Losing our beloved furry friend is like losing a member of our family. When our beloved pets pass away, we hold memorial and funeral services in their honor. We tell stories of our most cherished memories with our pets, and we comfort one another and resolve to keep their memory with us always. Just like our human family members, we take care to honor the remarkable impact and legacy our pets have left behind.

On the one-year anniversary of our pet’s passing, we similarly want to celebrate the lives they lead here on Earth and remember the love we shared. In this article, we offer ways to celebrate a pet’s one-year death anniversary. 

Why Do We Celebrate Death Anniversaries? 

Celebrating the anniversary of a loved one or pet’s death is an important part of the grieving process. It provides the comfort of knowing that the impact they left will not be forgotten. It is also a way to honor their legacy and the memories we shared with them. 

Death anniversaries assure us that even as time passes, the memory of our loved ones and pets will live on in our hearts. 

Celebrating a death anniversary can look different for every family. These celebrations are unique and personal to each remarkable pet. Choosing how you will celebrate your pet’s first death anniversary can even set the stage for how you celebrate in years to come. 

Let’s consider a few ideas for your pet’s first death anniversary. 

1. Visit Their Grave

Visiting your pet’s grave is a meaningful way to spend their one-year death anniversary. Depending on where you’ve chosen to bury your pet, this may be the first time you’ve been back to their grave since their funeral or memorial service. This is an opportunity for families to come together to visit the gravesite. 

If your pet’s ashes were scattered, take time as a family to visit the scattering location. During this time, you may choose to leave something at the gravesite or scattering location. This could be anything from flowers to a picture of your pet or their favorite treat. Take some time together to reminisce on your favorite memories with your pet. Have each family member share a story or a favorite quality of your pet that was unique to them.

Visiting your pet’s gravesite can be a death anniversary tradition that your family continues to practice. During this time, you may even choose to incorporate elements from your pet’s funeral or memorial services such as a song or a poem performed during the ceremony. 

However you choose to spend this time at the gravesite, it can represent your pet’s unique and remarkable personality.

2. Share Photos and Home Videos 

Another way to commemorate your pet’s one-year death anniversary is to flip through old pictures and watch videos of your pet. Families can make this into an all-day activity. 

Family members can gather together to pass around photos and share stories about each one. Another idea is to take the photos and create a slideshow to play for family members. 

This may be an emotional time of reliving past experiences and cherished moments with your pet. Whether seeing these photos and videos of your pet brings up joy or sadness, allow yourself to express the emotions that arise during this time. 

We may not know how we will feel on the first anniversary of our pet’s death until we experience it, but these emotions are an important aspect of our healing journeys.

3. Visit Your Pet’s Favorite Spot 

The one-year anniversary of your pet’s death can also be spent doing their favorite activities. If there was a spot that your pet particularly loved or a place that the two of you always walked together, visiting that spot can be a special way to spend their anniversary. 

Returning to these places — whether it is a dog park or a trail you often walked — may bring back specific memories or emotions. Take some time with family members to share any stories or memories that come to mind when you visit these places. 

Commencing a tour or scavenger hunt for family members of all the places you and your pet used to visit together can be a fun and sentimental idea. This allows close friends and family to explore the spaces that were most meaningful for you and your pet. Returning to these locations can be another important part of the healing experience. 

4. Have a Memorial Diamond Made

Memorial diamonds are a meaningful way to keep your beloved pet near to your heart after they have passed. Memorial diamonds are made from the cremated remains of your pet and can be set as a ring or necklace so they are always kept close.

If your pet was cremated and their remains are being kept in an urn or box, consider having a memorial diamond made on their one-year death anniversary. This is one way we can keep their memory alive. 

When we wear memorial jewelry, we are reminded of the sweet memory and presence of our beloved pets. With a diamond on our finger or around our neck, we have a constant physical connection to our pet that we can carry with us throughout our lives.

5. Plant a Garden or Tree 

If you enjoy gardening, consider planting a memorial garden in honor of your pet. This can be a tradition that you carry on throughout the years. Begin the garden on your pet’s one-year death anniversary and plant a new flower each year on their anniversary. This can be a meaningful representation of the life your pet lived. 

Planting a memorial tree has also become a way to commemorate the life of those we have lost. Memorial trees or tree burial pods are biodegradable urns that combine soil and nutrients with the ashes of your pet to grow a strong and healthy tree. Nurturing and growing a tree that has been planted with your pet’s ashes can be a healing experience. 

