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.

How to Build a Support System After Pet Loss

How to Build a Support System After Pet Loss

There’s a particular kind of silence that follows pet loss. It isn’t only the absence of paws on the hallway floor or the familiar weight at the edge of the...

What Is the Dog’s Prayer Poem?

What Is the Dog’s Prayer Poem?

The connection between a dog and their human is a profound and irreplaceable bond, one that often defies explanation. It is a relationship built on unwavering loyalty, playful companionship, and...

The Physical Symptoms of Heartbreak: Can Pet Loss Make You Sick?

The Physical Symptoms of Heartbreak: Can Pet Loss Make You Sick?

The morning after your pet dies can feel unreal in a way that’s hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t lived it. The house is still. The routine is broken....

How to Bury a Dog Safely and Respectfully: Step-by-Step Guide for Families

How to Bury a Dog Safely and Respectfully: Step-by-Step Guide for Families

When a dog dies, the world can feel strangely split in two: the big, aching grief—and the small, immediate questions you never wanted to have to answer. If your instinct...

It’s Just a Cat: How to Handle Insensitive Comments from Friends

It’s Just a Cat: How to Handle Insensitive Comments from Friends

The comment rarely lands gently. You might be standing in the grocery store aisle, moving on autopilot because you ran out of coffee filters. You might be at work, answering...

Pet Memorial Stones and Garden Markers: Engraving Ideas and Placement Tips

Pet Memorial Stones and Garden Markers: Engraving Ideas and Placement Tips

A pet memorial doesn’t have to be elaborate to feel deeply meaningful. In fact, many people find the most comfort in simplicity. A small marker you can touch, a name...

Navigating Workplace Grief: Should You Take Bereavement Leave for a Pet?

Navigating Workplace Grief: Should You Take Bereavement Leave for a Pet?

The morning after a pet dies can feel strangely ordinary from the outside. The alarm still goes off. The calendar is still full. Emails still arrive with the same urgency...

Grieving a Lost Pet (That Hasn't Died): The Pain of Rehoming or Runaways

Grieving a Lost Pet (That Hasn't Died): The Pain of Rehoming or Runaways

There’s a particular kind of heartbreak that doesn’t come with a “final moment.” No last breath. No goodbye you can prepare for. No clear place to set your grief down....

Dealing with Veterinary Malpractice: Grief Mixed with Anger

Dealing with Veterinary Malpractice: Grief Mixed with Anger

There are losses that arrive like a soft wave—sad, heavy, inevitable. And then there are losses that land like a collision: sudden, confusing, and threaded with the kind of anger...

Senior to Puppy: The Shock of Raising a Baby After Caring for a Senior

Senior to Puppy: The Shock of Raising a Baby After Caring for a Senior

When you’ve spent months (or years) caring for an elderly dog, your life quietly reshapes itself around gentler things: slower walks, softer food, medication schedules, and the way you learn...

How to Personalize a Pet Urn: Engraving Ideas, Photo Options, Symbols, and Wording Examples

How to Personalize a Pet Urn: Engraving Ideas, Photo Options, Symbols, and Wording Examples

Personalizing an urn is one of those choices that can feel small on paper and surprisingly big in the heart. A pet urn sits quietly on a shelf or in...

Dog Urn Size Guide by Breed: Small, Medium, Large & Giant Breeds (Plus Weight Chart)

Dog Urn Size Guide by Breed: Small, Medium, Large & Giant Breeds (Plus Weight Chart)

If you’re here because you just lost your dog, you’re probably not looking for “options” in the abstract. You want a clear answer that helps you make a choice you...

Ceramic vs Metal vs Wood Pet Urns: Pros, Cons, Durability & Best Use Cases

Ceramic vs Metal vs Wood Pet Urns: Pros, Cons, Durability & Best Use Cases

When you’re choosing an urn for a pet you love, the decision rarely feels like “just shopping.” It’s more like you’re trying to find something that can hold the weight...

Exotic Pet Loss: Why Grieving a Reptile or Bird is Valid

Exotic Pet Loss: Why Grieving a Reptile or Bird is Valid

When someone loses a parrot who greeted them every morning for twenty years, or a bearded dragon whose quiet presence carried them through depression, the grief can be surprisingly intense—and...

Pet Cremation for Birds & Small Pets: Options When Ashes Are Minimal (and How to Memorialize)

Pet Cremation for Birds & Small Pets: Options When Ashes Are Minimal (and How to Memorialize)

If you’ve ever loved a bird, a hamster, a guinea pig, a gecko, or any of those small companions who somehow take up an enormous amount of space in your...

Witnessing a Pet Cremation: What to Expect, How Long It Takes, and How to Decide

Witnessing a Pet Cremation: What to Expect, How Long It Takes, and How to Decide

If you’re considering watching a pet cremation, you’re probably not doing it out of curiosity. You’re doing it because love is colliding with uncertainty, and the idea of handing your...