I’m worried about a family member who is suffering from the loss of a pet. What can I do?

How to Support a Grieving Family Member After the Loss of a Beloved Pet

When a beloved family pet passes away, sometimes one family member is hit especially hard by grief. This deep sorrow—often referred to as pet loss grief or pet bereavement—can last for several months, or even over a year.

So what can we, as family members, do to support a loved one who is struggling to recover from the death of a pet?

Let’s explore some ways we can help a family member cope with pet loss and begin to heal.

Share the Sadness Together

In many families, the person who grieves the most may start to believe they’re the only one hurting. But the truth is, everyone in the family likely feels the same sadness.

Sometimes, simply helping someone realize that the whole family is mourning can bring them comfort. Knowing they’re not alone in their grief can be incredibly reassuring.

When someone sees that others are also grieving with them, it helps them feel understood and supported. That emotional connection can be a powerful step toward healing.

It’s important to avoid creating emotional distance or differences in how grief is expressed within the family. Everyone should feel safe expressing their sadness.

In my own experience, when I lost my cat and felt overwhelmed by grief, it was a few kind words from my family that helped me begin to recover.

Check out the details here
Realizing My Family Was Grieving Too – What Helped Me Overcome Pet Loss

Even a small misunderstanding can deepen someone’s sorrow, while the simplest gestures—like a few supportive words—can offer immense comfort.

After listening to many of my customers share their stories of pet loss, I’ve come to believe that the most important thing is helping grieving family members realize: they are not alone.

So how can we gently help them see that?

Visit the Pet’s Grave Together

Visiting your pet’s grave or decorating a small home altar together can be a comforting way to share your grief.

In my family, we buried our beloved dog Muku in a communal pet memorial. I often visit the grave by myself, but one day I found out that my brother and mother had also been going without telling me. Knowing that they had quietly visited Muku on their own made me feel incredibly happy and supported.

If someone in your family is struggling with deep grief, joining them on a visit to your pet’s resting place can be a powerful act of love. It shows them that they’re not alone—that you, too, are remembering and honoring the pet’s life.

Create a Photo Album Together

Most families have taken plenty of photos of their beloved pets. Why not take the time to print them out and create a photo album together?

You can add handwritten comments and look back on the happy memories you shared. It can be especially heartwarming to read what other family members have written. Their words are often filled with deep love and affection.

Creating a pet memory album can be a meaningful way to reflect, heal, and celebrate the life you shared.

Learn more:
How to Print Photos, Make an Album, and Add Heartfelt Messages

Organizing Your Pet’s Belongings

Right after a pet passes away, it can be heartbreaking to sort through their belongings—collars, clothes, food bowls, and other personal items. Many people find it too painful to deal with these items immediately.

However, as time passes, leaving everything untouched can sometimes make it harder to move forward.

When the time feels right, consider organizing your pet’s keepsakes together as a family. As you sort through their things, you can take time to reflect on the memories and moments you shared.

Talk with each other about what to keep and what to let go of. Deciding together—“Let’s keep this,” or “Maybe it’s time to let this go”—can help you gradually come to terms with the loss.

Visit Places Full of Memories

Sometimes, revisiting places filled with happy memories can be a beautiful way to reflect and heal.
(Please be mindful—it may also bring up painful emotions, so only go when you feel ready.)

While visiting your pet’s grave is meaningful, going to places where you shared joyful times can be just as healing.

How about taking a walk along a familiar route you used every day, or visiting a favorite park, dog run, or dog café you used to go to together? These familiar places often bring a gentle sense of connection with your pet.

In our case, we adopted our cat from a rescue facility, and the staff there still check in on us from time to time.
When the day comes that our cat crosses the rainbow bridge, I plan to visit the facility and share our memories with them.

Celebrate Your Pet’s Birthday in Heaven

Some of our customers choose to give gifts to family members on their late pet’s birthday.
Remembering the pet’s birthday—even after they’ve passed—is something that brings great comfort to grieving family members.

It’s a beautiful way to say, “They are still part of our family.”

Give a Gift to a Family Member Grieving Pet Loss

If someone in your family—like a mother or child—is suffering deeply from the loss of a beloved pet, you might be thinking about giving them a gift to help lift their spirits. But what kind of gift would truly bring comfort?

A Pet Photo Book

As mentioned earlier, organizing pet photos can be healing. Creating a custom photo book filled with memories is another beautiful way to support someone through grief.

If the pet belonged to the whole family, there are likely plenty of photos to choose from. Add heartfelt comments alongside the pictures, and it’s sure to bring comfort to the person who cared for the pet.

What makes this even more touching is including messages from the pet’s perspective, such as:

“Thank you for loving me.”

“I’ll never forget all the fun we had together!”

These simple, loving words can offer powerful emotional healing—like a gentle message from the pet to the heart of the one left behind.

Create or Repurpose a Keepsake from Your Pet’s Belongings

If you’ve saved a lock of your pet’s fur, a nail clipping, or even a whisker, you can turn it into a small keepsake—like a charm or keychain.

For those who enjoy sewing or crafting, you might consider repurposing your pet’s collar, clothes, or blanket into something new and meaningful, such as a pouch, pillow, or accessory.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Even a simple idea can hold great emotional value.
For example, when my cat passes away someday, I plan to turn her collar into a keychain—just as it is, no changes needed.

Helpful article:
Creative Ideas for Making a Keepsake from Your Pet’s Belongings

A Gift for Someone Who Wishes They Could See Their Pet Again

There are many ways our customers use custom pet memorial items, but one meaningful example is when a daughter or mother wants to give a gift to a loved one who wishes they could see their pet again—even just once.

For more on this, please see:
Gifts for Someone Longing to See Their Pet Again

What Kind of Gifts Are Best? What Should You Be Careful About?

