One of the hardest things a pet owner will go through is the death of their beloved pet. It never gets any easier and even though most of us have been through it before, it doesn't stop us from owning pets throughout our lives. The unconditional love and benefits from having a pet far outweigh the difficulties we have to endure.

Over the years, businesses have offered creative and numerous ways for pet owners to express their grief and memorialize their furry loved ones. There are many products and ideas that can help us express our grief and memorialize our best friends. I've asked two of our local pet loss businesses to give ideas on how pet owners can work through their grief.

FROM GREAT LAKES PET MEMORIAL & CREMATORY

For many, the unconditional love of a pet is irreplaceable; and the loss of that pet can be emotionally devastating. When a family has to say goodbye to a cherished pet, they can be uncertain about what they can do to comfort them through the grief. There are many memorial products available to suit any price range and taste. From keepsakes to elaborate, the choices can be overwhelming at times. I’ve taken the time to showcase a couple of unique products that I have personally seen bring healing, comfort and peace to pet owners after the tragic loss of a pet.

Memory Glass

By suspending cremated remains within solid glass globes, pendants and touchstones; Memory Glass provides a unique method of memorializing your pets.

Memory Glass can accompany any other cremation service, including urns, scatterings and burials. Using an extremely small amount of cremated remains, every member of the family can have their own tangible keepsake that will last forever.

There are several options with Memory Glass. Pendants can be worn keeping your loved one close to your heart and every family member can choose their own color. The Touchstones are a great piece that you can choose to take with you anywhere; I often have people tell me that it helps simply to have the touchstone in their pocket and take a walk together.

Buddies Jewelry

Creating a piece of keepsake jewelry can be very helpful in assembling a fitting tribute. We want to remember our pets as much as possible. Pictures help; But what about touch?

In my years as a cremation director, I have found only one keepsake that offers such a possibility. It’s called a “Buddie” and is made from your pets actual paw print or nose print.

Families who have purchased Buddies tell us that simply touching the “Buddie” evokes wonderful memories, which in turn, lessens the sense of loss. Families tell us all the time how Buddies Jewelry items have helped them in dealing with grief, and that they are the perfect remembrances of their pets. They are beautiful pieces, and when worn; others may ask about them, giving us the perfect opportunity to talk about our pets and what they brought to our lives. Talking about those we’ve lost helps us through our grief because we can focus on the good times and the happy memories.

Aside from purchasing memorial products, there are other ways to honor your pet’s memory…

Donate to a Pet Rescue or Humane Society
Your local pet rescues and shelters are often run solely on the generosity of donors and volunteers. Your donations can make a huge difference in saving the lives of pets. Here are two ways that you can donate.

Monetary Donations: Pet rescues, shelters and humane societies all accept monetary donations. You can donate any amount of money “In Honor of” or “In Memory of” your pet. Many humane societies and shelters have newsletters and will publish all of their Memorials, Honorariums and Gifts made in a pet’s or family’s name. The money that you’ve donated goes to help shelter pets and rescues save animals in your area and provide opportunities for adoptions. It is a very comforting thing you can do to honor the memory of your pet.

Donate your pet’s used items: Nearly every pet rescue will accept donations of items. You can call a local pet rescue for information or you can utilize Great Lakes Pet Memorial’s Donation Program. The program allows you to choose the pet rescue (or several) that can benefit from your items the most.

Knowing that your pet’s care items will be put to good use can help bring peace to the family, pet owners can appreciate that those items will help save pets in the future. It can all be made part of a comforting tribute to your cherished pet’s memory.

Items that are accepted include; gently-used leashes, collars, bedding, blankets, toys, clothing and unopened food and treats. Each pet’s belongings will be neatly packaged and delivered with a card inscribed, “In memory of …,” followed by the pet’s name, as well as the name of the family.

The donation program, which includes delivery to the pet charity, is offered free of charge to grieving pet owners. Donations may be dropped off Monday thru Friday at Great Lakes Pet Memorial, 1783 Perrys Loop, off Rocks Way, south of Chums Corners. For more information about the program, call 231-421-1370 or email: info@GLPetMemorial.com. For the full story click here.

