News

7 things to know about Pet Loss

Why are people saying “its only a dog/cat etc”

People who don't understand a pet bond may not understand your pain but don't let others dictate your feelings. You are valid, your feelings are valid. Grief is grief and loss is loss. And remember, you are not alone, there are hundreds of pet owners have gone through similar grieving and mourning.

What do I do now?

The most important step you can take is, to be honest about your feelings. You have a right to feel pain and grief. Someone you loved has died. You have a right to feel anger and guilt too.

Some pet parents find it helpful to express their feelings and memories in stories, or letters to their pet, preparing a memorial such as a photo collage; and talking to other pet lovers about your loss. 

Who can I talk to?

Pet lovers! Friends, family, colleagues, anyone who loves their pet just as much as you did. It might be especially helpful to talk to someone who has lost a pet too. They will empathise. Don't hide your feelings in a misguided effort to appear strong or calm. There are also pet loss counsellors and support groups.

When is the right time to euthanize a pet?

This is one of the worst decisions you will hopefully never have to make in life but if it sadly comes your way then your vet is the best judge of your pet's physical condition. You are the best judge of the quality of your pet's daily life. If a pet has a good appetite, still responds to attention, still wants cuddles and/or walks you may feel that this is not the right time. However, if a pet is in constant pain, unresponsive to affection, unaware of its surroundings, and/or uninterested in life, then you may choose to end the beloved companion's suffering as much as it will hurt you deeply.

How should I tell my kids?

Honesty is important. Especially these days, children know a lot more than we do! If you say the pet was "put to sleep," make sure your children understand the difference between death and ordinary sleep or they may never sleep for you again! Try not to say the pet "went away," as your child may wonder what he or she did to make it leave, and wait, tormented, for its return. Don't assume a child is too young or too old to grieve. I find the Rainbow Bridge story is great for children and adults alike. It explains death but allows us to feel at peace, knowing our furbabies are happy and free.

Do other pets grieve too?

Pets often form strong attachments to one another while living in the same house/venue. The survivor of such a pair may grieve for its companion. You will notice small things and you may need to give your surviving pets a lot of extra attention and love to help them through this time.

How soon should I get a new pet?

This is an almost impossible question to answer as every family and person is different in their moments of grief. You need to take the time to fully grieve and evaluate your circumstances. If you do decide to get a new pet, some will advise you to avoid getting a "lookalike" pet, which makes comparisons all the more likely. Or that getting a totally different looking pet will also draw comparisons. But then we got a new pet in the form of our late dogs' granddaughter and we love that fact. It is entirely personal and a difficult question to advise.

The Rainbow Bridge Story <3

They will all run and play together until suddenly one will stop and look into the distance, his/her bright eyes are intent and body shaking with excitement.

They will break from the group and start running over the green grass, faster and faster.

You have been spotted.

When you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face, your hands cuddling them and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Ireland's Favourite Groomer 2017

Our 3rd year of running "Ireland's Favourite Groomer" !!

We always get such amazing nominations that this year we want to make the competition even bigger and better! 

First we need you to nominate your groomer - do this by sending us a picture of YOUR puppy and tag your groomers on the photo. You can do this on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, we will be running this comp across all our channels so the more the merrier!

WHAT TO DO: upload your picture, tag us (so we can see it obviously!) and tag your groomers too or say their name in the post!

We will round up all nominees by December 20th and then announce the shortlist for voting giving all those shortlisted a very Merry Christmas indeed <3

If your puppy and groomer win, the Groomer gets an "Ireland's Favourite Groomer 2017" beautiful glass trophy and you and your puppy win their gorgeous little furry face forever memorialised on one of our Glass Photo Weights!

 

AND...THE WINNER(S) are......Julie Smith and Louise Connolly!!!!!

We couldn't choose between these two beauts. They truly have such dedicated clientele and such passion for their jobs that it was a clear winner to choose the two! Double trouble indeed! <3

Both will win a trophy saying "Ireland's Favourite Groomer 2017", have their photos taken and the featured puppy(s) win their gorgeous little furry face forever memorialised on one of our Glass Photo Weights! We have never seen such amazing love and trust and celebration of our furry ones than with these two. ALL of the nominees are fantastic and will receive a small prize. It warms our hearts to see such love out there for our furry babies. Keep up the lovin' guys. #StrongerTogether xxx

 

Cremation Jewellery - the origins!

Mourning Jewelry as it was once called (in some parts of the world, still is) is a general term for jewelry that people have used over centuries as a way of honoring and remembering deceased loved ones. It has been around since the 1600’s and the earliest known pieces were hand rings. Pearls were particularly favored as they were thought to represent tears and sadness.

Cremation jewelry began to gain momentum during the Victorian Age - named after Queen Victoria who reigned from 1837 until her death in 1901. Victoria’s husband Prince Albert died of typhoid in 1861. The Queen went into full mourning for 3 years along with her court and remained in mourning for the rest of her life. The Victorians were extremely superstitious, especially where death was concerned and hung black drapes over all the mirrors in the house when in mourning. It was said that if you looked into a mirror when a body was in the house, you would be the next person to die. Cremation Jewelry was popular in England during this era and in the United States during the Civil War hair work was a symbolic art that often served as a keepsake or a "love token" to show affection, commemorate the loss of a loved one or to keep a loved one close during times of physical separation. 

