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.

Phantom Hunger After Pet Loss: Why You Still Reach for the Food Bowl (and How to Reshape Routines)

Phantom Hunger After Pet Loss: Why You Still Reach for the Food Bowl (and How to Reshape Routines)

You might catch yourself doing it without thinking: turning toward the pantry at the usual hour, scooping food into a bowl that no longer needs filling, listening for paws that...

After a Pet Accident: PTSD-Like Symptoms in Owners and How to Get Support

After a Pet Accident: PTSD-Like Symptoms in Owners and How to Get Support

Witnessing a traumatic accident can leave owners replaying images, avoiding reminders, and feeling constant “what if” anxiety. This guide explains the difference between normal acute stress and longer-term PTSD-like symptoms,...

Compassion Fatigue in Veterinarians: Why It Happens and How Clinics (and Clients) Can Help

Compassion Fatigue in Veterinarians: Why It Happens and How Clinics (and Clients) Can Help

Most people meet their veterinary team on an ordinary day: a vaccine appointment, a new puppy exam, a quick phone call about a rash. But veterinary professionals spend a meaningful...

Caregiver Fatigue With Chronically Ill Pets: Signs of Burnout and Compassionate Ways to Get Relief

Caregiver Fatigue With Chronically Ill Pets: Signs of Burnout and Compassionate Ways to Get Relief

You can love your pet fiercely and still feel depleted. In fact, those two truths often show up together when you are living inside the daily reality of caring for...

Keeping a Pet Skull: Legal and Ethical Considerations and Safe, Respectful Cleaning Options

Keeping a Pet Skull: Legal and Ethical Considerations and Safe, Respectful Cleaning Options

There’s a particular kind of grief that shows up after a pet dies—quiet, domestic, and strangely physical. Their food bowl is still by the wall. The leash is still hung...

Trolls and Cyberbullying on Memorial Pages: How to Protect Grieving Families Online

Trolls and Cyberbullying on Memorial Pages: How to Protect Grieving Families Online

In the first hours after a death, families often move through two realities at once: the private world of shock and the public world of notifications. A cousin shares a...

How to Choose a Health Care Proxy: The Traits That Prevent Crisis Confusion

How to Choose a Health Care Proxy: The Traits That Prevent Crisis Confusion

Choosing a health care proxy can feel like an emotional assignment: “Pick the person who loves you most.” But in real emergencies, love isn’t the only trait that matters. A...

Guilt After Euthanizing a Pet: Why It’s So Common and How to Find Self-Forgiveness

Guilt After Euthanizing a Pet: Why It’s So Common and How to Find Self-Forgiveness

If you chose euthanasia for a pet you deeply loved, you may be surprised by how quickly your mind turns love into accusation. You can know—logically—that you were trying to...

Anticipatory Grief for a Terminally Ill Pet: Managing Heartbreak Before the Goodbye

Anticipatory Grief for a Terminally Ill Pet: Managing Heartbreak Before the Goodbye

Anticipatory grief is a particular kind of heartbreak: the grief that begins before a loss fully arrives. With a terminally ill pet, it can feel like you are living in...

Coping With Pet Loss: A Compassionate Guide for the First Days and Weeks

Coping With Pet Loss: A Compassionate Guide for the First Days and Weeks

The first days after a pet dies can feel unreal—like your body is moving through normal time while your heart is still stuck in the moment everything changed. You might...

Grieving a Pet in Secret: What to Do When You Feel Ashamed of Your Grief

Grieving a Pet in Secret: What to Do When You Feel Ashamed of Your Grief

There’s a particular kind of loneliness that can settle in after a pet dies—one that doesn’t come only from the empty bed, the quiet hallway, or the way your body...

Grief and Creativity: Art, Music, and Writing as Healing Outlets (Even If You’re ‘Not Artistic’)

Grief and Creativity: Art, Music, and Writing as Healing Outlets (Even If You’re ‘Not Artistic’)

Grief can make ordinary life feel unfamiliar. Tasks that once seemed simple may now feel overwhelming. Your attention may jump from one thought to another, your energy can plummet, and...

Letters You Never Sent: Writing as a Tool for Grief, Forgiveness, and Unfinished Conversations

Letters You Never Sent: Writing as a Tool for Grief, Forgiveness, and Unfinished Conversations

There are moments in grief when we realize the words we needed to speak will never leave our lips. Perhaps it was love left unspoken, or anger we tucked away...

Cremation, Guilt, and “Did I Do the Right Thing?”: Mental Health Perspectives

Cremation, Guilt, and “Did I Do the Right Thing?”: Mental Health Perspectives

Guilt after cremation can feel surprisingly sharp. It can show up in the quiet hours after the arrangements are finished, after the urn arrives, after the house empties out, or...

Visiting the Vet, Park, or Favorite Spot After a Pet Dies: Handling Grief Triggers

Visiting the Vet, Park, or Favorite Spot After a Pet Dies: Handling Grief Triggers

There are some places you expect to hurt after a pet dies, like the quiet corner where their bed used to be, or the kitchen floor where you still instinctively...

Grief and Health: When to See a Doctor About Physical Symptoms Connected to Loss

Grief and Health: When to See a Doctor About Physical Symptoms Connected to Loss

In the days after a death, time can feel strange. You can be standing in a grocery aisle and suddenly realize you have been staring at the same shelf for...