As an owner, you consider your dog or cat part of the family. Losing a pet, therefore, feels like losing a loved one.You may experience intense grief when your long-time companion is no longer by your side or comes to greet you at the door when you arrive home.

Pet memorials preserve the years spent together and highlight your special bond. As you seek to capture their essence and provide a place for others to pay their respects, consider the following:

Creating a Pet Memorial

Pet memorials for dogs and other animals fall into three categories: a ceremony honoring their memory, a location for their ashes, or a display honoring their distinctive personality. If your pet touched multiple lives, you can:

• Hold a funeral in a location where friends, family members and others who knew your pet can share their favorite memories.
• Place a memorial on your property such as a flower garden, tree or headstone in their memory .
• Create a display featuring their urn, photos of your beloved pet, a poem and a few objects that remind you of them - for example, a favorite toy, food dish or collar.

Types of Pet Memorials for Dogs

We all grieve differently. With pets, you may want to hold your memories physically close or find a spot where you can think about all the times you had together. Many create this space through the following dog memorial products and ideas:

• Displays: These pet memorials may rest on a mantle or another area of your home. They preserve your pet's memory with an urn holding their ashes, plus a compilation of photographs and items you've accumulated over the years such as favorite toys or a special leash. Consider complementing your display with a paw print impression, a poster with a message about the Rainbow Bridge or other keepsakes. Based on the item's durability, these pet memorials can be placed indoors or outside.
• Wearing or scattering ashes: Some owners opt to have their pet's ashes scattered in their favorite location or add them to a keepsake. Options range from a glass ornament or sculpture to a pendant or other jewelry for keeping their pet's presence close by.
• Hair preservation: Similar to cremation jewelry, some owners may choose to hold onto a lock of their pet's fur and add it to a pendant, or preserve it in a bag, box or a similar display.
• Paw print memorials: For an individual memorial or part of a larger display, take a print of your pet's paws or nose using a clay material or paper and ink to capture their unique physical characteristics. Paw print jewelry transforms this method into a stylish pendant suspended delicately on a chain, embodying a wearable and meaningful expression.
  
  

  

• Photo memorials: This traditional approach involves framing and displaying your favorite photos of your pet. These may be from select moments over the years or to catalog their life from puppyhood through adulthood.
• Poems and sympathy inserts: Express how you feel about your beloved pet's passing with your own or a pre-written poem. Many opt to have these tributes displayed alongside a photograph or paw imprint.
• Commemorative gifts: Make a donation in your pet's memory. Ideas range from planting a tree in their name to giving funds to or volunteering on their behalf at your local animal shelter.

As a veterinarian, you see how much your clients' pets mean to them - and how affected they are when they pass away. To support them during a time of need, it is helpful to have an array of dog memorial gifts and other pet memorial gifts and products available. Positive Impressions offers a wide variety of memorial products for paw print impression kits, inserts, urns, cremation jewelry and more. Take a few minutes to explore these offerings now!