Notes & Free Stuff
Blessing prayer for someone who has lost a beloved pet.Several years ago, some friends lost their beloved dog, Bernie. He had lived a full life, and was pretty old as dogs go, and he had been getting more feeble for some time. So, Bernie's death wasn't a surprise, but as anyone who has ever had a pet as part of his or her family knows, it was still a very sad time, a grieving time. I made a card for Bernie's family, putting together some verses from the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible, and a prayer to bless them. When we all gathered later that day to bury Bernie, the family asked that the card be read aloud. It became the liturgy for honoring Bernie and grieving him, and committing him to God and to the earth. I thought of trying to adapt Bernie's blessing prayer into a generic card for the death of a pet, but I don't think it works very well without inserting the actual names of the pet and the person or persons who loved that pet. So I've decided to just give it away as a free download. Those who find the words meaningful may hand-write it into a card or read it aloud, as we did, putting in the correct names and pronouns. You have my permission (and blessing!) to use it in non-commercial ways.
Download (PDF Link)