The death of a beloved family pet is a heartbreaking experience for anyone. Even a year later, we still feel the pain of loss. After all, for most of us, a dog isn’t just a pet. We see our dogs as part of the family. Making the loss more painful and emotional.
What Should You Do?
You should limit your time focusing on the grief you are feeling on this one-year anniversary of your dog’s death. Instead, there are ways you can remember your time with your dog more productively.
You can visit the burial site of your dog and spend some time there as you would for any other family member.
How to Deal with Your Emotions?
As with the death of any loved one, the anniversary of the death can reawaken the grief you felt at the time of death. This can happen even years later. But here are some tips for dealing with the emotion of reawakened grief.
Prepare Yourself
Reactions to death anniversaries are common. If you know you’ll have anniversary reactions to grief, you can prepare for them and even use them as healing moments.
Distractions
Prepare ahead of time for times when you know you’ll feel lonely or reminded of your loved one’s death, and spend that time with friends and family.
Reminisce
Rather than dwelling on the loss of your dog, try to remember the positive aspects of your relationship with them and the time you shared.
Start a New Tradition on the Anniversary Date
Give to an animal charity in honor of your dog on this day, or plant a tree in their name.
Feel the Emotions
Accept your feelings of loss and sadness without denying yourself the right to experience happiness and joy. Your emotions may run the gamut as you commemorate milestones, from laughter to tears.
How Should You Commemorate it?
Some people may want to commemorate the anniversary of their dog’s death. Here are a few suggestions to consider.
Visit Burial Site
On the anniversary of your dog’s passing, pay a visit to where he or she was buried or scattered, just as some people visit cemeteries on the death anniversaries of human loved ones.
Spend some quiet time in somber remembrance of your dog’s life, and then talk about all the wonderful things about your pet. You may want to leave a bouquet of wildflowers or a special treat on your dog’s grave during your visit.
If your pet’s ashes are stored away, you might want to use the anniversary of their passing to scatter them.
Looking Through Photos and Videos of Your Dog
You can easily spend a few hours poring over your pet’s photo and video collection. After that, pass them around to the family and talk about your best memories with your beloved pet.
Volunteer at an Animal Shelter
Consider signing up to volunteer at an animal shelter on the anniversary of your pet’s death. If you decide you’re ready to welcome a new dog into your home, you may even decide to adopt one from a shelter.
Donate to an Animal Shelter
To find out what your local animal shelter really needs, just ask. Then, as a unit, go out and acquire these things and then bring them to the shelter. Some animal shelters post wish lists on Chewy or Amazon, specifying which items are most urgently needed.
Get a Tattoo
If you’ve lost a beloved pet, you might want to consider getting a memorial tattoo.
Create a Pet Memorial
After a year has passed, you may feel ready to memorialize your pet’s passing. Memorial gifts can be anything from a simple stone to a set of jewelry or an ornament that holds special memories.
Should You Do it Alone?
Whether you should spend this day alone or with others really depends on you as an individual. Some people handle their emotions best on their own, and others need people around them to properly process emotions with the support of others.
If you want people around you during this time, that’s great. If you would rather do it alone, that’s great too. It’s all about what you are comfortable with.
What do You Say?
Again, this all depends on you as an individual. Some people don’t feel the need to say anything at all. Others want to prepare a whole message for their beloved pet or maybe create a poem as a special way of remembering them.
Final Thoughts on Your Dog’s 1st Death Anniversary
The loss of a pet is a heartbreaking experience. Even a year later, the pain reawakens, and you may feel it as if it were only yesterday you said goodbye to them for the last time.
But there are ways to cope with reawakened grief that can get you through the day and the days leading up to and after the anniversary.
You also don’t have to feel these emotions alone. If you prefer the support of others, get together with friends and family to feel the emotions together and remember your dog’s life together.
There are also some productive things you can do on this day every year that can make a difference to other dogs or keep your dog’s memory alive.
We all deal with grief in different ways and do different things to commemorate our pets on the day of their death. But, hopefully, using these methods, we can make the day a little easier for all that are feeling that grief.