People have different ways to honor their pets. Cremation is the most common choice, and the ashes can be stored in a vase in your home or dispersed over a favorite area of your lost pet. Some choose burial at a pet cemetery or on their own property.

Another way of honoring and giving tribute to them is to donate in their name to a meaningful organization, such as your breed’s rescue or health fund, or an organization devoted to research in canine health, such as the AKC Canine Health Foundation.

It is never an easy decision, but as a longtime mentor once told me, “it’s better to do it one day too early than one day too late.” It took many years to fully understand that, but I have found it to be true. Nonetheless, it’s still so difficult when you experience it firsthand.