Our hearts go out to you if you recently lost a dog, cat, or another type of pet. Losing these faithful companions is never easy, and you may feel their absence for years to come.
During the initial stages of grief, you may find yourself functioning at a bare minimum. Perhaps reading these quotes about pets and death will make you feel as if you are not alone in your grief.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of a Dog
- Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of a Cat
- Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of a Bird
- Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of a Hamster or Gerbil
- Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of a Horse
- Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of Another Animal
As time passes, you might want to create a memorial item to commemorate the life of your beloved pet. Whether you wish to make a scrapbook, wall collage, presentation, or headstone, here are some pet loss quotes that you might consider using.
As you peruse our list, don’t limit yourself to looking in only one section. Many of these quotes would be appropriate for any type of animal. As long as you’re not using the quote for a commercial enterprise, most people wouldn’t mind if you altered the words slightly to fit your needs.
Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of a Dog
While other pet owners might disagree, dogs are known as “man’s best friend.” Here are some quotes that may help you come to terms with the death of a beloved companion who was an important part of your life.
1. “My experience with the dogs in my life convince me that...the dog truly loves us...beyond measure, beyond what we deserve, more indeed than we love ourselves.” by Jeffrey Masson
Masson is a psychoanalyst and wrote, “Dogs Never Lie About Love.”
2. “Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware, of giving your heart to a dog to tear.” by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling’s most famous work was “The Jungle Book,” but this quote came from “The Power of the Dog.”
3. “The more I see of men, the more I admire dogs.” Unknown
We aren’t sure who to attribute this quote to because it seems as if many famous people made a similar remark.
4. “I’d be a dog, a monkey, or a bear, or anything but that vain animal, who is so proud of being rational.” by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
Of course, that “vain animal” that the Earl of Rochester refers to is the human.
5. “There is no faith which has never yet been broken, except that of a truly faithful dog.” by Konrad Lorenz
Lorenz was an Austrian zoologist.
6. “The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.” by Samuel Butler
Besides dogs, only toddlers would be happy to join you in acting foolish.
7. “If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.” Unknown
This quote contradicts the title of the Disney movie, “All Dogs Go to Heaven.” We’ll let you decide which idea is most accurate.
8. “At night, when all was quiet about the campfire, (Stickeen) would come to me and rest his head on my knee with a look of devotion as if I were his god.” by John Muir
Did your dog look at you with similar adoration? Then you will indeed connect with this quote.
9. “Love me, love my dog.” Unknown
We aren’t sure who originally came up with this phrase, but you might see it on many dating profiles.
10. “A dog is a man’s best friend.” Unknown
This saying’s origin is also unknown.
Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of a Cat
While some of these quotes could be used on a headstone for a cat, most of them are written by people trying to describe the unique personality of this beloved animal.
11. “When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her.” by Michel De Montaigne
Most people who have relationships with cats feel this way at some time or another.
12. “The Cat. He walked by himself, and all places were alike to him.” by Rudyard Kipling
This quote is from Kipling’s Just-So Stories. Perhaps you feel as if this quote describes your cat’s regal manner.
13. “As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat.” by Ellen Perry Berkeley
Do you agree?
14. “Animals are such agreeable friends–they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.” by George Eliot
This quote is from Scenes of Clerical Life, and it certainly speaks to one of the best qualities of pets.
15. “If a fish is the movement of water embodied, given shape, then cat is a diagram and pattern of subtle air.” by Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing wrote novels and short stories. This quote is from her work “Particularly Cats.”
16. “The mind of a cat is an inscrutable mystery, beyond human reach, the least human of all creatures and, at the same time, as any cat-owner would attest, the most intelligent.” by Lewis Thomas
Lewis Thomas was a physician and writer.
17. “No one who has ever had a dog or cat can doubt the animal capacity for happiness...Like uninhabited human happiness, the pleasure is contagious, and pets serve as a conduit to joyful feelings.” by Jeffrey Masson
This quote came from the book “When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals.”
18. “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” by Khalil Gibran
We hope that this quote gives you hope and peace if you recently lost a pet.
Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of a Bird
We found it difficult to find quotes specifically about pet birds. However, we did find plenty that celebrate this beloved creature. Enjoy.
19. “If I should meet thee, after long years, how should I greet thee? With silence and tears.” by Lord Byron
This quote is from Lord Byron’s poem, “When We Two Parted,” and speaks to the grief you may feel for your pets and your human loved ones.
