How to Write a Pet Obituary: Examples and a Template

How to write a pet obituary when the page is still blank

A pet obituary can say that your pet has died, introduce them to readers and describe something you want remembered. Start with their name and the facts you know. Then add one ordinary scene from their life. You do not need a full history, an exact age or an explanation of how they died.

The guide below uses one fictional dog’s story to show a longer obituary and a shorter announcement. If you are writing to a friend who has lost a pet, rather than writing about your own, our guide to what to write in a pet sympathy card covers that different task.

Gather the facts before the sentences

Write rough notes about the pet’s name, the time they joined your household and the date they died, if you want to include it. Check dates against your own records. A rescue dog’s adoption date is not a birth date; if you never knew their age, leave it out rather than calculating one.

Add a detail that someone who knew your pet would recognise. Perhaps they carried an empty bowl into the sitting room, slept on yesterday’s newspaper or waited for one particular person to come home. Choose a memory you can actually describe. “Affectionate” tells a reader less than an account of where the cat sat while you worked.

Here are the notes used for Ludo’s fictional obituary:

• Ludo, a brown-and-white dog, joined the household as an adult in 2015.
• He died in May 2026; his birth date was never known.
• He moved his blue blanket into the kitchen and carried a rope toy on walks.
• Neighbours knew him, so the obituary will be shared beyond the family.

These are invented notes for a writing example, not a story supplied by a pet owner. Use your own facts and memories when adapting them.

Pet obituary examples: one story at two lengths

The longer version gives readers a picture of Ludo’s life. The short notice shares the news without asking the writer to tell that whole story at once. Neither length is a rule.

A longer obituary

Ludo, our brown-and-white dog, died in May 2026. He came to live with us as an adult in 2015. We never knew his birthday, but we knew the sound of his rope toy being dropped beside our shoes each morning.

He liked to carry that toy on walks. When he stopped to sniff a hedge, someone had to hold it for him. Neighbours recognised him by the toy before they learnt his name.

At home, Ludo moved his blue blanket from the sitting room to the kitchen whenever we put it back. He wanted to sleep where the cupboards opened and the kettle boiled. We eventually left it there.

We will miss him at the kitchen door and on the familiar walk round the block. Thank you to the neighbours who always stopped to say hello. If you have a photograph of Ludo, we would love to keep a copy.

The opening supplies the name and news. The middle makes room for habits rather than a list of flattering adjectives. The last paragraph gives friends a specific way to respond, but that invitation can be removed if messages would be unwelcome.

A short notice

Our dog Ludo died in May 2026. He had lived with us since 2015 and was familiar to many of you as the brown-and-white dog carrying a rope toy. We miss him very much. We are keeping things quiet for now, but wanted you to know.

This version does not ask for photographs or replies. It keeps one detail that identifies him and states the family’s preference. For a dog obituary, choose details a neighbour would recognise. A cat, rabbit or other companion needs the same attention to their own habits, rather than a swap of names inside a dog story.

A pet obituary template you can change

Fill in only the prompts that help you tell the story. Delete the rest. The finished piece should not display the brackets.

[Pet’s name], our [species or familiar description], died [date or less specific timing, if wanted]. [Name] joined our family [known date or period].

We remember [one habit or scene]. [A second sentence explaining what happened, where it happened or who was there].

We will miss [something specific]. [Optional thanks, invitation to share a memory or request for privacy].

You can write directly to your pet if that sounds more like you: “You always brought the toy.” For an obituary read by people outside the household, introduce the pet before using “you” throughout. Otherwise, a reader may need to work out who the words address.

If several people are writing together, ask each for a memory before choosing which ones to include. Let one person join the paragraphs, then share the draft with the others. This also gives them a chance to correct a date or say that they would rather not be named.

Cause of death is optional. If you include it, use information you know and wording you are comfortable sharing. You can leave out medical details altogether. Equally, include religious language only when it expresses your beliefs; “rainbow bridge” does not have to appear in an obituary.

Keep a funny memory if it fits. A pet’s inconvenient habits can belong in a loving account. You can leave the incident as it happened, without adding a lesson.

Read it once for people who did not know your pet

Read the draft aloud and notice where a sentence becomes difficult to finish. Split it there. Replace a broad phrase such as “brought endless joy” with a scene, or remove it if the scene is already on the page. Check the name and every date again.

For an online version, use short paragraphs and a descriptive title, such as “Remembering Ludo”. If you add a photograph, write an image description in the platform’s alt-text field where available. W3C’s guidance on accessible writing recommends clear wording, meaningful headings and text alternatives that convey the purpose of an image.

Choose who should see the piece before you post it. The NCSC’s social media privacy guidance advises checking the audience and considering which personal details are unnecessary. Leave home addresses and private contact details out of a public tribute. Ask other people before including their words, names or photographs.

A family message or a printed copy may be all you want. For a public cat tribute, Cats Protection’s Cat Memory Wall is one place where owners share memories. Read a destination’s current submission and privacy information before sending anything.

If you plan to read the obituary at a gathering, arrange the event separately; our pet memorial service ideas cover that practical planning. Keep a copy of the text for yourself, too. A printed version can sit with photographs in a pet memory box.

Date the saved version so you can find it again. If you later remember another story, keep it alongside the obituary; you do not have to fit everything into the piece you share today.