A keepsake book

A Letter to Your Pet

A letter, in your voice: the things you didn't get to say.

A 6-page personalized letter written, this time, by you. A gentle, guided way to say the things you didn't get to say to your pet: the thank-you, the apology that lifts the weight, the last good day, and what you're keeping. We write the connective words with care; you supply the specifics that make it yours. The companion to A Letter from Your Pet: one letter from them, one from you. Illustrated with a watercolor portrait painted from your photo. Designed to be printed on cardstock and framed. Written with care by people who have been on the other side of this.

Price$29
Illustrations2 painted from your photo
FinishedBy hand, in 24–48 hours

Order this book See the full book (PDF)

You'll check out first, then tell us about your pet (about 5 minutes).

A few gentle questions and a photo. We paint it and send you a print-quality PDF.

One from them, one from you

This is the letter you write to them. Its companion is the letter they write to you, at the Rainbow Bridge, in their own voice.

See “A Letter from Your Pet”

After checkout

The questions you’ll answer

After checkout we’ll ask about your pet (about five minutes, with one good photo ready). Here’s everything we’ll ask, so none of it is a surprise; or simply read the example we used to paint the sample above.

Your pet

Their nameRequired
What kind of animalRequired
How they lookOptionalHelps the cover portrait, but the letter stands without it.
Who signs the letterRequired

The letter

A daily ritual that was yoursRequired
The spots that were theirsRequired
A quirkOptional
The last good dayOptional
Something you're keepingOptional
Nicknames · when adopted · when they passedOptional

Tone

How they diedOptional
Where they are nowOptional

One last thing

Anything else we should know?OptionalSomething the questions didn't cover. We read every note by hand.

Required to start Optional, degrades gracefully if left blank

The example we used

The answers behind the sample

These are the exact answers behind the sample illustrations above: a filled-in example of what “good” looks like.

The original

The photo we started from

One clear snapshot. This photo is what every painting in the book is drawn from.

Their name

Biscuit

What kind of animal

dog

How they look

small senior terrier-mix with a short tan-and-grey brindle coat, a soft white-and-grey muzzle, one ear that flops and one that stands half up

Who signs the letter

Margaret

A daily ritual that was yours

the slow loop around the block after dinner, you setting the pace, me letting you

The spots that were theirs

the worn patch of carpet by the radiator, and the bottom step where you waited for me every evening

A quirk

the way you turned your whole body to look at me, not just your head, like I deserved the full effort

The last good day

the last warm afternoon, when you found a sunbeam on the kitchen floor and slept in it for hours while I worked beside you

Something you're keeping

your frayed red collar on the hook by the door, and the soft dent your weight left in the old armchair

Nicknames · when adopted · when they passed

Biscuit, Bisky, the old girl

How they died

euthanasia

Where they are now

heaven

Your answers can be just as short. We do the writing and the painting. You bring the pet and the moments.