20 Meaningful Ways to Memorialize a Dog or Cat
UpdatedTwenty keepsakes people actually choose, grouped by what they are for: the garden, the collar and tags, a shelf indoors, or something small to carry. Every one is personalized free, and there is a list of the things that cost nothing at the bottom.
Where most people start
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Most chosen for a garden1. Personalized Dog Memorial Stone$59.99 · Their photo printed onto a real Colorado stone at 1200 dpi, in UV ink built for rain and sun.
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Holds the collar5. Rainbow Bridge Pet Memorial Keepsake Box$44.99 · Cherry wood, their photo and years on the front, and room inside for the collar, the tags, a fur clipping and the printed photos.
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Best for a cat8. Whiskered Memories Light Box$39.99 · A wooden frame with a soft light behind her photo, her name and her years, and a sitting cat silhouette.
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2. Personalized Cat Memorial Stone$59.99 · Her photo printed onto the same Colorado stone, with her name and a line of your own underneath.
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6. Pet Memorial Frame With Collar$43.50 · A shadow box with their photo behind glass and a holder underneath for the collar they actually wore.
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Best for a dog9. Pawprint Memory Light Frame$39.99 · A wooden frame with his name across the top, his years between the paw prints and his photo lit softly from behind.
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Under $1516. Pet Memory Dog Tag$13.99 · Their name and years engraved on a metal tag on a ball chain.
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Least expensive17. Personalized Paws Pet Ornament$10.42 · Their name and a year engraved into wood with two paw prints cut clean through it.
- For the garden
- Holds their collar
- Their face on a shelf
- To carry or hang
- Ideas that cost nothing
- What to have engraved
- Questions
Stones and markers for the garden
For the spot they used to lie in, or the spot they are buried. Browse them all in pet memorial stones.
1. Personalized Dog Memorial Stone
Their photo printed onto a real Colorado stone at 1200 dpi, in UV ink built for rain and sun. The one people are most glad they did a year later. $59.99
Personalize it
2. Personalized Cat Memorial Stone
Her photo printed onto the same Colorado stone, with her name and a line of your own underneath. Laid out for a cat. $59.99
Personalize it
3. Personalized Slate Pet Grave Marker
Natural slate engraved rather than printed, so the lettering is cut into the stone. Made to stand where they are buried. $44.99
Personalize it
4. In Loving Memory Pet Stone
Engraved rather than photographic, in a heart or a garden shape, two sizes. The least expensive way to mark the spot outside. $17.99
Personalize itKeepsakes that hold their collar and tags
The collar is usually the hardest object in the house. These give it somewhere to be. Our separate guides to dog memory boxes and cat memory boxes go deeper on choosing a box.
5. Rainbow Bridge Pet Memorial Keepsake Box
Cherry wood, their photo and years on the front, and room inside for the collar, the tags, a fur clipping and the printed photos. This is the one that keeps the small things together. $44.99
Personalize it
6. Pet Memorial Frame With Collar
A shadow box with their photo behind glass and a holder underneath for the collar they actually wore. Choose the engraved quote from eight. $43.50
Personalize it
7. Slate Pet Memorial Plaque with Photo
Printed slate with their photo, name, years, your own message and a choice of paw, heart or angel icon at the foot. Indoor use. $59.99
Personalize itTheir face, where you can see it
Lit frames, printed slate and engraved portraits for a shelf, a hallway or a bedside table. More in pet memorial picture frames.
8. Whiskered Memories Light Box
A wooden frame with a soft light behind her photo, her name and her years, and a sitting cat silhouette. Built for a shelf or a bedside table. $39.99
Personalize it
9. Pawprint Memory Light Frame
A wooden frame with his name across the top, his years between the paw prints and his photo lit softly from behind. $39.99
Personalize it
10. Animated Pet Photo Light Box
Their photo turned into an illustrated portrait and lit from behind. The one to pick when the photos you have are ordinary and you want something that is not. $49.99
Personalize it
11. Light Up Pet Memorial Plaque
Clear acrylic on a lit wooden base, with a choice of eight verses beside the photo. Two sizes. $39.99
Personalize it
12. Pet Memorial Photo Sign
Their photo across the whole panel with the name set large above it, lit from the base. The boldest of the lit pieces. $21.75
Personalize it
13. Dual Light Up Memorial Plaque
Two photos, two names, two sets of years on one panel. For the household that lost both, or lost them close together. $26.60
Personalize it
14. Pet Portrait Memorial Plaque
Laser engraved into wood rather than printed, so it reads as a portrait rather than a photograph. Black or natural wood, four designs. $54.99
Personalize it
15. Custom Pet Photo Plaque
Their photo printed edge to edge on slate at 1200 dpi, with a short line underneath. Sits on a stand or hangs. $39.99
Personalize itSmall things to carry or hang
Under $20, and the pieces people buy for the other members of the household. See more in pet memorial gifts.
