15 gentle ways to remember a pet who died

In the first week

1. Light a candle in the evening, at the time you used to feed them.

2. Write them a letter. Say the things you ran out of time to say.

3. Keep one ordinary object: the collar, a toy, the blanket. Put it somewhere you can see it.

4. Choose a handful of photos and put them in one place, so you are not scrolling through hundreds at 2 a.m.

In the first months

5. Walk their route once, on purpose, and say goodbye at the places they loved.

6. Plant something in a pot or in the garden. Herbs work; they are hard to kill.

7. Make a short list of the funny things they did, before the details fade.

8. Tell their story to someone who never met them.

9. Make a memorial page and share the link, so family and friends can light a candle too.

Every year

10. Mark their birthday and the day they died with something small: a candle, a treat left out for the neighbourhood cat, a donation.

11. Give to the shelter or rescue they came from, in their name.

12. Volunteer one morning at a shelter, if you can bear it. Some people can only do this years later. That is fine.

Keepsakes that cost nothing

13. A paw print pressed in salt dough, if you still can.

14. A printed one-page keepsake with their photo and dates, kept in a book.

15. Their name as the password hint you see every day. Quiet, private, yours.