Non-Religious Pet Funeral Readings and Words

Updated November 4, 2026

For a non-religious pet funeral, you can read a short piece about your pet's everyday life, a letter you wrote to them, a public domain classic like the inscription on Lord Byron's dog's monument, or one of the original readings below. Keep it to a minute or two, and let gratitude, stories and a moment of quiet do the work that prayer does in a religious service.

Plenty of American families want a goodbye without religion, or with a mix of beliefs in the room. In a 2020 survey of 2,043 U.S. dog and cat owners, about half said their religious or spiritual beliefs either had no impact on how they memorialized their pet (36.1%) or didn't apply because they weren't religious or spiritual (14.9%). A secular service gives everyone a way to take part.

All of the readings below except Byron's are original to this guide. You're welcome to read them, print them, change the pronouns or rewrite them entirely.

Original readings

The ordinary days

We remember the big days: the first night home, the birthdays, the trips. But mostly we remember the ordinary ones. The sound at the door. The weight at the foot of the bed. The walk that happened whether it rained or not. Those days added up to a life, and we got to share it. That was the gift.

A small list

Here is what we know. You liked the sunny spot by the window. You knew the sound of the treat drawer from two rooms away. You never once judged us for a bad day. You made a house feel like a home. That's a short list, and it's everything.

For a pet who was always there

You were there for the moves and the new jobs, the good years and the hard ones. You didn't know what any of it meant. You only knew we were your people, and that was enough for you. It was more than enough for us.

Thank you

Thank you for the mornings. Thank you for the noise. Thank you for following us from room to room as though every room were the place to be. Thank you for every walk, every nap, every time you made us laugh when we didn't think we could. Thank you.

For a small pet

Some lives are small and quiet and fill a room anyway. You fit in two hands, but you took up a great deal of space in our hearts. We will miss the little sounds, the little routines, and the little friend who made them.

For a pet with a short life

We didn't get the years we hoped for. We got months, and we filled them. Short is not the same as small. You were loved every single day you were here.

For a long, full life

You grew gray beside us. You slowed down, and we slowed down with you. We learned your new pace and kept you company. A long life, shared, is a rare thing. We had it with you.

For a horse

Thank you for carrying us, for your patience with beginners, for the quiet of the barn in the morning and the sound of your feet on the trail. We were small next to you, and you never once made us feel it.

For a bird

The house has gone quiet. We didn't know how much of our day was your voice until it stopped. Thank you for the songs, the chatter, and the company.

A public domain classic

Lord Byron's dog Boatswain, a Newfoundland, died at Newstead Abbey in 1808. The inscription on his monument is one of the best-known tributes to a dog in English, and it is in the public domain:

Near this Spot are deposited the Remains of one Who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, And all the virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery If inscribed over human Ashes, Is but a just tribute to the Memory of Boatswain, a Dog, who was born in Newfoundland May 1803 and died at Newstead, Nov. 18th, 1808.

The middle lines, "Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity," work well on their own as a short reading or on a stone.

A toast

Purdue's veterinary hospital suggests a farewell event "with perhaps a toast to your pet." A toast is a natural secular closing. A few to adapt:

• "To [Name], who never met a stranger, never missed a meal, and never let us feel alone."
• "To [Name], the best part of coming home."
• "To [Name], and all the good days."

Write your own reading

The best reading is often the one you write. A simple formula:

1. One sentence about the beginning. "You came home in a cardboard box from a farm in Ohio."
2. Three things only your pet did.
3. One thing you learned from them.
4. One line of thanks.

Ohio State's veterinary medical center suggests writing a poem or song, or keeping a journal of your pet's story, as ways to remember. If guilt is weighing on you, it also mentions that some owners find it helpful to write an "apology letter" to their pet. You don't have to read that one aloud.

A simple non-religious order

1. Welcome. "We're here to remember [Name] and to say goodbye."
2. [Name]'s story.
3. A reading from above, or your own.
4. Memories from everyone.
5. A quiet moment. "Let's take a quiet moment, each in our own way."
6. A toast or a flower.
7. Goodbye. "Thank you for being here, and for caring about [Name]."

More detail is in our pet funeral order of service, and opening and closing lines are in what to say at a pet funeral.

About the Rainbow Bridge poem

Many people know the Rainbow Bridge poem. Its copyright status is unclear, so we don't reprint it. Its central image is of pets waiting in a meadow for their owners, which comforts some people and doesn't fit others' beliefs. If you'd like something in its place, any of the original readings above can be read in its spot.

Holding a secular service online

Bridgeside's funeral orders include several with no religious content, such as a small funeral at home, a celebration of life, a graveside goodbye and a quiet goodbye alone, and you can hold any of them for free with family who live far away.