20. “O what pain it is to part!” by John Gay
All of us will experience the death of a loved one at some point in our lives. This simple statement explains grief beautifully.
21. “It’s no coincidence that birds and angels have wings.” Unknown
We love this quote about our feathered friends. We hope you do, too.
22.” When you own a bird, happiness is all around you.” Unknown
This would be a beautiful saying on a memorial plaque for a bird.
23. “I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulette I could have worn.” by Henry David Thoreau
An epaulette is an ornamental shoulder piece on an article of clothing, such as a uniform.
24. “Grief drives men into habits of serious reflection, sharpens the understanding, and softens the heart.” by John Adams
We love this description of grief from an American president.
25. “Sorrow makes us all children again—destroys all differences of intellect. The wisest know nothing.” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
This might be one reason people describe not being able to think or make decisions immediately after the death of a loved one.
26. “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” Unknown
This quote may perfectly describe your feelings for your pet bird.
Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of a Hamster or Gerbil
The last quote in the previous section may also describe the attachment you feel for your hamster or gerbil. Here are some other quotes that describe the beauty of the animal kingdom.
27. “All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.” by Cecil Francis Alexander
These famous lines are not only the names of a favorite series of novels written by an English veterinarian. They were originally written as lyrics to an Anglican hymn.
28. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” by George Orwell
Feel free to use this quote to suit your purposes, even though this quote was spoken by pigs in Orwell’s book, Animal Farm.
29. “I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain’d” by Walt Whitman
This quote can be found in Whitman’s most famous work, Song of Myself.
Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of a Horse
Horse owners don’t necessarily consider themselves “pet owners.” Nevertheless, here are some quotes that celebrate these magnificent animals.
30. “Horsepower was wonderful when only horses had it.” Unknown
It’s hard to imagine horsepower in a literal sense.
31. “A man is forbidden to eat anything until he has fed his beast.” from the Talmud
As a horse lover, you probably live by this rule.
32. “Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses.” by Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor starred in National Velvet.
33. “No heaven can heaven be, if my horse isn’t there to welcome me.” Unknown
Even though we aren’t sure the origin of this quote, you might agree with its message.
34. “Horses lend us the wings we lack.” by Pam Brown
Did you ever feel as if you were flying when you rode on the back of a horse? Pam Brown must have, too.
35. “I am still under the impression that there is nothing alive quite so beautiful as a horse.” by John Galsworthy
There are many quotes that celebrate the beauty and grace of a horse, but we especially love this one by John Galsworthy.
36. “The air of heaven is that which blows between a horse’s ears.” Arabian Proverb
This proverb would be fitting to hang in a stable or to place on the headstone of a horse.
37. “No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.” by Winston Churchill
If you are a horse lover, you surely have been exposed to this famous quote by Winston Churchill.
Pet Loss Quotes for the Loss of Another Animal
Are you saddened over the loss of another type of animal? We understand how attached you can get to any living creature. So enjoy these quotes about animals and loss.
38. “If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” by James Herriot
James Herriot is the author of the All Creatures Great and Small series.
39. “The charm which Henry T. uses for bird and frog and mink, is patience. They will not come to him, or show him aright, until he becomes a log among logs, sitting still for hours in the same place; then they come around him and to him, and show themselves at home.” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emerson describes an animal and nature lover who used quiet patience to form attachments to animals in a natural habitat.
40. “He that wrongs any Creature sins against God, the Creator.” by Benjamin Whichcote
Benjamin Whichcote wrote in the time of Shakespeare.
41. “The eternal being...as it lives in us, also lives in every animal.” by Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher who wrote in the early 1800s.
42. “It should not be believed that all beings exist for the sake of man. On the contrary, all the other beings too have been intended for their own sakes and not for the sake of something else.” by Moses Maimonides
Maimonides was a medieval Jewish philosopher who used this quote in The Guide for the Perplexed.
43. “If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow man.” by St. Francis of Assisi
We would like to leave you with this final quote about animals. It speaks for itself.
Give Yourself Time to Grieve
Just like the grief we feel for our human loved ones, the suffering you’ll experience after losing your pet has no timetable. It may come and go for years. While this grief may exhaust and overwhelm you, remember that it is the result of great love.