Unique Memorial Ideas

Unique Pet Memorial IdeasAll it takes is a light breeze for Mary Cline to remember all the dogs she’s loved, and lost, during her lifetime.

Nine wind chimes – one for each dog — hang from the mature trees around her home in Higgins Lake, Michigan.

“When I hear them sing out, it stops me for just a second, and reminds me of the special music that each of my fur-kids brought into my life,” says Cline.

Honoring a pet’s memory is an important way for people to transition from devastating sadness to begrudging acceptance of their dog’s death.

Some owners plant trees, write poetry, or donate to charity as a way to commemorate their senior dog.

Others opt for the truly unique.

Below are memorial products and services that take inspiration ranging from modern science to ancient aristocrats:

1. High-Tech Jewelry.  Are diamonds, or dogs a girl’s best friend? Well, no need choose. Now you can have both – sort of. New Age Diamonds, headquartered in Russia, “grows” diamonds that contain carbon extracted from dog hair. A special, high temperature machine creates the personalized diamonds (up to 2 carats) in about 70 days. Visit heart-in-diamond.com

2. Not into glitz? California based Perpetua offers an attractive alternative: the Life Jewel Pendant, which contains your dog’s DNA. Genetic material is extracted from either blood or cheek cells, tinted with color then placed in a double helix pendant. The keepsake charm arrives on an 18 inch sterling cable chain.  Visit perpetua.us

3. Forget the Urn.  Encase your dog’s ashes in a garden stepping stone, hand blown glass or crystal. The shape, size and color of the glass and crystal pieces vary depending on the manufacturer. Only a few tablespoons of ashes are needed, allowing the remainder to be spread or buried in a special place.  Several companies offer such items including Pet Steps to Heaven at petstepstoheaven.com and Soul Bursts at soulbursts.com

Another option is the Soft-Hearted Pillow in which your pet’s ashes are tucked discreetly into the center of a soft, huggable pillow utilizing a secure interior pocket. Soft-hearted.com

4. For outdoor lovers, Floramorialproduces a unique planting soil mixture containing your pet’s ashes. The Illinois based company says the soil used on new or established shrubs and flowers creates the ultimate living memorial. Visit floramorial.com

5. Modern Mummification. The Egyptians did it. Now a Salt Lake City company called Summum is continuing this ancient art form by preparing pets for their journey into the afterlife. The bodies are treated with oil, wrapped in layers of cotton gauze, and placed in canine shaped bronze or stainless steel shells. Lastly, a gold leaf or marble patina finish is applied. The process takes four to eight months. Visit summom.org

6. Another preservation option is freeze-drying. A machine slowly removes moisture from the frozen corpse over a three to six month period. The body and bone structure remains in tact (unlike regular taxidermy.) When complete, dogs reportedly look and feel much like they did in life. A few U.S. taxidermists offer freeze-drying including Anthony Eddy’s Wildlife Studio at pet-animalpreservation.com

7. Hair of the Dog.  If you’re like most owners, furry tumbleweeds collect in the corners of your home. Instead of putting these annoying clumps of fur in the trash – start saving them!  The hair can later be shipped to a company, like VIP Fibers, that washes and spins it into yarn so you can knit a keepsake item.  For more information visit vipfibers.com

8. Online Tribute.  Many sites offer grieving owners a place to post their heartfelt good-byes but one stands out from the crowd. Petloss.com is a free site that holds a candle light ceremony on Monday nights (10 pm Eastern) to honor pets who have passed away. The 20 minute observance is held in the site’s chat room.