16. Pet Memory Dog Tag
Their name and years engraved on a metal tag on a ball chain. Clips to your keys or hangs off a hook by the door. $13.99
Personalize it
17. Personalized Paws Pet Ornament
Their name and a year engraved into wood with two paw prints cut clean through it. No photo, which suits a pet whose best pictures are all blurry. $10.42
Personalize it
18. Custom Pet Key Chain
Their photo and name on a small acrylic keychain, with a choice of four short lines. The one you carry rather than display. $11.99
Personalize it
19. Custom Angel Wing Pet Ornament
Their photo set inside a pair of angel wings, cut from clear acrylic and hung on a bead and string. Works as well for a cat as for a dog. Name optional. $13.50
Personalize it
20. Forever Loved Dog Memorial Ornament
A ceramic round with their photo above the words forever loved, then their name and years. Sold singly or in packs. $19.95
Personalize itSeven ideas that cost nothing
You do not have to buy anything to make a memorial. These are the ones people say helped most in the first fortnight.
- Write them the letter you never finished. Not a eulogy. The small things. The way he waited by the door, the exact hour she started asking for dinner. One sitting, no editing.
- Print the photo you keep going back to. It is probably blurry and it is probably on your phone. A couple of dollars at any drugstore, then put it somewhere you pass every day.
- Bag the blanket before it gets washed. The blanket, the bed, the corner of the couch. Seal one in a bag. It fades eventually, but there is no getting it back once it is washed.
- Collect a few whiskers, if it was a cat. Cats shed them naturally and they gather where she slept. A few in a small vial is the keepsake people most often wish they had thought of in time.
- Plant something in their spot. Rosemary is on the ASPCA non-toxic list and handles a sunny dry spot. Cat grass is grown specifically for cats to chew. Lavender is toxic to cats, so leave it out, and check anything else against the ASPCA plant list before you plant it.
- Give their name to an animal who needs one. A donation to a shelter or a rescue in their name. Many shelters will put the name on a kennel card for the year.
- Put the date in your calendar. The anniversary tends to land on you anyway. Knowing it is coming is easier than being ambushed by it.
What to have engraved
Short wins. A stone, a tag or a plaque has less room than you think, and a long verse shrinks the type until nobody reads it. Their name and their years is a complete memorial on its own. If you want a line, make it sound like them rather than like a greetings card. Three that read well, with the character count so you can check it against the field on the product page:
Write the years the way you want them read. 2011 to 2024 and 2011 - 2024 both work. Pick one and use it on every piece so a set matches.
Pet memorial questions, answered
What is the best pet memorial gift?
It depends on where you want it. A printed memorial stone is the most chosen piece for a garden, a keepsake box is the one that holds the collar and tags, and a lit photo frame is the most chosen piece for indoors. Most people end up with one outdoor piece and one indoor piece rather than a single large one.
What do you write on a pet memorial?
Their name and the years they were yours is enough, and it reads better than a verse on a small stone or tag. If you want a line of your own, keep it under about ten words and make it specific to them. A sentence about what they actually did lands harder than a quotation.
What can I do with my pet's collar?
A keepsake box or a collar shadow box is what most people use. A box keeps the collar with the tags, a fur clipping and the printed photos in one place, and a shadow box displays the collar under their photo. Leaving it in a drawer is the option people most often regret.
Is a memorial stone alright to leave outside all year?
An engraved stone or slate marker is made for it, because the lettering is cut into the surface rather than printed on it. Printed stones use UV and water resistant ink and are sold for indoor or outdoor display, so check the product page for the piece you pick.
What should I get someone whose pet just died?
Something that needs no decision from them. A photo keepsake made from a picture you already have, or a garden stone, are both safer than asking them to choose. Avoid anything that needs their pet's ashes unless they have raised it themselves.
Is it normal to grieve this hard over a dog or a cat?
Yes. They live in the room with you for a decade or more, so the absence is physically obvious and the first week is loud. The ASPCA publishes guidance on end of life care, and many veterinary schools run free pet loss support lines.
Do these include free personalization, and how long do they take?
Yes, every piece in this guide includes free personalization, so the name, years and any message are added at no extra cost. Delivery times are on our shipping page and vary by piece, since most are made to order.
Not sure which one
Pick the place first. The garden, a shelf, or your pocket. The object follows from that.
See all pet memorial gifts