When giving a gift to someone grieving a pet loss, it’s natural to worry about whether the gesture will be well-received.

What kind of item is appropriate? When is the right time to give it?

Based on my experience, I’ve put together some thoughts on this topic here:
What to Keep in Mind When Giving a Gift to Someone Grieving a Pet

When Is the Right Time to Give a Gift?

Some customers choose to create memorial items right after their pet passes away. Others prefer to give them on a special day—such as a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas.

The timing can be delicate. While some find comfort in receiving something soon after their loss, others may need more time before they’re ready.

For more guidance, please see:
Memorial Gifts for Pets – When Is the Right Time to Give One?

Customers Who Gave a Gift to a Grieving Family Member

In our family, it was actually my brother who had raised the dog—but the one who was most deeply affected by the loss was my younger sister.

She cried every day for about two weeks.

This is our beloved dog, Muku. We created a custom memorial board in his honor.

One customer shared the following message in an email:

“My sister is grieving deeply after losing her dog. She cries every day and barely comes out of her room. While searching for something to help her, I came across KNIT MY PET.”

Another customer told us:

“My wife still hasn’t been able to forget the cat we lost two years ago. She says every day, ‘I wish I could see her again.’ I’ve given her a few small gifts over the years, but when I came across KNIT MY PET by chance, I felt like I had finally found the perfect gift.”

We’re honored to share stories like these from customers who are finding heartfelt ways to support their loved ones through pet loss.

A Dad Who Finally Began to Heal

One customer, A-san, happened to come across our custom cushion online.
When she saw it, she thought:

“Maybe I should have this made for Dad… But he’s finally starting to forget, and I don’t want to bring the sadness back.”

She was torn.

Her beloved dog had passed away a few years earlier, and her father had been deeply affected for a long time.
At the time, the whole family cried—but while she and the children eventually regained their smiles, her father continued to grieve long after.

Even though he seemed fine on the surface, he would tear up whenever the subject of the dog came up.

Just recently, however, he had finally begun to talk about their pet with a smile.
And it was at that very moment that she stumbled upon our cushion.

She told us, “This feels like the perfect time,” and placed an order as a birthday gift for her father.

CUSTOM PILLOW

A Gift for a Sister Mourning the Loss of Her Dog

Here is a heartfelt story from a customer who used our product as a birthday gift for her grieving sister:

Thank you so much for everything.

I ordered this gift as a birthday present for my sister, who had been heartbroken after losing her beloved dog. Although it was a last-minute order, it arrived just in time, and thanks to you, we were able to give her a truly special birthday.

When I opened the box to check the blanket before giving it to her, I was already in tears. I think it was the warmth of the knitted fabric that moved me so deeply.

My sister saw the paw print made from yarn and said, “Wait… is this Fairy?” (her dog’s name). She was already crying before she even fully opened it. Once she did, the three of us—my mother, my sister, and I—all burst into tears together.

She was overjoyed and said, “I’ll treasure this forever.”

I’m truly grateful to have found such a meaningful and comforting gift.

Thank you so much. I’d love to order again if the opportunity arises.

Click here for product details

What to Say to a Family Member Grieving a Pet Loss

How to Gently Support a Loved One

When someone is deeply grieving, the way they receive your words can vary greatly depending on their emotional state that day.
Even saying the same thing can bring comfort one day and feel overwhelming the next. That’s why it’s so important to observe their condition carefully and choose your words with sensitivity.

Encouraging words can feel uplifting when they’re having a good day—but if they’re in a dark place, those same words can have the opposite effect.
Sometimes, trying to cheer them up too soon only adds pressure and makes things worse.

So, what can you do?

Start by understanding them and accepting their current emotional state.

Say something like:

“It’s okay to take things slow for now.”

“Don’t push yourself—rest when it gets too hard.”

Let them know it’s perfectly fine to feel the way they do. Forcing recovery won’t help them heal any faster.

And when they seem to be having a better day, a gentle comment like:

“You seem a little brighter today.”

can help them become more aware of their progress and encourage a more positive mindset.

If possible, try bringing up memories of their pet. Look at old photos together, talk about the good times, or gently sort through keepsakes. These shared moments can bring unexpected comfort.

There’s one important thing to remember: even if they seem to be getting better, they may still have difficult days.
Grief often comes in waves—ups and downs are part of the healing process. A moment of strength doesn’t mean the sadness is gone for good, so it’s important to continue offering steady, patient support.

When the Symptoms Are More Severe

I’ve experienced something similar myself. At the time, I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with depression.

In my case, prolonged stress had left me emotionally unstable, and my pet was the only source of comfort I had. When my beloved dog passed away, my condition worsened significantly.

You can read more about that difficult period in my story:
Pet Loss and My Battle with Depression

Should You Encourage Them to Go Out—or Let Them Be?

When your loved one starts to show signs of recovery, gently inviting them to go outside might be helpful.
Personally, I found comfort in visiting waterfalls or taking peaceful walks in the forest.
Retracing the path where I used to walk my dog was also a quiet way to feel connected.

However, it’s best to avoid loud, crowded places like busy restaurants or shopping areas.
And most importantly—never force them to go out if they’re still deeply grieving.

A friend of mine once said:

“They’re just sitting at home all the time, so I try to invite them out. But they won’t listen at all.”

While the intention may be kind, trying to cheer someone up too soon can often backfire.

When someone is in deep emotional pain, they often don’t want to go outside. And even if they do manage to go out, they might end up feeling even worse afterward.

The most important thing is to be patient, observe their emotional state carefully, and let them take small steps when they’re ready.

People who read this page also frequently read the following articles:

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List of Articles on Supporting Those Who Have Lost a Pet

Things to Consider When a Family Member Experiences Pet Grief