Comforting Sayings for the Loss of a Dog

Our dogs are family, and when they pass on, it is the hardest goodbye. When a loved one’s pet passes, it can be difficult to know what to say to bring them some comfort. We hope these heartfelt sayings will inspire you if you are at a loss for words.

• “There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.” — Mahatma Gandhi
• “What we once enjoyed, we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” — Helen Keller
• “I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. But instead, I am deeply honored knowing you spent the rest of your life with me.” — Camille Marcotte
• “When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.” — Unknown
• “When we think of those companions who traveled by our side down life’s road, let us not say with sadness that they left us behind, but rather say with gentle gratitude that they once were with us.” — Unknown
• “Sometimes we aren’t meant to get over someone, and we go on living a little bit emptier.” — Leo Christopher
• “Anyone who has lost something they thought was theirs forever finally comes to realize that nothing really belongs to them.” — Paulo Coelho
• “Sometimes losing a pet is more painful than losing a human because in the case of the pet, you were not pretending to love it.” — Amy Sedaris

• “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them and filling an emptiness we didn’t ever know we had.” — Thom Jones
• “A new dog never replaces an old dog; it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big.” — Erica Jong
• “There’s a cruel irony in grieving the very person who would have been your anchor through the devastation of their loss.” — Unknown
• “If I could be half the person my dog is, I’d be twice the human I am.” — Charles Yu
• “Nobody can fully understand the meaning of love unless he’s owned a dog. A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes.” — Gene Hill
• “Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell.” — Emily Dickinson
• “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” — Groucho Marx
• “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” — Roger Caras
• “Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two lifeforms — one of them’s making poop, the other one’s carrying it for him — who would you assume is in charge?” — Jerry Seinfeld

• “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard?” — Winnie the Pooh
• “Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
• “The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief. But the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love.” — Hilary Stanton Zunin
• “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
• “So, it’s true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.” — E.A. Bucchianeri
• “Do not resent growing old; many are denied the privilege.” — Unknown
• “Happiness is beneficial for the body, but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind. Love is a striking example of how little reality means to us.” — Marcel Proust
• “Death is a mirror in which the entire meaning of life is reflected.” — Sogyal Rinpoche
• “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves a memory no one can steal.” — Unknown
• “To weep is to make less the depth of grief.” — William Shakespeare

• “Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” — Mark Twain
• “Perhaps they are not stars but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.” — Inuit proverb
• “Heaven is a place where all the dogs you’ve ever loved come to greet you.” — Oliver Gaspirtz

If these sayings have inspired you to reach out, there are many ways to celebrate the life of a beloved dog. Take any of these quotes and create a memorial webpage where you can pay tribute to a special pet and offer comfort to others who are also grieving. You also can make a gift in memory of a pet and include a comforting message on a card to the recipient. Your gift will go straight to work helping homeless pets via Best Friends programs across the country.

It’s so important to celebrate the joy that our dogs bring to our lives. We are incredibly sorry for your loss. Please see our grief resources and connect with others who have experienced pet loss on our Angels Rest Facebook group to help you through this difficult time.