10 Special Memorial Jewelry Ideas for Your Beloved Pet
The immense pain that comes with losing a loved one is something nobody ever becomes accustomed to. We maintain unique relationships and create personal memories with who we meet in life, so losing a loved one is like losing a small part of you. The same is true for pets.
Besides being a central part of the modern family unit, pets provide unconditional love and companionship. Unfortunately, due to their short life span, every pet owner is bound to go through loss - often more than once in a lifetime.
One way to overcome the heartache and sadness while grieving of losing a beloved pet is to honor their memory with special keepsakes or mementos.
How to grieve the loss of a pet
Set some time aside to grieve
According to psychologists, there are five stages to the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The grieving process looks different for everyone and is not necessarily a linear experience. Take as much time as you need to grieve; there are neither shortcuts nor one-size-fits-all manuals to overcoming the loss of a pet.
Get the right support
Grieving can feel lonely, especially if your friends and family overcome their grief before you do. Don't hesitate to communicate your feelings of sadness and heartache or request extra support from a grief counselor or a pet bereavement support group near you.
Consider honoring the memory of your pet
There are several ways to immortalize your pet's memory for years after they have passed on. Finding one that speaks to you is an effective way to work through your grief. George Eliot once wrote, “Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them.”
General ideas to honor a furry friend
Memorial services
According to a 2015 study [BL1] conducted by the Funeral and Memorial Information Council (FAMIC), among adults aged 40 and over, “82% said that a memorial service helped pay tribute to or commemorate the life of a friend or family member. 72% believed the services they attended were an important part of the healing process.”
Whether you decide to bury or cremate your beloved pet, honor them by inviting friends and family over and have each of them say a poem, reading, or a prayer before the final sendoff.
Not only can a memorial service for your beloved pet be therapeutic, but it can mark the beginning of the grieving process.
Memorial plaques and frames
These are typically keepsake plates made of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other materials attached to a wall, or other vertical surfaces, bearing a photo and pawprint of your pet and some commemorative text.
Animal replicas
This option is perfect for families with children, as it involves creating a plush or stuffed animal version of your pet. Vendors are also able to place a voice recording from your actual pet or a lovely message from family and friends inside the replica if it’s a remembrance gift.
Memorial artwork
Memorial artwork such as a painting, drawing, sculpture, or other pieces of visual art inspired by your recently departed pet or created using its cremated ashes is an excellent way to memorialize and honor your furry friend. This artwork can be put up in an area designated for displaying your pet’s cremated remains or in your home.
Memorial trees
Depending on the time and resources at your disposal, you can either plant a tree in memory of your deceased pet or create a memorial garden dedicated to their honor. Some people prefer to add the pet’s cremation ashes (after they’ve been professionally treated) to the tree being planted so their furry companion can live on for eternity in another form.
Volunteering at an animal shelter
Shelters need volunteers to clean cages, fill water or food bowls, provide company to the animals, walk the dogs, play with the cats, train and socialize, and more. Dedicate some time to volunteering at a shelter near you and helping other animals in honor of your pet.
Pet memorial jewelry
Keep your beloved pet with you at all times with pet memorial jewelry. There are various forms of pet memorial jewelry, including symbolic jewelry that resembles your pet or something that reminds you of them, lockets to hold a photo of your pet or the pet cremains, or memorial diamonds made from the cremated ashes of your animal friend.
Unique ideas for pet memorial jewelry
1. Photo Lockets
Lockets have been used throughout history as memorial jewelry to hold something special or vital to the wearer. In the past, individuals used them to hold portraits, love letters, locks of hair, prayers such as novenas, medicine, and good-luck charms.
Your pet's name can be engraved in a memorial locket, your favorite photo of them, and any meaningful dates to keep them close to your heart and carry anywhere.
2. Urn jewelry
Urn jewelry is an innovative piece that presents a small pendant to hold your pet’s ashes. The urn pendant is typically enclosed in metal or resin. You can either have the pet’s cremains on display inside the urn or secure them inside the pendant for a more discreet approach in remembrance of your beloved cat or dog.
3. Cremation diamonds
Also known as memorial diamonds, these lab-grown diamonds are made using the carbon source found in your pet's cremated ashes. The technology replicates the natural process of diamond formation in the Earth’s crust, and the resulting piece of memorial jewelry is an eternal symbol of love that transcends life and death.
EverDear™ can create a gorgeous cremation diamond to honor and memorialize your pet, starting from $895.
4. Pawprint jewelry
This is jewelry made by creating a replica of your pet's pawprint or simply engraving jewelry with the pawprint. Some people also use noseprints.
5. Fur jewelry
Artists can capture the strands of your pet’s fur in resin and preserve them for eternity. This resin-protected furis then transferred into a locket or pendant designed to hold it discreetly.
6. Rainbow bridge jewelry
"Rainbow Bridge" is the name of a mythical meadow and a bridge that, upon death, pets cross to get to the other side. There, they find what’s essentially pet heaven, with acres of open land to run and play with plenty of sunshine, food, and water.
This jewelry is perfect for those who believe in the afterlife.
7. Charm bracelets
A charm bracelet is a type of bracelet which carries personal jeweled ornaments or "charms," such as decorative pendants or trinkets. The decorative charms can be personalized to include a tiny replica of your pet, their favorite toy, and other pet-related symbols.
8. Angel wing jewelry
Angel wings symbolize love, spirituality, and protection. You can have angel wing memorial jewelry made in honor of your deceased pet as a reminder they are watching over you, like a guardian angel. This jewelry is a popular choice for religious and afterlife believers as well.
9. Pet tag jewelry
Most pets wear tags to keep their identifying information close if they are separated from their families. These tags can easily be turned into a keepsake necklace for the bereaved to wear or display once the pet has passed.
10. Teardrop jewelry
Depending on the context, a teardrop can symbolize tears of sorrow from losing a loved one or pet. Teardrop jewelry can hold a small memorial of your beloved pet, such as its ashes, soil from their favorite place, or a lock of fur.
Although it's only recently gaining popularity, pet memorial jewelry is a unique and meaningful way to keep the memory of your furry friend alive long after they have passed on. There are several options to choose from.
Finding the right way to memorialize and honor your pet is a personal choice. Whether you want to wear a locket with your dog or cat’s fur or have a lab-created diamond made from their cremated ashes, there is something for every grieving pet owner.
