Creating a Legacy for Our Departed Companion Animals - National Humane Education Society

The passing of a companion, human or otherwise, is never easy. After losing a companion animal, we may be left reeling and unable to find any meaning from the loss of our companion. September is National Pet Memorial Month, a time when families of departed pets can find comfort in celebrating their companion’s memory. Some do this through writing, art, and photography. Others help their companion’s memory live on by creating a legacy to help others.

Consider for instance, the story of a dog named Forrest, who was adopted into a loving home where he lived for over 12 years with a doting family. Forrest loved more than anything else to “play tennis” on the beach with his family. Even after a degenerative disease caused him to lose the use of his back legs, his family outfitted him with a special canine wheelchair so that he could continue chasing his tennis balls well into the sunset of his life. After Forrest passed, his family made peace with their grief by keeping Forrest’s favorite game alive. On the beach where Forrest spent so many days running across the sand, visitors will find Forrest’s picture in a basket full of tennis balls, along with an invitation to borrow a ball for a game with their own dogs. Over a month later, the tennis balls are still being shared as memories of Forrest help other families make memories of their own.

Whether you have lost a pet recently or years ago, this month, consider honoring your companion’s memory through helping other animals. For example, NHES offers opportunities for members to support animal rescue in a loved one’s memory through Tribute Gifts and the NHES Buy a Brick Program. It is a difficult part of life that we can’t always determine or predict when the time we have with our companions will come to an end. The good news is that from those endings, we can create new beginnings for ourselves and others.