Six Things to do with Pet Ashes

Pets are an incredibly special part of the family and saying goodbye to them is heartbreaking. Deciding how to remember a beloved pet and what to do with their cremation ashes is an essential part of the grieving process. Choosing the best way to remember your pet is entirely personal to you and your relationship with them. Taking the time to look back on the happy memories and unconditional love can help with the grieving process, and finding a unique way to preserve their cremation ashes can be a cathartic way to say goodbye.

Here are some ideas we’ve explored, with six things to do with pet ashes

Scattering the cremation ashes

For pet remembrance, this could be somewhere your pet always enjoyed being – somewhere their tail was always wagging. For example, a spot in the garden where they loved soaking up the summer sunshine or their favourite place to mischievously bury a toy. Or you could walk their daily route or visit their favourite park. You could choose a spot to have a quiet moment and scatter their ashes where they loved to walk and play every day.

Scattering ashes can help with grieving because, similarly to a funeral, it is one of the final acts of physically saying goodbye, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the grieving process. You can pick somewhere you can visit again in the future and remember them. It also doesn’t have to be one space; it could be several meaningful and memorable spots. For example, you could spread some of the ashes in your garden so it feels like they’re still close by, and then scatter some on a walking route in a tribute to their favourite daily activity.

 A ceremony to say goodbye

You may choose to have a funeral or a farewell ceremony for your pet as a way to say goodbye. You could invite the people who mean the most to you (and your pet) and say some words about your favourite memories of them and what made them a special pet. Talking is an important part of the grieving process and speaking about your favourite memories with people who understand is a good way to help the grieving process while also paying tribute to your pet’s memory. If you choose to scatter your pet’s ashes, this might also be the right occasion to do it. Alternatively, you might prefer to choose a different location or do it at a time when you’re on your own and can say goodbye privately.

Plant the cremation ashes with a natural tribute

To create a natural and lasting tribute, planting a tree or flowers in memory of your pet is a beautiful way to remember them. It could be their favourite spot in the garden or somewhere they always loved digging and sniffing around! You could even use their food or water bowl as the planter, and plant some of the cremation ashes with it. Another lovely idea is to have their name etched onto a chair or bench in the garden and scatter their ashes nearby.

Pet cremation ashes jewellery

Alternatively, our pet cremation ashes range can also encompass pet cremation ashes to create a lasting tribute. We offer two different options – cremation ashes jewellery and self-fill ashes jewellery.

The cremation ashes jewellery range means you can create a piece of jewellery, including necklaces, rings, cufflinks, charms and earrings, using the ashes from your pet. The cremation ash is delicately set into resin, which has a beautiful glass-like appearance while being very hard-wearing, making it the perfect material for ashes jewellery. Available in various colours, the cremation ash is layered to create a beautiful floating and sparkling appearance within the jewellery.

Our other range of jewellery made from cremation ashes is the self-fill ashes collection. These pieces are designed to hold a small token of cremation ashes – the ideal way to keep a pet close in a beautiful piece of memorial jewellery. All our urn necklaces are made from sterling silver and come with the equipment and instructions to transfer a small amount of ashes. You can also choose to have your ashes necklace personalised with text, like the name of your pet, or a date.

Keep the cremation ashes in an urn
Another option for what to do with your pet’s ashes is to put them in personalised pet urns for ashes or another type of cremation urn. You could either display the urn in your home or bury it somewhere special (there are biodegradable options for urn burial too).

Carry out a water burial
Water burials have been around for hundreds of years, and they’re now growing in popularity for pets, especially those who loved the water. You could either find a spot looking out over the water or rent a boat and go out onto it for a water burial. There’s also an option to use a biodegradable urn specifically designed to scatter ashes in water. 

There are many different options to remember a beloved pet. We hope these top six ideas have helped inspire some ideas for pet remembrance. Whichever way you choose to remember your pet, deciding what to do with their ashes is a personal choice.

At Hand on Heart, we understand how devastating it is to lose a pet – we’ve been through it ourselves and know how difficult it can be. If you’ve been affected by this and would like to speak to somebody, Blue Cross offers a free and confidential Pet Bereavement Support Service (PBSS).