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.

Creating a Ritual: Lighting a Candle Every Monday

Creating a Ritual: Lighting a Candle Every Monday

The first Monday after a pet dies can feel strangely loud. The weekend is gone, routines restart, and the places your companion used to “be” in the week suddenly stand...

The Science of Energy: Where Does the Love Go When They Die?

The Science of Energy: Where Does the Love Go When They Die?

There’s a particular kind of silence that settles in after a death—after the calls have been made, after the first wave of condolences, after you’ve stared at the same photo...

Signs from the Other Side: Stories of After-Death Communication

Signs from the Other Side: Stories of After-Death Communication

When a pet dies, the house gets quieter in a way that feels almost physical. The water bowl is still there. The favorite spot on the couch still holds the...

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,...

Headstone Symbols and Icons: Common Images and What They Mean

Headstone Symbols and Icons: Common Images and What They Mean

There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles over a cemetery. Even when the world is loud outside the gates, the space between headstones has its own pace—slower, softer, more...

Pet Loss and the Rainbow Bridge: Comforting Story or Painful Myth?

Pet Loss and the Rainbow Bridge: Comforting Story or Painful Myth?

Why the Rainbow Bridge Story Matters So Much If you have ever lost a beloved animal, there is a good chance someone has sent you the Rainbow Bridge story. It...

Planting a Tree or Garden in Memory of a Pet

Planting a Tree or Garden in Memory of a Pet

Grief enters quietly when pet loss happens, reshaping the home and the heart in ways few people truly understand. What once felt familiar suddenly carries a new weight: the empty...

Do Pets Go to Heaven? How Different Religions and Traditions Answer the Question

Do Pets Go to Heaven? How Different Religions and Traditions Answer the Question

When a pet dies, the questions that rise first are rarely technical ones about cremation urns or memorial options. They are tender, aching questions like, “Where are they now?” and “Will...

Cultural Views on Pet Death Around the World

Cultural Views on Pet Death Around the World

When a pet dies, grief can feel raw and immediate no matter where you live. Yet the way that grief is expressed, acknowledged, or even allowed is deeply shaped by...

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...

What Do the Stripes on the American Flag Mean? History, Symbolism, and Proper Use at Graves

What Do the Stripes on the American Flag Mean? History, Symbolism, and Proper Use at Graves

When you walk through a cemetery on a national holiday and see row after row of small American flags fluttering above headstones, the sight can catch in your throat. Those...

Christianity and Pets: Will I See Fido in Heaven?

Christianity and Pets: Will I See Fido in Heaven?

When a beloved dog or cat dies, the grief is rarely “small.” It may show up in all the ordinary places your pet used to be: the quiet corner where...

Dreaming of Your Deceased Pet: Psychology or Visitation?

Dreaming of Your Deceased Pet: Psychology or Visitation?

When a beloved animal dies, grief does not stay neatly contained in daylight hours. It often follows you into the night, showing up in vivid images: your dog racing down...

Do Animals Have Souls? Perspectives from Different Religions

Do Animals Have Souls? Perspectives from Different Religions

Why this question surfaces when a pet dies For many families, the first time they seriously ask whether animals have souls is not in a philosophy class or a theology...

Taxidermy and Preservation: Is It Creepy or Comforting?

Taxidermy and Preservation: Is It Creepy or Comforting?

When a pet dies, most families today are offered cremation almost by default. You may be handed a brochure about pet cremation urns, see options for pet urns for ashes,...

What Pet Ashes Look Like: Color, Texture, and What’s “Normal”

What Pet Ashes Look Like: Color, Texture, and What’s “Normal”

Receiving your pet’s cremation ashes can be an unexpectedly profound moment. The box or urn in your hands is more than just a container; it holds the physical trace of...