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.

Secondary Guilt: When You Cry More for Your Pet Than a Passed Relative

Secondary Guilt: When You Cry More for Your Pet Than a Passed Relative

There’s a particular kind of shame that can sneak in after a loss—quiet, sharp, and surprisingly persistent. It’s the feeling that your grief has somehow “betrayed” your family. You might...

Regretting the Vet Choice: Making Peace with Medical Trauma

Regretting the Vet Choice: Making Peace with Medical Trauma

The regret usually arrives after the hardest part is already over. At first, you’re simply trying to keep your pet alive, comfortable, and close. You’re making decisions in a fluorescent...

Financial Guilt: "If I Had More Money, Could I Have Saved Them?"

Financial Guilt: "If I Had More Money, Could I Have Saved Them?"

If you’ve found yourself replaying the same thought on a loop—If I had more money, could I have saved them?—you’re not alone. Financial guilt after a pet’s death has a...

Did They Know I Loved Them? An Animal Communicator’s Perspective

Did They Know I Loved Them? An Animal Communicator’s Perspective

There’s a particular kind of grief that shows up after a pet dies—quiet, sharp, and strangely specific. It’s not only “I miss them,” or “the house feels empty.” It’s the...

I Killed My Best Friend: Forgiving Yourself After Making the Euthanasia Call

I Killed My Best Friend: Forgiving Yourself After Making the Euthanasia Call

There’s a sentence some people whisper only in their heads, because it feels too ugly to say out loud: “I killed my best friend.” If you’re here, you may be...

The First 72 Hours: A Survival Guide for Acute Pet Grief

The First 72 Hours: A Survival Guide for Acute Pet Grief

In the first hours after a pet dies, time can feel unreal. Your body may be moving—making calls, finding a towel, staring at a collar on the floor—while your mind...

The Empty House Syndrome: Coping with the Silence After They’re Gone

The Empty House Syndrome: Coping with the Silence After They’re Gone

When a pet dies, grief doesn’t only live in your heart. It lives in your hallways, your kitchen corners, the spot by the window, the worn path between the couch...

Disenfranchised Grief: Why Society Doesn't Respect Pet Loss

Disenfranchised Grief: Why Society Doesn't Respect Pet Loss

There’s a particular kind of loneliness that can settle in after a pet dies. Not the loneliness of an empty leash hook or the silence where paws used to click...

The Caregiver's Burnout: Handling the Exhaustion of a Special Needs Pet

The Caregiver's Burnout: Handling the Exhaustion of a Special Needs Pet

There’s a kind of love that doesn’t show up in cheerful photos or easy stories. It looks like pill organizers on the counter. A calendar full of rechecks. A towel...

The Financial Guilt of Keeping a Sick Pet Alive (And Why It’s Okay to Stop)

The Financial Guilt of Keeping a Sick Pet Alive (And Why It’s Okay to Stop)

There’s a moment many families remember with painful clarity: the vet is speaking gently, but the numbers on the estimate feel loud. Maybe it’s a new medication that costs more...

The "Too Soon" vs. "Too Late" Dilemma: A Guide to the Final Decision

The "Too Soon" vs. "Too Late" Dilemma: A Guide to the Final Decision

If you’re reading this, you may be living inside one of the hardest questions a family ever carries: Are we choosing euthanasia too soon… or too late? It’s a dilemma...

Why People Feel Embarrassed About Pet Grief

Why People Feel Embarrassed About Pet Grief

The first time someone says, “It was just a dog,” or “At least it wasn’t a person,” it can land like a small betrayal—especially when your whole day has been...

Handling Pet Loss Anniversaries With Grace

Handling Pet Loss Anniversaries With Grace

The first time the date shows up on your calendar—one year since the day you said goodbye, or the week your pet stopped eating, or the morning you brought them...

Why Pet Loss Hits Harder for Single People

Why Pet Loss Hits Harder for Single People

When you live alone with a pet, your home doesn’t just contain your life—it organizes it. The rhythm of your mornings, the shape of your evenings, the reason you go...

Pet Loss and Identity: When a Pet Was Your Purpose

Pet Loss and Identity: When a Pet Was Your Purpose

There are losses that hurt because of what they take away. And then there are losses that hurt because of who they take away. When a pet has been central...

How to Rebuild Your Daily Routine After a Pet Dies

How to Rebuild Your Daily Routine After a Pet Dies

When a pet dies, it’s not only the quiet in the house that hurts—it’s the sudden collapse of structure. The morning that used to begin with a nose at your...