Healing After Goodbye:
Resources for Grieving Pet Owners
In times of loss, words can be a gentle balm for the soul. With help, we’ve gathered a selection of prayers to help guide your heart through grief and honor the sacred bond you shared with your beloved companion. Each prayer includes a link to its original source, inviting you to explore further reflections and healing resources.
Heavenly Father, Creator of all things, thank you for having entrusted us with such a loyal friend. Thank you for letting this beautiful animal teach us unselfish love. Thank you for the memories we can recall to brighten our days for the rest of our lives. Finally, in gratitude, we return our cherished companion to you. Amen.
—Author Unknown
God, we come to you today with heavy hearts as we mourn the loss of (pet’s name). Thank you for the joy and companionship (he/she) brought into our lives and for the many memories we shared with (him/her). We ask that you comfort us in our grief and bring us peace in the midst of our sorrow. Help us to remember the love (pet’s name) brought into our lives, and may we honor (his/her) memory by showing love and kindness to others. Amen.
—Whitney Hopler
​O Lord our God, we come before You this day in sadness. (Pet’s name), who brought us so much joy in life, has now died. (His/Her) happy times in our family’s embrace have come to an end. We miss (pet’s name) already.
Help us, O God, to remember the good times with (pet’s name). Remind us to rejoice in the happy times (he/she) brought to our home. Let us be thankful for the good life we were blessed to give to (him/her).
We are grateful to You, God, for creating (pet’s name), for entrusting (him/her) to our care, and for sustaining (him/her) in our love for a measure of time. We understand that all living things must die. We knew that this day would come. And yet, O God, we would have wanted one more day of play, one more evening of love with (pet’s name).
O God, as we have taken care of (pet’s name) in life, we ask that You watch over (him/her) in death. You entrusted (pet’s name) to our care; now, we give (him/her) back to You.
As we remember (pet’s name), may we love each other more dearly. May we care for all Your creatures, for every living thing, as we protected the blessed life of (pet’s name). May (his/her) memory bless our lives with love and caring forever. Amen.
—Rabbi Barry H. Block
Holy Lord, today I am feeling so incredibly grateful for the beautiful life and spirit of my sweet animal friend, a life and spirit you entrusted to me to care for and nurture.
(Pet’s name) brought me so much joy and laughter, so much comfort. In fact, (he/she) reminded me that the purest and most beautiful gifts in life are the humblest ones, when our senses are fully in tune with nature and with you and with the simple things in life.
In fact, that’s the greatest gift of the love I shared with (him/her) — the reminder of the great love I share with you. (Pet’s name) could not talk, yet we communicated in a language of the heart, just as you and I often communicate.
Thank you for your vast and inspiring love, Father God. Thank you for loving me so much you sent your son, Jesus, to save us.
And thank you, thank you, for the deep and abiding love I shared with (pet’s name).
Amen.
—Jessica Brodie