They leave hair on the sofa, paw prints in the concrete, toys in the yard, and when they pass away, empty places in our hearts. Since the dawn of time, pets have meant more to us than their roles as defenders-of-the-yard and catchers-of-mice might suggest. They are friends, family, deserving of being remembered.

It’s true that ancient peoples mummified the remains of pets to be sent along with a deceased loved one, especially cats, often even dogs or baboons. But many of these creatures were provided tombs for themselves alone. Even in ancient Rome and Greece a few well loved companion creatures received burials and headstones.

There are many ways to keep a beloved best friend close to your heart and memorializing a pet in your home. Did your pet go everywhere with you? If you long to maintain this simple connection, you might want to consider engraved memorial keychains or jewelry. These items can often hold your pets cremains or a small handwritten note or letter.

It’s not uncommon for our pets to pick a favorite spot in the house or yard, somewhere you know they could always be found, just snoozing or keeping watch.  Garden urns and other ceramic and stone urns can guard these places in their stead, providing a place for your eyes to rest when the urge to peek at a beloved pet gets the best of you. These reminders can be lighthearted, like the Fire Hydrant or Ball of Yarn urn, drawing smiles out of the tears and acting as conversations starters, ensuring that your pet is never forgotten.

If your pet was well known, maybe a service dog, or a therapy animal, it can be difficult to imagine making the necessary phone calls to all the people who cared. For letting others know of your pets passing, try memorial cards. These are available in all sorts of nature designs and contain a picture of your pet and a short epitaph. These make heartfelt keepsakes for all the people your pet’s life touched.

 There are also many classic types of pet urns which lovingly embrace your pet’s cremains for all time. These come in classic marble, soft wood, gleaming brass, moonlit glass, even biodegradable palm frond baskets or pillow urns. If you are burying your pet, there are pet caskets and pet headstones specifically designed for our animal companions. Many of these options offer personalized engraving and photo placement.

Whatever your plans for memorializing your pet, it should be a move toward healing your heart, a way to remember the good, maybe even the glorious, life of your pet.

When a horse dies it is more than just the stopping of a heartbeat, it is the world’s loss.

For centuries horses have toiled for their masters and mistresses, giving of their whole being until, finally, they can give no more. For most even in death they give, as their bodies are hauled to animal feed manufacturing plants.

A centuries’ old tradition for a faithful equine friend is to memorialize him or her with a statue. Some times the horses’ head, hooves and heart would be buried near the statue. The head to signify intelligence, the hooves speed and the heart courage.

In more recent times, some famous horses have been mounted, such as Roy Rogers’ Trigger and his (Dale Evans) wife’s Buttermilk.

For the lucky few, they have a family to grieve for them. That big strong animal who didn’t hesitate to jump that jump cleanly while the ring judge was watching, now can’t even step over the clump of grass. That package of muscle and balance that maneuvered over the narrow trail without a stumble, is down. That soft nose that nuzzled and took away all the human’s stress, no longer is warm.

These are the horses that are buried on someone’s farm with a wooden marker lovingly made by hand, or have their remains hauled off to a pet cemetery. There, a mass grave burial costs approximately $200.00. A private plot with a marker is $300.00. A cremation, urn and burial is between $600.00 and $1,000.00.

Horses and Humans have a special bond. The horses that are loved in life are deeply missed in death.

In the Light Urns is using youtube to display products and provide help with customers purchases. A recent video entitled How to Fill Cremation Jewelry is a nice long video that demonstrates how ashes are inserted into a small cremation keepsake.