The first style of cremation jewelry involved intricately woven hair. Today, most people use a piece of hair or some cremains or ashes as they are more commonly known. Historically hair ‘art’ often served as a love token or keepsake to show affection or commemorate loss or during times of physical separations like war. When people died, hair was often clipped from the head of a deceased person and then woven into a bonnet that would be given to the next of kin.

Nowadays hair is still used in keepsakes and remembrance jewelry but it is more common to use ashes or cremains. The type of jewelry we (www.celtic-ashes.com) offer is bespoke and entirely unique to the wearer and the deceased because it fuses the ash (which for every single person is different) with glass and this fusion creates not a mold but a unique shape, texture and color.

We LOVE Pete the Vet!

Product review from Pete the Vet : looking after your pet’s remains after their death in a novel way – “cremation jewellery”

We all dread that day when we finally need to say goodbye to our pets. It’s always a difficult time, and on top of the emotional distress, there’s that difficult decision to make: what to do with your pet’s remains? It’s a difficult subject, and it probably makes sense to consider it in advance, so that when that moment comes, you have already given serious consideration to the various options. Your decision on the day will then be clearer and easier.

Generally, there are three main choices:

Burial at home - this suits some people, perhaps with smaller pets and with bigger gardens, but for many of us, it’s just not practical

Cremation – with ashes being returned. This option is the most popular for many people with a deep attachment to their pet.

Cremation – with ashes not being returned. Many people feel that they would not know what to do with their pet’s ashes, and they don’t feel the need to have them returned to them. And of course, there’s an extra cost to have pets’ ashes returned, and people may not be in a position to afford to do it.

At the time of your pet’s death, your vet will usually discuss each of these three options with you, and they will help you make the necessary arrangements in place.

If you do decide to ask for your pet’s ashes to be returned to you, what will you do with them? Some people scatter the ashes in a favourite place, while others keep the ashes at home, perhaps with a sample of their pet’s fur and some of their possessions, such as a collar or a toy.

Today’s product review is about a novel alternative for what to do with your pet’s ashes: you can have some of them incorporated into jewellery.  Have you ever heard the Rainbow Bridge story? Well if you haven’t and have suffered pet loss then you should visit www.rainbowbridge-memorials.com: you’ll be able to read all about the Rainbow Bridge, as well as learning about Jennifer’s novel way of remembering your pet.

Dubliner Jennifer Muldowney created Rainbow Bridge Memorials when her pet dog of 16 years, Roxy died in 2009. A friend shared the story of Rainbow Bridge with Jennifer and it helped her to heal and continues to inspire her collection of pet memorials.

Jennifer’s collection includes a number of colourful jewellery pieces, from pendants to charms made from the cremated ashes of pets fused with glass. The fusion of ash with the glass creates a cloud like effect, ensuring that each piece is unique and individual to you and your pet. You can add different colours or charms to make it even more personal: just ask Jennifer and she’ll explain how this can be done.

When you make a purchase on the website – www.rainbowbridge-memorials.com you are sent a Rainbow Pack so that you can send Jennifer and her team a small amount of your pet’s ashes. All postage is included in the price of €160 (or €240 for 9ct gold) and each order is handmade separately.

Cremation Jewellery isn't for everyone, but if you are looking for a different way to remember your pet, it’s certainly worth considering.

DIY Christmas Paw-naments! :D

Ok so we make some pretty fabulous Christmas ornaments here at Rainbow Bridge Memorials BUT they are memorial items and we want you to celebrate your babies while they are still barking and purring at your feet right now so in honor of that and the upcoming Festive season here is a cool DIY Xmas Ornament you can do at home with your furry loved one!!

Dough Ornament Ingredients:

1 cup salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water

Or ratio of 1 salt to 1 flour to half water ;-)

Parchment paper or aluminium foil or just something unsticky! ;-)
A pen or pencil or general poking device for punching a hole - we're so tech here!

Mix the salt, flour, water in a bowl until it becomes firm. Knead the dough for 30 seconds and then cut individual circles with a Glass or Cup or if you're very fancy - a shape cutter!!! LOL

Now is the tricky part - hold your pet long enough to get the desired print!!!

Press your pet's paw into the dough and use the poking device to make a small hole at the top.

Bake at about 200 degrees in the oven for 2-3 hours or until completely dry and pray it doesn't crack!!

Once cool, paint the whole piece and then (suggestion!) Use a pretty (maybe red? or Green? ooh and even glitter!) to decorate the paw....

Another cool suggestion is to write the year and name with marker on the back (HINT: if you've painted a dark color, use a light sharpie like silver or white).

Annnnnd to prove you CAN be Martha Stewart - finish it off with a festive ribbon to hang on the tree! Voilà!! You ARE amazing and your furry one loves you even more ;-)

Ireland's Pet Expo 2015 BIG COMPETITION!!

BIG COMPETITION NEWS!! Come see us at the Ireland's Family Pet Expo RDS Nov 7/8th 2015 for your chance to win. If you can't make it, share and comment on this post below and we will add your name to the draw that weekend. <3 we know not everyone can make it and it is SUCH a good prize!!!

PRIZE - “Rainbow Bridge Memorial Pack” - our Sterling Silver Paw Print Heart Locket, our Glass Photo Weight, our BRAND NEW Encased/Engraved Christmas Decoration, your choice of our original 20 inch Sterling Silver Fused Pendents and a Framed copy of the Rainbow Bridge Story.