Help clients remember their furry friends

It's difficult for a client to lose a pet. At Burleigh Road Animal Hospital in Brookfield, Wis., team members make the loss a little easier. Each year, the practice hosts a Pet Remembrance Day in conjunction with National Pet Memorial Day on the second Sunday of September. Clients who have lost a pet within the past year are invited to attend a "celebration" of their pets' lives. The team also advertises at local businesses to invite anyone who has lost a pet.

During the event, clients can stroll through the practice's memorial garden, which features an engraved stone at the foot of a memorial tree that reads, "In memory of our beloved friends who have left pawprints in our hearts." Clients light candles at a table in the garden, and hospital administrator Amanda Moore reads poems and stories about pet loss and healing. Each client is given a flower and a framed poem.

Clients can share pictures and stories of their pets, and can even spread ashes in the memorial garden. "It's a very therapeutic way for clients to gain closure after losing their pet," Moore says. "The feedback we've gotten from our clients has been spectacular."