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.

When Your Pet Dies at Home: What to Do Next, Practically and Emotionally

When Your Pet Dies at Home: What to Do Next, Practically and Emotionally

When a pet dies at home, life can seem to stop in an instant. One moment they are struggling, resting, or simply aging in front of you, and the next,...

Pet Loss in the Age of Social Media: The Comfort and Pressure of Public Grieving

Pet Loss in the Age of Social Media: The Comfort and Pressure of Public Grieving

When grief goes online Not very long ago, losing a pet meant phone calls, a few printed photos, and quiet conversations at home. Today, for many people, the very first...

Helping Kids Create a Pet Memorial: Simple Crafts and Rituals

Helping Kids Create a Pet Memorial: Simple Crafts and Rituals

When a beloved pet dies, adults often juggle calls to the vet, decisions about funeral planning, and practical questions like what to do with ashes. Children feel the same loss,...

Faith and Pet Loss: What Different Traditions Say About Animals and the Afterlife

Faith and Pet Loss: What Different Traditions Say About Animals and the Afterlife

When a beloved dog, cat, or other companion animal dies, it rarely feels like “just losing a pet.” For many people of faith, the bond with an animal is wrapped...

Rainbow Bridge and Beyond: Spiritual and Religious Views on Where Pets Go

Rainbow Bridge and Beyond: Spiritual and Religious Views on Where Pets Go

Why We Wonder Where Our Pets Have Gone When a pet dies, the silence they leave behind can feel louder than anything. You still see their favorite spot on the...

Pre-Grieving a Pet: Coping When You Know Goodbye Is Coming Soon

Pre-Grieving a Pet: Coping When You Know Goodbye Is Coming Soon

There is a particular kind of grief that begins while a pet is still alive. You may be sitting on the floor, stroking an aging dog’s graying muzzle or listening...

Writing a Goodbye Letter to Your Pet: Prompts and Examples to Help You Start

Writing a Goodbye Letter to Your Pet: Prompts and Examples to Help You Start

When you lose a pet, your mind often fills with unfinished conversations. You may replay the last day, wish you had said something different, or feel an ache because there...

Pet Cremation vs. Burial: How to Choose What Feels Right for Your Family

Pet Cremation vs. Burial: How to Choose What Feels Right for Your Family

When a pet dies, the silence in the house is often the first thing you notice. The empty bed, the unused leash, the food bowl that doesn’t need to be...

Traumatic Pet Loss: Coping with Accidents and Unpreventable Tragedies

Traumatic Pet Loss: Coping with Accidents and Unpreventable Tragedies

Sudden loss throws your entire world off its axis. One moment your pet is part of your daily rhythm, the footsteps following you down the hallway, the weight on the...

Pet Euthanasia Guilt: What to Do When You Keep Asking 'Did I Do the Right Thing?

Pet Euthanasia Guilt: What to Do When You Keep Asking 'Did I Do the Right Thing?

There is a particular silence that follows euthanasia. It is not just the quiet house or the empty bed on the floor; it is the silence in your own mind...

Grieving the Loss of a Cat: Healing When Your Quiet Companion Is Gone

Grieving the Loss of a Cat: Healing When Your Quiet Companion Is Gone

When a dog dies, people tend to picture an empty leash and long walks that no longer happen. When a cat dies, the losses can feel quieter—but no less profound....

Do Pets Know They Are Dying? Gentle Thoughts for Worried Pet Parents

Do Pets Know They Are Dying? Gentle Thoughts for Worried Pet Parents

There is a particular kind of quiet that settles over a home when a beloved animal is nearing the end of life. Maybe your dog no longer rushes to the...

How to Cope With the Loss of a Dog: Gentle Steps for the Hardest Goodbye

How to Cope With the Loss of a Dog: Gentle Steps for the Hardest Goodbye

When a dog dies, the world can tilt in ways that other people don’t always see. The bed is still made, the emails still arrive, the traffic still moves—but the...

When a Loved One Dies by Suicide: Gentle Guidance for Language, Memorials, and Support

When a Loved One Dies by Suicide: Gentle Guidance for Language, Memorials, and Support

The moment you learn that someone you love has died by suicide, time can feel split in two. There is the world “before,” and then the surreal blur that follows:...

Balancing Children’s Activities and School with Grief: Attendance, Homework, and Gentle Flexibility

Balancing Children’s Activities and School with Grief: Attendance, Homework, and Gentle Flexibility

On the outside, the morning looks normal. Backpacks by the door, a half-finished cereal bowl on the table, a reminder email from the school about an upcoming project. But everything...

Pet Loss After a Sudden Death vs. Long Illness: Why Grief Can Feel Different

Pet Loss After a Sudden Death vs. Long Illness: Why Grief Can Feel Different

Losing a pet hurts no matter how it happens. Whether your companion died suddenly in an accident or slipped away after a long illness, the silence they leave behind can...