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.

What to Write on a Pet Memorial Stone: Engraving Ideas, Quotes, and Layout Tips

What to Write on a Pet Memorial Stone: Engraving Ideas, Quotes, and Layout Tips

When you’re choosing words for a pet memorial stone, it can feel strangely hard. You loved your dog or cat in a thousand ordinary ways—feeding, walking, sleeping beside each other,...

Pet Loss: What to Do Next With Ashes, Urns, and Memorial Jewelry

Pet Loss: What to Do Next With Ashes, Urns, and Memorial Jewelry

Pet loss doesn’t arrive as a single moment. It arrives in waves. One minute you’re handling the practical details—phone calls, pickup times, paperwork—and the next minute you’re standing in your...

What to Do With Pet Ashes: 15 Meaningful Ideas for Honoring a Beloved Pet

What to Do With Pet Ashes: 15 Meaningful Ideas for Honoring a Beloved Pet

When a pet dies, the house often goes quiet in a way you can feel in your body. The leash still hangs by the door. The food bowl is still...

Thoughtful Pet Loss Gifts: What to Give After a Dog or Cat Dies

Thoughtful Pet Loss Gifts: What to Give After a Dog or Cat Dies

When a pet dies, the people who loved them often feel two kinds of pain at once. There is the obvious pain of absence, and there is the quieter pain...

Pet Memorial Ideas: Gentle Ways to Honor a Life That Mattered

Pet Memorial Ideas: Gentle Ways to Honor a Life That Mattered

If you’re searching for pet memorial ideas, you’re usually not looking for something “cute.” You’re looking for something that feels true. Something that fits the bond you had, the way...

“I’m Afraid of Doing It Too Soon”: How Families Reduce Regret With Better Information

“I’m Afraid of Doing It Too Soon”: How Families Reduce Regret With Better Information

If you are afraid of doing it too soon, you are not alone, and you are not “being dramatic.” That fear is one of the most common reasons families delay...

Pet Burial vs. Pet Cremation: Pros, Cons, Costs, and How to Choose

Pet Burial vs. Pet Cremation: Pros, Cons, Costs, and How to Choose

When a pet dies, the world can feel like it narrows to a single, tender question: what now? Most families are not thinking in checklists. They are thinking about the...

Cat Urn Size Guide: How to Choose the Right Cremation Urn for Your Cat

Cat Urn Size Guide: How to Choose the Right Cremation Urn for Your Cat

After a cat dies, the first thing you notice is the quiet. The water bowl stays full. The favorite window spot holds a rectangle of sunlight and nothing else. And...

Biodegradable Pet Urns: Best Options for Water, Garden Burial & Tree Planting (What to Know)

Biodegradable Pet Urns: Best Options for Water, Garden Burial & Tree Planting (What to Know)

When a pet dies, families often find themselves making decisions they never wanted to make—quickly, while sleep-deprived, and with a heart that feels like it’s trying to learn a new...

Pet Aftercare for Apartment Dwellers: Memorial Options Without a Yard (Urns, Jewelry & Rituals)

Pet Aftercare for Apartment Dwellers: Memorial Options Without a Yard (Urns, Jewelry & Rituals)

When you lose a pet in an apartment, grief can feel oddly boxed in. There’s no backyard to walk out into. No familiar “place” to return them to. Maybe you...

Chain of Custody in Pet Aftercare: Tags, Logs, Tracking & Transparency (What to Ask For)

Chain of Custody in Pet Aftercare: Tags, Logs, Tracking & Transparency (What to Ask For)

When you lose a pet, you’re often asked to make decisions while you’re still in shock. You may feel steady enough to choose a service type, sign a form, and...

Backyard Pet Burial Safety Checklist: Depth, Water Table, Wildlife Risks & Legal Basics

Backyard Pet Burial Safety Checklist: Depth, Water Table, Wildlife Risks & Legal Basics

When a beloved pet dies, the urge to bring them home and keep them close can be powerful. For some families, a backyard burial feels like the most natural goodbye—quiet,...

Eco-Friendly Pet Burial and Cremation: Greener Choices for Animal Aftercare

Eco-Friendly Pet Burial and Cremation: Greener Choices for Animal Aftercare

Losing a pet rarely feels “small.” It is a real death, a real absence, and a real set of decisions arriving at a moment when your heart is already trying...

Pet Burial When You Rent: Options for Apartment and Condo Dwellers

Pet Burial When You Rent: Options for Apartment and Condo Dwellers

When a pet dies, many people instinctively imagine a peaceful burial—a small ceremony, a favorite blanket, a place to visit on hard days. But if you live in an apartment,...

Creating a Small Family Pet Cemetery on Private Land: Rules, Records, and Respect

Creating a Small Family Pet Cemetery on Private Land: Rules, Records, and Respect

When a pet dies on rural land, the instinct to bring them home can feel both tender and practical. You know the trees they slept under. You know the paths...

Where Can You Bury a Dog Legally? Home, Pet Cemetery, or Private Land Explained

Where Can You Bury a Dog Legally? Home, Pet Cemetery, or Private Land Explained

When a dog dies, families often feel two strong urges at the same time: the need to do something loving right now, and the fear of getting it wrong. Burial...