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 Cremation Jewelry Works: What It Holds (Ashes, Fur & Whiskers) & How Much Fits

How Cremation Jewelry Works: What It Holds (Ashes, Fur & Whiskers) & How Much Fits

Cremation jewelry tends to show up in a family’s life at a very specific moment: the practical pieces of loss are moving forward, but the emotional reality still feels unreal....

Pet Cremation Costs in 2026: Typical Price Ranges & What Changes the Total

Pet Cremation Costs in 2026: Typical Price Ranges & What Changes the Total

Paying for pet cremation can feel overwhelming, especially when grief is still fresh. One of the most confusing parts is the wide variation in quotes, even between nearby providers. This...

Keeping Cremation Jewelry Private: Wearing Pet Ashes at Work, School, and in Public

Keeping Cremation Jewelry Private: Wearing Pet Ashes at Work, School, and in Public

There’s a specific kind of vulnerability that comes with returning to daily life after losing a pet. You may look composed on the outside while carrying something deeply sacred close...

Pet Memorial Rings vs Necklaces vs Bracelets: Pros, Cons, Comfort & Practicality

Pet Memorial Rings vs Necklaces vs Bracelets: Pros, Cons, Comfort & Practicality

When you’re choosing pet memorial jewelry, you’re rarely shopping in the usual way. You’re trying to make something heartbreaking feel manageable. You want something you can actually live with, something...

Grieving the Loss of a Service Dog: Losing Your Independence

Grieving the Loss of a Service Dog: Losing Your Independence

When a service dog dies, people around you may try to comfort you in the familiar ways: “At least they’re not suffering.” “You gave them a beautiful life.” “You can...

Changing Breeds: Why Switching Might Help Your Grief

Changing Breeds: Why Switching Might Help Your Grief

In the first quiet days after a dog dies, many people discover that grief isn’t only sadness. It’s habit. It’s the sound your body expects to hear at the door,...

Comparing the New Puppy to the Old Dog: How to Stop

Comparing the New Puppy to the Old Dog: How to Stop

There’s a moment many families don’t expect after bringing home a new puppy: you’re standing in the kitchen, the water bowl clinks, a tail thumps against the cabinet—and your mind...

Teenagers and Pet Loss: Validating Their Silent Grief

Teenagers and Pet Loss: Validating Their Silent Grief

A teenager might walk past the empty food bowl without flinching, keep scrolling through their phone, and shrug when you ask, “Are you okay?” From the outside, it can look...

How to Help a Surviving Cat Cope with the Loss of a Companion

How to Help a Surviving Cat Cope with the Loss of a Companion

The first thing most families notice after a cat dies isn’t always the silence. Sometimes it’s the wrong kind of sound: a surviving cat yowling down the hallway at night,...

Grieving a "Soul Pet": Why This Loss Feels Different Than Others

Grieving a "Soul Pet": Why This Loss Feels Different Than Others

There are losses that arrive like weather—hard, undeniable, and shared by everyone around you. And then there are losses that feel strangely private, even when people are kind. The death...

Pre-Grieving: Why You Feel Guilty for Thinking About Life After They're Gone

Pre-Grieving: Why You Feel Guilty for Thinking About Life After They're Gone

If you’re caring for an aging or terminally ill pet, you may be living in two timelines at once. In one, you’re still measuring medications, counting breaths, watching appetite, celebrating...

Bucket Lists for Terminally Ill Pets: Ideas for Every Mobility Level

Bucket Lists for Terminally Ill Pets: Ideas for Every Mobility Level

When a veterinarian says the words “terminal” or “end-of-life,” time changes shape. The days can feel too fast and too heavy at the same time. Many families start searching for...

Coping with the Diagnosis: When the Vet Says "There's Nothing More We Can Do"

Coping with the Diagnosis: When the Vet Says "There's Nothing More We Can Do"

You don’t forget the moment the room shifts. Maybe the vet’s voice is steady and kind. Maybe they say it gently—“We’ve reached the end of what curative treatment can do.”...

Explaining Euthanasia to Kids: Scripts for Different Age Groups

Explaining Euthanasia to Kids: Scripts for Different Age Groups

There’s a particular kind of ache that shows up when a family realizes a beloved pet is nearing the end. Adults are often juggling two worlds at once: the quiet,...

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...

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...