100+ Powerful Pet Loss Quotes for Dogs & Cats

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Plus tips to write your own sympathy message for a deceased pet

Co-authored by Moira Khan and Bailey Cho

Last Updated: September 13, 2025 Fact Checked

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• For Dogs
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• For Cats
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• Short Quotes
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• Comforting Quotes
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• Poems
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• What to Write in a Pet Loss Card

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Losing a pet is a devastating experience, but sharing a thoughtful quote can bring peace and comfort to a mourning pet parent. In this article, you'll find a comprehensive list of pet loss quotes and poems for cats, dogs, and other furry friends. We also interviewed therapists for expert advice on what to write in a pet sympathy card.

Pet Loss Grief Quotes to Bring You Peace

• “Death ends a life, not a relationship.” — Jack Lemmon
• “Grief is the price we pay for love.” — Queen Elizabeth II
• “No longer by my side, but forever in my heart.” — Unknown
• “The littlest feet make the biggest footprint in our hearts.” — Unknown
• “A pet’s love is never replaced, but always remembered.” — Unknown
• “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” — Roger Caras
• “Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.” — Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette

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Section 1 of 6:

Pet Loss Quotes for Dogs

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1. 
   Express that the bond between a human and a dog can never be broken. Death is never easy to talk about, but sharing a heartfelt quote about a dog’s love and loyalty can bring comfort to a grieving pet parent. Here are some comforting quotes about man’s best friend:

   • “I believe that dogs are sent to us to open our hearts.” — Tamar Geller
   • “Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” — Agnes Sligh Turnbull
   • “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” — Roger Caras
   • “There is nothing truer in this world than the love of a good dog.” — Mira Grant
   • “No one can fully understand the meaning of love unless he’s owned a dog.” — Gene Hill
   • “The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be.” — Konrad Lorenz
   • “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.” — Will Rogers
   • “Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one is a life diminished.” — Dean Koontz
   • “Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss.” — Erica Jong
   • “When you adopt a dog, you have a lot of very good days and one very bad day.” — W. Bruce Cameron
   • “Having a dog will bless you with the happiest days of your life and one of the worst days.” — Unknown
   • “No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich.” — Louis Sabin
   • “All dogs go to heaven because, unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind.” — Melba Moore
   • “Everyone thinks that their dog is the best dog in the world. And none of them are wrong.” — W.R. Pursche
   • “You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
   • “The love of a dog is a pure thing. He gives you a trust which is total. You must not betray it.” — Michel Houellebecq
   • “I thank the Lord that there is one thing in this world that money can’t buy, and that is the wag of a dog’s tail.” — Josh Billings
   • “I guess you don’t really own a dog, you rent them, and you have to be thankful that you had a long lease.” — Joe Garagiola
   • “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
   • “I heard somebody define heaven once as a place where, when you get there, all the dogs you ever loved run to greet you.” — Robert B. Parker
   • “If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness.” — Marjorie Garber
   • “Dogs die. But dogs live too. Right up until they die, they live. They live brave, beautiful lives. They protect their families. And love us. And make our lives a little brighter. And they don’t waste time being afraid of tomorrow.” — Dan Gemeinhart
   • “Before you get a dog, you can’t quite imagine what living with one might be like; afterward, you can’t imagine living any other way.” — Caroline Knapp
   • “Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love and loyalty. They depart to teach us about loss. We try to replace them but never quite succeed. 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
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Section 2 of 6:

Pet Loss Quotes for Cats

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1. 
   Stress how much their feline friend adored them with a touching quote. Cats can take a while to warm up to people, which makes their loss even more devastating. If you want to help someone cope with the loss of their cat or give them a beautiful send-off, turn to one of these sympathy quotes:

