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.

If Cremation Jewelry Breaks or Leaks: Emergency Steps, Clean-Up Tips & Repair Options

If Cremation Jewelry Breaks or Leaks: Emergency Steps, Clean-Up Tips & Repair Options

There are a few moments in grief that feel strangely practical and painfully emotional at the same time. One of them is noticing your cremation jewelry is leaking, or that...

How to Plan a Peaceful At-Home Euthanasia: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Plan a Peaceful At-Home Euthanasia: A Step-by-Step Guide

There’s a particular kind of love that shows up at the end of a pet’s life. It looks like carrying them when their legs can’t do the work anymore. It...

Is My Dog in Pain? Silent Signs Your Senior Pet is Suffering

Is My Dog in Pain? Silent Signs Your Senior Pet is Suffering

If you live with a senior dog, you already know how quietly time changes things. One day they’re leaping into the car without thinking; another day they pause at the...

Anticipatory Grief: Why You’re Mourning Before They Are Gone

Anticipatory Grief: Why You’re Mourning Before They Are Gone

You can love your pet fiercely and still find yourself grieving them while they’re curled up right beside you. That contradiction is often the first clue you’re living with anticipatory...

Healing Together: Family Rituals for Pet Loss

Healing Together: Family Rituals for Pet Loss

The first quiet after a pet dies can feel louder than anything. A water bowl sits untouched. The leash hangs where it always did. Someone in the family reaches for...

How to Help a Pet Who Is Grieving a Companion

How to Help a Pet Who Is Grieving a Companion

The first sign is often the quiet. A dog who usually trots to the kitchen when the bag rustles stays curled on the rug. A cat who used to patrol...

Pet Loss and Trauma Responses: When the Grief Feels Overwhelming

Pet Loss and Trauma Responses: When the Grief Feels Overwhelming

There are pet losses that ache in a familiar way—sadness, missing them at the door, reaching for the leash out of habit. And then there are losses that don’t just...

Fostering After Loss: A Bridge Between Grief and Ownership

Fostering After Loss: A Bridge Between Grief and Ownership

The first quiet after a pet dies can feel like a new kind of silence—one that follows you from room to room. You might still pause at the cabinet where...

The Single-Pet Household: Adjusting from a Pack of Two to One

The Single-Pet Household: Adjusting from a Pack of Two to One

There’s a moment many multi-pet families recognize after a loss: you hear the familiar jingle of tags in your memory, but not in your hallway. You look down and expect...

Cat Urn Size Guide: Adult Cats, Kittens & Multiple Cats (Sizing & Keepsake Options)

Cat Urn Size Guide: Adult Cats, Kittens & Multiple Cats (Sizing & Keepsake Options)

The quiet moments after a beloved cat passes can feel heavy, even when their routines were small and familiar, curling into a favorite corner, perching by the window, or quietly...

Do You Need Glue for Cremation Jewelry? Sealing, Threadlocker Options & Safety Tips

Do You Need Glue for Cremation Jewelry? Sealing, Threadlocker Options & Safety Tips

If you’re holding a tiny urn pendant in your hand and wondering whether you’re “supposed” to glue it shut, you’re not being picky, you’re being responsible. Cremation jewelry isn’t just...

When the Surviving Pet Becomes Clingy: Managing Separation Anxiety

When the Surviving Pet Becomes Clingy: Managing Separation Anxiety

In the first days after a pet dies, grief can make a home feel strangely rearranged. The silence is louder. The routines you didn’t realize were routines—two bowls clinking at...

How to Transfer Pet Ashes Into an Urn: Tools, Tips & a No-Stress Step-by-Step Guide

How to Transfer Pet Ashes Into an Urn: Tools, Tips & a No-Stress Step-by-Step Guide

There’s a particular kind of nerves that shows up when the crematory hands you your pet’s ashes. It’s not just grief. It’s the weight of responsibility, the feeling that you’re...

Pet Urn Size Calculator: Find The Right Capacity (Cubic Inches) & Split Ashes For Keepsakes

Pet Urn Size Calculator: Find The Right Capacity (Cubic Inches) & Split Ashes For Keepsakes

If you’ve ever found yourself googling pet urn size calculator at 2 a.m., you’re not alone. Choosing the right urn size may seem like a simple calculation, but in reality,...

Books to Help Toddlers Understand the Death of a Pet

Books to Help Toddlers Understand the Death of a Pet

When a pet dies, adults often feel two kinds of grief at once: the heartbreak of missing a beloved companion, and the ache of trying to explain something enormous to...

What To Say When Someone Loses a Pet: Texts, Cards & Workplace Scripts (And What Not To Say)

What To Say When Someone Loses a Pet: Texts, Cards & Workplace Scripts (And What Not To Say)

If you have ever stared at your phone after hearing “we had to say goodbye,” you already know the challenge: you care, you want to show up, and your mind...