made, the paperwork is signed, and the busy first week begins to quiet: you walk through your home and feel...

Phantom Noises: Why You Still Hear Their Nails on the Floor

Phantom Noises: Why You Still Hear Their Nails on the Floor

It’s strange what silence does after a pet dies. The house is still the same, but the soundscape has missing pieces—no rhythmic click of nails across tile, no collar jingle...

The "What If" Loop: How to Stop Replaying Their Final Moments

The "What If" Loop: How to Stop Replaying Their Final Moments

The house is quieter than you expected. Not just because the tags aren’t jingling or the nails aren’t clicking down the hallway—but because your mind has filled the silence with...

Crying for Weeks After a Pet Dies: Is It Normal? What Does Healing Look Like?

Crying for Weeks After a Pet Dies: Is It Normal? What Does Healing Look Like?

Losing a pet can feel like losing a part of yourself. The grief that follows is often intense, overwhelming, and persistent, and it is common to find yourself crying for...

Helping a Friend or Relative with Funeral Planning: What’s Actually Helpful vs Overstepping

Helping a Friend or Relative with Funeral Planning: What’s Actually Helpful vs Overstepping

When someone you love is suddenly in the middle of funeral planning, help often arrives in a rush—texts that say “Anything you need,” phone calls that go unanswered, offers that...

Nature-Based Rituals for Grief: Walks, Water, Trees, and Simple Outdoor Practices

Nature-Based Rituals for Grief: Walks, Water, Trees, and Simple Outdoor Practices

Grief can make the world feel too loud and too small at the same time. People talk to you, schedules keep moving, and yet your mind returns—again and again—to one...

When a Loved One Dies by Suicide: Compassionate Guidance, Language, and Support Resources

When a Loved One Dies by Suicide: Compassionate Guidance, Language, and Support Resources

The moment you learn that someone you love has died by suicide, time can feel split in two. There is the “before” where you were simply living your life, and...

Coping with the Quiet House After a Pet Dies: How to Adjust to the Silence

Coping with the Quiet House After a Pet Dies: How to Adjust to the Silence

There is a particular kind of silence that settles over a home after a pet dies. It is not the ordinary quiet of a house at night or the stillness...

Finding a Pet Loss Counselor: What Credentials to Look For

Finding a Pet Loss Counselor: What Credentials to Look For

When a pet dies, the grief can be as sharp and disorienting as losing a close family member. In today’s world, where most U.S. households now include at least one...

Pet Loss for Highly Sensitive People: Why Grief Hits So Hard

Pet Loss for Highly Sensitive People: Why Grief Hits So Hard

When a pet dies, some people feel sad and then slowly find their footing again. For others, especially those who recognize themselves as highly sensitive, the loss can feel like...

How to Journal Through Pet Loss: Prompts, Practices, and Healing Techniques

How to Journal Through Pet Loss: Prompts, Practices, and Healing Techniques

When a beloved animal dies, the world can feel strangely off-balance. You might still catch yourself listening for paws in the hallway, glancing at a favorite spot on the couch,...

When You Disagree with a Loved One’s Funeral or Cremation Choices: Respecting Wishes While Caring for Yourself

When You Disagree with a Loved One’s Funeral or Cremation Choices: Respecting Wishes While Caring for Yourself

There are grief moments that hit like weather—sudden, physical, uninvited. And then there are grief moments that arrive as a sentence. “I want to be cremated.” “I don’t want a...

Grieving the Loss of a Pet: Why It Hurts So Much and How to Cope Day by Day

Grieving the Loss of a Pet: Why It Hurts So Much and How to Cope Day by Day

There are moments in grief when loss hits with such force that the world suddenly feels unfamiliar, quieter, and fragile. Losing a pet can bring you to that place before...