   • “A cat’s love forever graces your heart.” — Unknown
   • “Time spent with cats is never wasted.” — Sigmund Freud
   • “What greater gift than the love of a cat?” — Charles Dickens
   • “If you don’t mourn a dead cat properly, you’ll never get over it.” — Hiro Arikawa
   • “Cats are kindly masters just so long as you remember your place.” — Paul Gray
   • “Heaven will not ever Heaven be, unless my cats are there to welcome me.” — Unknown
   • “There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat.” — Tay Hohoff
   • “Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.” — Garrison Keillor
   • “A good cat never goes far. When they leave this earth, they become a star.” — Unknown
   • “When the cat you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.” — Unknown
   • “Cats nestle their affection in your heart and live on forever in your memory.” — Unknown
   • “Your cat chooses you forever. Even when they are gone, their memory lives on.” — Unknown
   • “The memories and paw prints of a beloved cat remain in our hearts and souls forever.” — Unknown
   • “Cats knead their way right into the center of your soul, so they are always near and dear to you.” — Unknown
   • “I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through.” — Jules Verne
   • “Farewell is never forever. Though your precious cat isn’t on earth, their soul is forever connected to yours.” — Unknown
   • “To make heaven the perfect resting place for loved ones we adore, God made sure those Pearly Gates contained a kitty door.” — Unknown
   • “A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.” — Ernest Hemingway
   • “I can say with sincerity that I love cats; furthermore, I am going to give very good reasons why those who hate them are wrong.” — Emily Brontë
   • “The moment you brought your cat home, your souls connected. This connection is much stronger than death because love never dies.” — Unknown
   • “No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch.” — Leo Dworken
   • “When you have to say the final goodbye to your beloved feline, they will never be far from your heart because they are buried forever in your memories.” — Unknown
   • “Sometimes a very special cat enters our lives…their presence changes our hearts forever. And we can call ourselves blessed for having known them.” — Unknown
   • “I have felt cats rubbing their faces against mine and touching my cheek with claws carefully sheathed. These things, to me, are expressions of love.” — James Herriot
   • “Though your beloved cat is gone, remember them with a smile. That ring you hear in your ear is a gentle purr to remind you your souls are forever connected.” — Unknown

Section 3 of 6:

Short Pet Loss Quotes

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1. 
   Show empathy and support with a short quote about the loss of a pet. If you’re struggling to find the right sentiments or you need something quick to use in a text or social media message, look no further. The following quotes highlight the love someone shared with their pet and capture the heavy emotions of their loss:

   • “Death ends a life, not a relationship.” — Jack Lemmon
   • “Grief is the price we pay for love.” — Queen Elizabeth II
   • “Heartbreak is life educating us.” — George Bernard Shaw
   • “No longer by my side, but forever in my heart.” — Unknown
   • “The littlest feet make the biggest footprint in our hearts.” — Unknown
   • “A pet’s love is never replaced, but always remembered.” — Unknown
   • “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” — Dr. Seuss
   • “I loved you your whole life and I’ll miss you the rest of mine.” — Unknown
   • “You may have left my life, but you will never leave my heart.” — Unknown
   • “Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” — Khalil Gibran
   • “Grief is the last act of love we have to give to those we loved.” — Unknown
   • “You will always be my favourite hello and hardest goodbye.” — Cecelia Ahern
   • “If love alone could have kept you here, you would’ve lived forever.” — Unknown
   • “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” — A.A. Milne
   • “His ears were often the first thing to catch my tears.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
   • “Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.” — Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
   • “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” — A.A. Milne
   • “Pets are not just animals, they are gifts to us that bring love and joy to our lives.” — Bob Barker
   • “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” — Anatole France
   • “Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” — Isaac Asimov
   • “Having a pet is a risk – you always have the grief ahead. But that’s the flip side of love.” — Unknown
   • “Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” — Mark Twain
   • “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” — Irish Headstone
   • “Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
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Section 4 of 6:

Comforting Pet Loss Quotes

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1. 
   Remind them that their pet will live on in their heart forever. One of the best ways to bring peace and comfort to a grieving person is to tell them that the memories of their beloved pet will never fade. Here are some comforting pet loss quotes you can use in cards, on social media, or as part of a memorial gift:

   • “One day we will again see our animals in the eternity of Christ.” — Pope Paul VI
   • “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” — Saint Francis of Assisi
   • “There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.” — Mahatma Gandhi
   • “Everyone is taught that angels have wings, but the lucky ones of us find they have four paws.” — Unknown
   • “My mind still talks to you and my heart still looks for you but my soul knows you are at peace.” — Unknown
   • “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; all that we have loved deeply, becomes a part of us.” — Helen Keller
   • “Honor your grief and the pain you feel when you lose a beloved pet. It is the first step toward healing.” — Karen A. Anderson
   • “Companion, friend and confidante, a friend I won’t forget. You’ll live forever in my heart, my sweet forever pet.” — Susanne Taylor
   • “Our beloved pets teach us more than we could ever have expected, and they love us more than we could have hoped.” — Unknown
   • “Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day.” — John Grogan
   • “If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” — James Herriot
   • “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
   • “Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy.” — Eskimo Proverb
   • “I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you; but instead I am deeply honoured knowing you spent the rest of your life with me.” — Camille Marcotte
   • “Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.” — John Galsworthy
   • “Your place I’ll hold, you will be missed, the fur I stroked, the nose I kissed. And as you journey to your final rest, take with you this … I loved you best.” — Jim Willis
   • “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
   • “With all of my heart, I believe it is true that there is a heaven for animals too. Sometimes I think they already know, all of the animals … just where they’ll go.” — Nancy Tillman
   • “Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” — Vicki Harrison
   • “If there is a heaven, it’s certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own, it would take more than an archangel to detangle them.” — Pam Brown
   • “When we think of those companions who travelled 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
   • “Grief is so painfully real, regardless of its origin. The love of, and attachment to, an animal friend can equal that of human relationships. Likewise, the loss of an animal can be just as devastating.” — Rev. Joel L. Morgan