Plant a tree or garden in your yard for an ever-present memorial to your beloved pet. Having their memorial near to you can provide much-needed comfort through difficult times of grief. 

#6: Create a Memory Box or Time Capsule 

Time capsules and memory boxes can be a great way of memorializing those we love. We can store away and revisit these memory boxes or time capsules at set moments in time, such as anniversaries. 

On your pet’s one-year death anniversary, gather your family together and compile a box of items that were significant to your pet’s memory. This could be anything from the paperwork you first received from the breeder or pet store on the day you brought them home to their favorite toy. Put together all the items you think are important to include and pack them away in a box. 

As you put this memory box or time capsule together, take some time to share stories and memories about your pet that come to mind. You may even have a memory for each individual item that you place in the box. Once you have finished sharing stories and memories, close up the box and store it away in a safe space. 

Each year on your pet’s death anniversary, your family can revisit this memory box or time capsule. Spend time going through its contents together each year for a meaningful family tradition. 

7. Volunteer at or Donate To an Animal Shelter

Spending time giving back to an animal shelter can be a healing way to spend your pet’s one-year death anniversary. Being around pets that are in need of a home can help ease the ache of your pet’s absence. You may even find during this time that you are ready to bring a new pet into your home. 

8. Get a Tattoo 

Some people may choose to get a tattoo to celebrate their pet’s one-year death anniversary. This is another way of keeping your beloved pet’s memory near to you. Someone may choose to get their pet’s name or a picture of their pet tattooed on them. 

Other ideas may be the coordinates of where your pet is buried or the place you brought your pet home from. A paw print or dog tag can also symbolize their life. 

9. Create a Website or Blog

Creating a website or blog can also be a meaningful way to spend this anniversary. This website can be a commemoration of your pet’s life for family members and close friends to visit as they choose. The website or blog can include a digital photo album consisting of your most cherished photos and videos of your pet. 

The home page can include your pet’s obituary, listing important information to know about your pet such as their breed, how old they were when they passed, and some of their favorite things to do. This is a place where you can also share your favorite stories with your pet and traits you’ll always remember about them. 

Encourage family members and friends to interact with the blog, commenting on their favorite stories or memories with your pet. This can be something you return to whenever you are missing your pet. 

10. Have a Picture Painted 

Having a photograph of your pet turned into a painting can also be a unique tribute to their life. Keeping a painted picture or your pet or even having a photo framed and hung up is a great way of creating a memorial for them. 

This keeps their memory nearby for family to see and friends to be reminded of when they visit. It is a way of keeping them forever a part of the family. 

11. Have a Garden Stone Made

A garden stone can serve as a physical memorial for your pet. Having a garden stone made creates a visual representation of the life they lived. Place it in your front yard for those who pass by to see or in a spot that your pet frequently liked to visit. 

You can include their name, the day they were born, the day they passed away, and a quote or a short poem that represents your pet.

12. Have Glass Art Made

There are many ways to create memorial keepsakes using your remarkable pet’s ashes. Ashes can be mixed into a melted glass and then cooled to form a variety of keepsakes. One option is having your pet’s ashes turned into a suncatcher. This can be hung on your front porch as a constant reminder of your pet. 

13. Create a Collaborative Memorial

This is similar to creating a blog or website with the difference that your close friends and family members can help create this with you. Having a collaborative online memorial is a great way of gathering photos and videos from everyone who loved your pet. This will help to create an extensive memorial with help from everyone who played a significant role in your pet’s life.

It may also be a chance for you to see pictures of your pet that you may have forgotten about. You can also have a place for people to post videos of them sharing stories about your pet to the online memorial. 

Wrapping Up

The first anniversary after your pet’s anniversary is the hardest. There is no way to prepare for how you will feel on that day. However, there are ways you can commemorate your beloved pet’s life and create a day that is just as special as they were. 

There are countless ideas for how to celebrate the anniversary of a pet’s death. When choosing how you will celebrate, decide on something that best represents your pets' lives and the time you spent with them. 

You should spend this day doing activities that you and your pet enjoyed doing together or creating a memorial that you can remember them with. Your pet’s one-year death anniversary is an important moment that can be full of emotion. It is best on this day to be surrounded by close friends and family members who knew and loved your pet. 

Sources:

Rituals and Traditions that Help Us Heal | Funeral Basics

Coping with Losing a Pet | Help Guide

How Giving Back Is Helping Me Heal After the Death of My Husband | PNI