FotoSketcher is just one of many easy-to-use alternatives to the more complicated PhotoShop that enables you to turn digital images into a variety of art formats — pen-and-ink or pastel drawing, watercolor or oil painting, cartoon, etc. — that you can print at home or have printed as a poster or on canvas.

Poem for Louie

celebrate your pet's life

Celebrating your pet’s life can help your heart heal. It reminds you of the joy you shared and creates a space to process your loss.

  • Make a plaster paw print.
  • Talk about your pet with family and friends, remembering happy times together and also sharing sadness at its loss.
  • Hold a spiritual ritual or ceremony.
  • Create a journal of your memories and feelings.
  • Hold a family funeral with burial or ashes scattering (but be aware that local regulations may not allow either).
  • Make a charitable contribution in your pet’s honor.
  • Display photos.
  • Create a living memorial – a tree, a garden, even a houseplant.
  • Create a remembrance –
    • a scrapbook, a PowerPoint, or Snapfish-style book of photos,
    • a quilt,
    • a website,
    • an original drawing or painting (google “pet portraits” for a professional portrait),
    • a photo converted to a painting with photo-to-painting software like FotoSketcher, which turns your photo into a printable pencil-style sketch, pen and ink drawing, watercolor, pastel or oil painting (your choice).
  • Donate toys, beds and food to a local shelter or animal rescue.
  • Create a remembrance garden with pet-friendly plants like catnip and grasses.
  • Support a shelter’s “naming rights” program by donating the cost of a cat or dog kennel, paving brick, or other naming opportunity.
  • Place a memorial marker with your pet’s name.
  • Get a tattoo (not right for everyone, but maybe it’s right for you).
  • Write a poem or tribute and tuck it away with your remembrances or publish it on your social media.
  • Write a prayer together or offer thoughts on what the pet meant to each family member.
  • Create a memory box with your pet’s collar, leash, blanket, favorite toy, photos and your poem or journal.

All the named animals pictured in this blog were someone’s treasured pet. They may have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but their absence makes them no less beloved.

Is felt like Trinket was suddenly sick with I don't know what.

This blog will eventually be published as a book. Please click anywhere in this text to contact me with your suggestions, questions and comments.

I may not know what tomorrow will bring, but today I have you.