Remembering Pets at Samhain: How to Honor the Animals You've Lost
Can you remember pets at Samhain? Yes. Nothing in Samhain practice limits the dead you honor to humans, and for a lot of people, the loss they feel most this time of year has four legs, or feathers, or scales.
Grief for an animal is often treated as smaller than grief for a person. It isn't always smaller. If a dog or cat shared your home for fifteen years, they were part of your daily life in a way many relatives never were. Samhain is a reasonable time to give that its place.
Ways to Include Them
Give them space on your altar. A photo, a collar or tag, a favorite toy, a paw print, a clipping of fur you kept. If you build a Samhain ancestor altar, they can share it with the people you're honoring or have a small corner of their own.
Say their name. Out loud, along with the other names you speak on Samhain night. Include their full silly name if they had one.
Leave an offering. A few of their favorite treats in a dish on the altar. Clear it away the next day.
Tell their stories. Samhain has always involved telling stories about the dead. Tell one about the animal: how they came to you, what they did that made everyone laugh, how they behaved when you were sick.
Write to them. A short letter is a simple way to say what you didn't get to say, especially if the end was sudden or you had to make the decision to let them go.
Visit their resting place. If they're buried in your yard or a pet cemetery, take a candle or some autumn flowers out on Samhain evening.
If You Have Living Animals
A few practical cautions if there are pets in the house now:
Candles. Keep flames well out of reach of tails, paws, and curious noses, and never leave them burning in a room with an unsupervised animal.
Offerings. Don't leave food out where a living pet can get it, especially anything that's unsafe for them, like chocolate, grapes, onions, or anything heavily spiced.
Smoke and oils. Incense smoke and some essential oils can be harmful to cats and birds in particular. Ventilate the room or skip them.
Plants. Some common Samhain decorations and herbs are toxic to pets. Check before you put them on a low altar, and ask your vet if you're unsure. As always, use your own discernment and consult a qualified practitioner for anything related to your physical health.
Some people find their living animals act strangely around a memorial — sniffing a photo, sitting near the altar. Make of that what you will.
When the Loss Is Recent
If you lost the animal this year, Samhain may hit harder than you expect. Keep it simple: one candle, one photo, their name. That's enough of an observance. If you're doing a Samhain year review Samhain as the Witch's New Year: A Closing-the-Year Review, Step by Step, include them in what ended this year.
Grief over a pet can be as heavy as any other grief, and pet loss support lines and groups exist for exactly that reason. It's worth reaching out if the weight isn't easing.