Throughout history, human beings have chosen to acknowledge the passing of a member of the family, with a ceremony. And since your pet was certainly a member of your family, it’s really quite logical for you to choose to hold a ceremonial pet remembrance service, pet funeral, or pet memorial service for them. It doesn’t matter if you’ve chosen private burial, or cremation, a ceremony binds and heals; acknowledges, and remembers.
We’ve helped families just like yours to stage remarkably moving ceremonies in remembrance of their animal companion and always work with the creativity of the family to create a truly personal tribute.
What is a Pet Remembrance Ceremony?
If you look up the word “ceremony” online, you’ll learn that it is “a formal religious or public occasion, typically one celebrating a particular event or anniversary”, or “an act or series of acts performed according to a traditional or prescribed form”. With that said, you’ll probably ready to ask, “What’s the traditional or prescribed form for a pet funeral”?
In short, there really isn’t just one! Most of us are familiar with the nature of a funeral, and we recognize that a funeral exists to do two things:
Bring people together for comforting friendship and camaraderie
Acknowledge the contributions of the deceased to the quality of life for those around him or her
Understanding the importance of a ceremony gives you a good start on planning a remembrance
service for your pet. To keep your momentum going, we suggest that you download a copy of our short guide to planning a funeral for your pet, Celebrate the Life of Your Pet through Ceremony, for inspiration. Created from our experience working with families, who have lost a beloved animal companion, this list of suggested activities or events is intended to help you to collectively summon up memories—as a means of comfort, but also to keep your pet’s love and presence in your heart.
Our pet loss professionals have lots of other ceremonial suggestions to share with you–so pleasecontact us. We promise to respond quickly.