Create a memorial website to honor your pet's life

There are several ways you can create a memorial online. The best is to find a site like UnforgottenPets.com where you can choose from pre-done backgrounds, music and more. You can assemble slideshows and share memories or journal your thoughts in a healthy way.

There is an enormous network of pet owners worldwide on the site that all know the pain and grief that comes with losing a pet. When you know that others care and are going through the same thing, it can help dramatically. I’ve seen people get the much needed healing they were looking for from the website and those on the website. Here is an example of one that a client made to honor her pet “Whitney” Click Here. You can create a memorial using your own style and make it all your very own at www.UnforgottenPets.com.

You can share it with your friends and get a unique URL making it easy to post on other websites as well. There is even a guestbook where others can post fond memories of your pet or express their condolences. The website will remain online forever, and you can return at anytime to cherish all of the happy memories of time spent with your pet.

For more information about Memorial Products, Services, and Donation Options please call us at (231) 421-1370 or visit www.GLPetMemorial.com. Great Lakes Pet Memorial is a Locally Owned, Family Owned and Operated Company dedicated to helping families through the loss of a cherished pet.

FROM OAKWOOD PET MEMORIAL CENTER

The options for memorializing a beloved and trusted friend is one of the most common questions the pet loss professionals at Oakwood Memorial Center gets when working with pet parents. The options are many with truly hundreds of different ways to memorialize a beloved pet-friend from heart shaped urns, metal and wood urns, jewelry, shadow box picture frames, caskets, and much, much more.

“Not only are we proud to have the vast offering of memorial options, we are excited to offer some creative and different options as well,” said Mike DePuy of Oakwood.

“One beautiful way to memorialize your beloved pet is by creating a living memorial; a remembrance planting in your home or garden is a powerful living symbol.” Nourished by a small bit of your pet’s cremated remains mixed with a product by Let Your Love Grow, an ordinary plant becomes a living symbol of your pet’s life.

For the remaining cremated remains, you can choose other ways to memorialize your pet, from an urn on the mantel to a beautiful necklace that can hold a bit of your pet close to your heart.

Another great product offered at Oakwood Pet Memorial Center is Juniper Urns.

Juniper Urns is dedicated to being socially responsible by creating sustainable, eco friendly urns. To help minimize the impact on the planet’s resources, each Juniper Urn is crafted with locally-sourced, sustainable and recycled materials. Juniper Urns donates 5% of the profit from each urn to the Petfinder.com Foundation, where it provides abandoned pets medical attention and help in finding new loving homes. Each urn was produced through a Green America fair trade workshop and supports artisans in developing countries and fund educational programs.

Aside from the final resting place for your pet, Oakwood Pet Memorial Center guides families through the memorial process. “We have helped pet parents plan viewings of their pet, including their family, friends, and other pet friends. We also assist in educating families so that they can make a decision on a memorial urn that most fully represents the life they shared together. Some families may also want to bury the urn or scattering the cremains. With that, we facilitate a discussion about meaningful options for these processes, having families consider a favorite spot in the yard or their favorite walking route or lake. “ DePuy said.

Some pet parents have taken a different route in memorializing their pet. Recently, Oakwood Pet Memorial Center helped a family who owned hunting dogs. “We loaded some of the cremated remains into shotgun shells, the group that hunted with the dog lined up along their favorite hunting field and shot the shells into the air. Those in attendance then had a salute to their beloved hunting partner over that favorite hunting field that held so many memories.” Sometimes pet parents need help in thinking outside the box on how to memorialize their friend. “When we’ve shared this tribute with other hunters, they say, “I wish I would’ve done this with my hunting partner.”

Recently Oakwood Pet Memorial Center opened their new Remembrance Room, giving families the opportunity for a farewell viewing.

One particular family was put in a situation of an unexpected death of their beloved Great Dane, Princess. The entire family was able to spend some precious moments with Princess; most certainly a very beautiful and peaceful way for the family to say their last good-bye.

There are many different ways to memorialize your furry family members. Memorializing your pet is the first step in the healing process, and there is never a right or wrong way to memorialize. It is a personal, private, and beautiful way to pay tribute and honor to your beloved pet and the life that was shared together.

To contact Oakwood Pet Memorial Center, please call 231-649-3963. They are located in Maple City. Their website is here. You can also email them here.