The short answer
A pet obituary is four short paragraphs: the name, kind, and date; the years and the people they lived with; one thing only they did and what they loved; and where a donation can go, with a closing line. It says died, not passed. Post it where the people who knew the animal will see it. The free tool below assembles it from your answers.
Reviewed September 2026 · Sources: Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, pet loss resources and support
Before you start
What Pet Obituary helps you do
Write an obituary for a dog, a cat, or any animal from the name, the years, the people who loved them, and the one thing only they did. Write it the day you can. The one thing only they did is the line people will answer, so spend your effort there and let the tool handle the rest.
Read about grief after losing a pet →Free tool
Pet Obituary
for the animal who was family.
The name, the years, the people who loved them, and the one thing only they did. The tool assembles it as you type, in plain words that say died, because that's what happened and it's allowed to hurt. Free, no account, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
Preview
0 wordsEnter a name and the obituary starts building here.
Post it where the people who knew them will see it: the family group chat, your own page, the vet's memory board if they keep one. Print it for the photo. Nothing you type here leaves your browser.
Why write one, two examples, and who to call
Why write one
Because nobody else will. A person's death comes with a form for this: the paper, the funeral home's page, the service. An animal's doesn't, and the grief is the same shape, often for a creature you saw more hours of than anyone in your family. Writing four sentences down is how you mark that it happened. It also gives the people who loved the animal something to answer, which is how the stories start. This tool won't write "crossed the rainbow bridge" or "went to sleep." It says died, the way the rest of this site does, because the plain word holds up better than the soft one on the third reading.
Two examples
A dog, plain
Biscuit, a beagle mix, died on September 9, 2026. Biscuit lived with Dana, Marcus, and the kids for 14 years.
Biscuit was the only dog who waited by the door from 5:30 until the car pulled in. Biscuit loved snow, the mail carrier, and the left side of the couch.
In Biscuit's memory, donations can go to the county shelter. Good dog.
A cat, warm
Mo, a gray cat, died on August 2, 2026. Mo lived with Priya for 19 years.
Ask anyone who met Mo and the same things come up. Mo was the only cat who answered to a whistle. Mo loved the radiator, the top of the fridge, and Priya, in that order.
Mo was family.
Where to post it
The family group chat first, with the photo. Then your own page, if you keep one; the people who ask about the dog every visit want to know. Many veterinary practices keep a memory board or a page on their site and will add a paragraph if you send it. Some shelters print memorial gifts in a newsletter, which is where the donation line goes to work. A newspaper will run it as a paid notice if you ask, at the same per-line rates as any other obituary.
If the grief is bigger than you expected
It usually is. Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine runs a Pet Loss Support Hotline at 607-218-7457, staffed by veterinary students trained by professional grief counselors; hours change with the semester, so call and leave a first name if it goes to voicemail. Tufts University runs one at 508-839-7966, Monday through Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m. Eastern, with voicemail the rest of the time. Both exist because this grief is common and real enough to need a phone line. Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, pet loss resources. For the rest of it, read grief after losing a pet, including the guilt after euthanasia, and what to do when your pet dies for the practical part: the body, the options, the prices.
The other obituary
For a person, the obituary maker asks the human questions: survivors, the service, where donations go, and what newspapers charge to run it. If you're still deciding, the quality of life scale is the seven questions vets use, scored. And for the bill, the pet cremation cost estimator.
Pet obituary questions
What people ask before they write it.
Short answers. The hotline numbers come from Cornell's veterinary college, linked above.
How do you write a pet obituary?
Name, kind, and the date. The years and the people they lived with. One thing only they did, and what they loved. Where a donation can go. Then one closing line. Four short paragraphs is plenty, and specific beats sweet.
Is it weird to write an obituary for a dog or a cat?
No. You saw that animal more hours than most people in your life, and there's no service or paper to mark it for you. Writing it down is how it gets marked.
Where do you post a pet obituary?
The family group chat with a photo, your own page, the vet's memory board if they keep one, and a shelter newsletter if you made a donation in the animal's name. A newspaper will run it as a paid notice at its normal rates.
Should it say died or passed away?
Died. This tool won't write "crossed the rainbow bridge" or "went to sleep." The plain word holds up better on the third reading, and it's allowed to hurt.
Who can I call about pet loss?
Cornell's Pet Loss Support Hotline, 607-218-7457, staffed by trained veterinary students with hours that change by semester, and Tufts University's line, 508-839-7966, Monday through Thursday evenings Eastern with voicemail otherwise.
Grief after losing a pet →