By: Coleen A. Ellis
From birthday parties, Christmas gifts, and Halloween costumes, our pets have become a part of many family’s holiday rituals. Therefore, when these pets die, families are also considering rituals to celebrate the life they shared with their beloved pet.
First of all, when pet parent families think about the concept of doing a ritual or a service for their beloved pet, they immediately question themselves with “what will my friends think? Will they think I’m crazy?” The real question is “who cares what THEY think.” What do you want to do?
Consider this blog a piece to give you permission to do what you want to do to honor your pet. People will always have opinions; everyone knows that! But this process of a ritual for you and your precious pet is what will give you peace in honoring the beautiful life you shared together and how you want to remember that life. This is ALL about you and not about anyone else. Period.
Next, really think about what you and your pet liked to do together as well as what you will always want to remember about your time together.
- Did you like to take walks together to a local dog park?
- Consider inviting those other animals and their families that you would see at the park to be a part of your service.
- If your dog liked to chase tennis balls, consider giving all of the doggie friends there a tennis ball in your dog’s memory. Have some fun with this; hide the tennis balls for the other dogs to find with a note attached about the balls being there in honor of your pet.
- Did your dog like running in the open field.
- Consider going into this field and releasing balloons or blowing bubbles in honor of your pet and as a symbolic release of their spirit.
Join us back here for the next blog where more you will read more creative ritual ideas.
