Prayers for a Deceased Pet

This is something I shared a few years ago on another one of my networks, but I thought I’d also share it here for the readers. I’ve gotten tons of requests over the years from people who have lost their beloved pets.

We’ve all been through it. In fact, I myself suffered two losses just last year. Our four-legged friends are loved just as much–sometimes more than people. Sometimes, they are our only companion or best friend when everything else is going wrong in our world. They love us unconditionally, whether we are in a crappy mood, happy, having a bad hair day or a day we wished we hadn’t gotten out of bed, and because of this, their death can be devastating.

Pets aren’t just domestic dogs or cats, either. I’ve known people who have rescued wildlife, only to find that when the animal was rehabilitated, it did not want to return out into the wild, instead, they’d want to stay with their new human companion. I myself have had the pleasure of the companionship of the wild.

 

As Pagans and Witches, we believe that all things—even inanimate objects have a life and spirit equal to our own. Our pets–particularly our familiars– are sometimes closer to us than our families and friends. Christian beliefs are that pets do not go to heaven and animals are secondary to humans in the eyes of the Christian god. Pagans don’t believe in heaven and we believe that not just pets,but  all animals, are to be honored and remembered the same as we would honor and remember a person who has passed from this world.

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If you wish to hold a ceremony or funeral for your beloved pet, there is no right or wrong way to do this, as the ceremony is unique and personal to you, and you alone. Mourning Animals: Rituals and Practices Surrounding Animal Death by Michigan State University, has some touching ceremony ideas, but below are also some simple prayers you can recite for your beloved friend:

Prayers for a Pet Cat

1. You have crossed over now,
into the spirit realm.
May you walk with Bast,
and I will see you again some day.

2. Mother Earth, we return to you
the body of one of your children.
Her spirit will return to her ancestors,
and she will continue to live in our memories.
We are thankful that we were able
to share our lives with her,
and give her to your loving arms.

3. Bast, Sekhmet, we give you back your child.
Noble, regal, honorable cat.
Watch over her, and guide her on her way
to the spirit world.
May she be blessed in your names,
and hunt ever after beside you.

Prayers for a Pet Dog

1. Faithful friend, loyal companion,
we say farewell to you now.
You have kept us warm at night,
protected our home
and offered us unconditional love.
For this we are thankful,
and we will remember you forever.

2. In days gone by, the dog ran wild, untamed and free.
Although man may have tamed your bodies,
we have never tamed your spirit.
You are free now.
Go and run with your pack,
with your wild ancestors, racing by the midnight moon.
Go and hunt for your prey,
taking what is your birthright.
Join the wolf, the jackal, the wild dogs,
and run with your kin on the wild hunt.
Run, and guide your spirit home.

Prayer for a Euthanized Pet

I have loved you from the day you came into my life,
and now it is time for me to let you go.
I could not watch you suffer,
I could not see you in pain.
Now you are free.
Your body is no longer sick,
or weak, or hurting.
Now you can run with the others,
playing and hunting as wild things do.
Because I loved you,
I had to let you go.
You will live forever in my heart.

Resources:
http://paganwiccan.about.com/

http://www.triplemoonceremonies.ca/

© 2020 Bewitching New York. Krystal Madison. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this work may be copied or reproduced in an any format without the express written permission of the author. In other words, don’t copy or steal, I wouldn’t want to have to hex you 😉

 

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