September is Animal Remembrance Month
Every month we celebrate some kind of pet “awareness” topic. September is a little well known but particularly touching theme – World Animal Remembrance Month. It is a time to remember, respect, and honor the memory of all animals. It gives us humans an opportunity to pay tribute to our animal family members who have crossed the “Rainbow Bridge” but live on in our hearts; animal victims of abuse, cruelty and neglect; animals that vanished in natural disasters; and service animals who gave their lives in the line of duty. But it also can be uplifting – a month for us to celebrate the animals we now share our lives with.
How Do We Commemorate These Animals?
A number of local Humane Societies have erected Memorial Walls, gardens, walkways and other ways to leave a memento of the value an animal has brought to our lives – buy a brick, engrave a tile, make a marker, paint a rock, plant a bush. You can start the celebration of an animal’s life for yourself, for a friend, for a pet you no longer have, for an animal that was injured or lost their life while risking themselves in a service capacity, or in honor of an existing animal – one that makes you smile every day, or one you don’t know who is waiting for a human companion. A permanent tribute is a gift that lasts, and the monetary donation helps to provide services for animal betterment.
What Other Ways Can I Devote a Memory to A Pet That has Been Lost?
There are other small, yet important dedications you can make to remember animals fondly and with appreciation:
♥ Find pictures of the animals who have crossed the rainbow bridge. Share them with others, make a collage, frame some, use one as your phone and/or computer wallpaper. Keep one on your desk or workspace or hang one where you can see it often.
♥ Share your memories of the special times you enjoyed with your pet with friends, children, relatives. Or write out a memory. Jot down things you remember. Write a poem.
♥ Talk about how the animal improved your life, your friend’s life, saved peoples’ lives, helped someone who depended on them, performed a feat of bravery, made an impact on someone.
♥ Post a memory or story of an exceptional animal on a chat site, or a pet memorial website.
♥ Ask yourself what lessons his animal taught you: responsibility, loyalty, bravery, intelligence, unconditional love?
♥ If a friend, relative or colleague has recently lost a pet, send them an empathy card, or forward them the rainbow bridge poem.
It only takes a moment to remember an animal who touched your life and has passed on. At Whitworth Animal Clinic, providing veterinary services to pets from Madison, Huntsville, and the surrounding Madison County areas, we feel it is important to remember all animals that have improved humans’ lives. Click this link under Pet Wellness to access resources (see bottom of page) which help us deal with pet loss, support groups and websites to help us remember our pets.
