Memorials are transcendental figures of our beloved. They serve as critical reminders of the wholeness that remains within the spirits of those who have passed on, be they human or animal. Animals come to us in spirit, and we believe this so extensively that we have our own “spirit animals” and other wild tokens that connect us to these curious creatures. In some cultures, anniversaries of death are so lifelike that they are often mistaken for celebrations. From Animism to The Day of the Dead, the need to memorialize life, in all forms, is brilliantly universal. Here we focus on the memorialization of pets, and more specifically, how these can beautifully honor our most loyal companions.
Memorial Plaques as Tools
Just like how we characterize our pets when they are with us, we continue to do so once they pass, to keep our ideas of who they were (at least to us) during their lives. It’s no different from how engraved bricks give us a memory of our loved ones. Memorial plaques, on the other hand, are a smart way to represent what our pets meant to us. Even as these memories fade, we can continue to remind ourselves of their internal essences, however fictitious they might have been. Many people include inside jokes and reminders in their memorial plaques, and these reminders keep the memories of their pets alive. Without these gentle reminders, we may not feel that we have genuinely commemorated our pets, and it may very well be all the more difficult to keep them in our memories as we grow older ourselves. See more here on how to make memorial plaques for your pets.
Capture the essence of your beloved pet with a delightful pet portrait. A pet portrait serves as a heartwarming reminder of your beloved companion, immortalizing their unique personality and presence in your life. Displaying this artwork offers a comforting and visually pleasing way to cherish the special bond you share with your pet. Ryan Evans Fine Art specializes in crafting custom pet portraits and wildlife art, meticulously hand-drawing each piece with the highest quality pastel materials. These bespoke creations are designed to endure, offering a timeless celebration of the unique character and essence of your beloved pet.
Preserving the Spirit
The passing of a pet requires active consideration for the preservation of spirit. There is a genuine interest in humanizing our pets when they are alive, and we do this almost instinctively as if to relate to them on a deeper level, even when we know we are playing make-believe. In truth, there is only so much that we can gauge from our pets’ personalities, but what we can decipher sticks with us and functions as the hallmark of character, which only makes us cherish our pets even more. We focus on these qualities and let them come alive in our imaginations to foster more personality traits that explain why we have this wonderfully strange and unexplainable connection with our pets.
When Words Fail, Stone Speaks
Our pets can’t talk to us with words, so we create words for them and do our best to do so in ways that reflect the nonverbal cues they give us to express the love and affection they have for us. We can continue to bond with our best friends by helping our pets express themselves in spirit by displaying these ideas on gravestones and plaques. Who Sparky was is of less concern to us than how we saw him. To prevent the fading of spirit, we use stone, metal, and engraving to do all we can to solidify our pets’ lifetimes and all that they were and still are to us.