Section 5 of 6:

Pet Loss Poems

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1. 
   Share a pet loss poem to help them find comfort and solace. For a truly meaningful message, include a poem to help the other person reflect on their favorite memories and the impact their pet had on their life. Here are some special poems to help process their loss and bring peace:

   • “They say memories are golden
     well maybe that is true.
     I never wanted memories,
     I only wanted you.
     A million times I needed you,
     a million times I cried.
     If love alone could have saved you
     you never would have died.
     In life I loved you dearly,
     In death I love you still.
     In my heart you hold a place
     no one could ever fill.
     If tears could build a stairway
     and heartache make a lane,
     I'd walk the path to heaven
     and bring you back again.
     Our family chain is broken,
     and nothing seems the same.
     But as God calls us one by one,
     the chain will link again.”
     — Unknown, “I Only Wanted You”
   • “Hope is the thing with feathers
     That perches in the soul,
     And sings the tune without the words,
     And never stops at all,
     And sweetest in the gale is heard;
     And sore must be the storm
     That could abash the little bird
     That kept so many warm.
     I've heard it in the chillest land,
     And on the strangest sea;
     Yet, never, in extremity,
     It asked a crumb of me.”
     — Emily Dickinson, “Hope is the Thing with Feathers”
   • “Do not stand at my grave and weep,
     I am not there; I do not sleep.
     I am a thousand winds that blow,
     I am the diamond glints on snow,
     I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
     I am the gentle autumn rain.
     When you awaken in the morning's hush
     I am the swift uplifting rush
     Of quiet birds in circled flight.
     I am the soft stars that shine at night.
     Do not stand at my grave and cry,
     I am not there; I did not die.”
     — Mary Elizabeth Frye, “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep”
   • “They will not go quietly,
     the pets who’ve shared our lives.
     In subtle ways they let us know
     their spirit still survives.
     Old habits still can make us think
     we hear them at the door
     Or step back when we drop
     a tasty morsel on the floor.
     Our feet still go around the place
     the food dish used to be,
     And, sometimes, coming home at night,
     we miss them terribly.
     And although time may bring new friends
     and a new food dish to fill,
     That one place in our hearts
     belongs to them…
     and always will.”
     — Unknown, “They Will Not Go Quietly”
   • “When I am gone, release me, let me go. I have so many things to see and do.
     You mustn’t tie yourself to me with tears. Be happy that we had so many years.
     I gave you my love, you can only guess how much you gave to me in happiness.
     I thank you for the love you each have shown, but now it’s time I traveled on alone.
     So grieve awhile for me if grieve you must. Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
     It’s only for awhile that we must part. So bless the memories within your heart.
     I won’t be far away. For life goes on. So if you need me, call and I will come.
     Though you can’t see or touch me, I’ll be near, and if you listen with your heart, you’ll hear.
     All of my love around you soft and clear.
     And then, when you must come this way alone, I’ll greet you with a smile and ‘Welcome Home.’”
     — Unknown, “When I’m Gone”
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Section 6 of 6:

What to Write in a Pet Loss Card

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1. 1
   Validate their grief and express your condolences. “The grief of a pet is similar to the grief of a relationship,” says licensed marriage and family therapist Denise Brady. Therefore, it’s important to let the other person know you care about them and empathize with the loss of their pet. Some example phrases include “I am deeply sorry for your loss” or “My heart goes out to you and your family.”

   • Be sure to write in the first person to craft a more genuine message. For example, “I will miss your (pet’s name)” is more impactful than “your pet will be missed.”
2. 2
   Share a sweet memory of their pet to comfort them. Highlighting a happy memory with their pet can bring peace to the grieving family. You should “share the strength of what that animal has given [them],” according to therapist Jacqueline House, LMFT-A, whether it’s mentioning something from a specific holiday, pet birthday, or trip to the park.

   • “Sharing positive emotions can help [them] during the grieving process,” says House.
3. 3
   Offer support and let them know you’re here for them. When consoling someone who has just lost their pet, “treat the death as if it were a regular person…and be available and support them,” says therapist Ebony Eubanks, MSW, ACSW, CAMS-II. Let the grieving person know they can reach out at any time and that they’re not alone. To be extra supportive, specify how you can help them, whether it’s running errands on their behalf or bringing them food.

   • Providing a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on is a simple gesture that goes a long way!
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