50+ Inspirational Pet Loss Quotes

Today 95 percent of people consider their pet to be part of the family, according to a survey by Harris Poll. As you can imagine, this means that the death of a pet brings about deep grief. While it’s hard to put the pain into words, these pet loss quotes can help describe the sadness and provide support in a time of need.

If you have lost a pet, please accept our sincere condolences. Our animal friends are a true blessing and serve a very special role in our lives. We truly hope these pet loss quotes offer you comfort.

Or, if someone in your life has lost a furry loved one, you can use these pet loss quotes as a means of support, whether it’s in a card, email, text or in person. This will go a long way with a grieving pet parent.

In addition to pet loss quotes, this list includes nearly 20 inspirational quotes about losing a dog. After all, My Dog’s Name has a special focus on our canine companions.

No matter what kind of animal you or a loved one has lost, however, the death of a beloved pet is always difficult. Pet loss quotes are a simple way to help ease the pain.

Top Pet Loss Quotes

These pet loss quotes perfectly sum up the life, love and loss of a cherished animal.

“A pet is never truly forgotten until it is no longer remembered.”

Lacie Petitt

“Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.”

John Galsworthy

“I guess you don’t really own a dog, you rent them, and you have to be thankful that you had a long lease.”

Joe Garagiola

“Sometimes losing a pet is more painful than losing a human because in the case of the pet, you were not pretending to love it.”

Amy Sedaris

“If there is a heaven, it’s certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own, it would take more than an archangel to detangle them.”

Pam Brown

“Grief is so painfully real, regardless of its origin. The love of, and attachment to, an animal friend can equal that of human relationships. Likewise, the loss of an animal can be just as devastating.”

Rev. Joel L. Morgan

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains un-awakened.”

Anatole France

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”

James Herriot

Inspirational Quotes About Losing a Dog

The loss of a dog creates a gaping hole in your heart. While that hole can never be completely filled, these inspirational quotes about losing a dog provide comfort, support and hope during the dark days ahead.

“The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be.”

Konrad Lorenz

“Nobody can fully understand the meaning of love unless he’s owned a dog. A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes.”

Gene Hill

“If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”

Will Rogers

“Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs your heart is very big.”

Erica Jong

“The misery of keeping a dog is his dying so soon. But, to be sure, if he lived for fifty years and then died, what would become of me.”

Sir Walter Scott

“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”

Roger Caras

“Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.”

Mark Twain

“To call him a dog hardly seems to do him justice, though inasmuch as he had four legs, a tail, and barked, I admit he was, to all outward appearances. But to those who knew him well, he was a perfect gentleman.”

Hermione Gingold

“The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master.”

Ben Hur Lampman

“Dogs die. But dogs live, too. Right up until they die, they live. They live brave, beautiful lives. They protect their families. And love us. And make our lives a little brighter. And they don’t waste time being afraid of tomorrow.”

Dan Gemeinhart

“Old men miss many dogs.”

Steve Allen

“If I have any beliefs about immortality it is that certain dogs I know will go to heaven, and very few people.”

James Thurber

“A person who has never owned a dog has missed a wonderful part of life.”

Bob Barker

“A good dog never dies. He always stays. He walks besides you on crisp autumn days when frost is on the fields and winter’s drawing near. His head is within our hand in his old way.”

Mary Carolyn Davies

“His ears were often the first thing to catch my tears.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“Dogs’ lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you’re going to lose a dog, and there’s going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can’t support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There’s such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware that it comes with an unbearable price.”

Dean Koontz

“Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.”

Agnes Sligh Turnbull

“If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness.”

Marjorie Garber

More Pet Loss Quotes & Sayings

Not all pet loss quotes and sayings can be attributed to an author. Many have no attribution, but still offer plenty of wisdom and warmth for a grieving pet owner.

“Our animal friends teach us more than we could have expected and love us more than we could have hoped. That’s why we miss them more than we could have imagined.”

“A companion is gone but the memory lives on.”

“They bring us love and happiness and comfort without end. It’s hard to face such sadness without your furry friend.”

“No matter how or when we lose our furry friends, their love lasts a lifetime.”

“No longer by my side but forever in my heart.”

“A loyal companion and best friend. May their memories bring you comfort in this time of loss.”

“A pet’s love is never replaced but always remembered.”

“Your pet will always be by your side, watching over you.”

“The love of a pet will always be remembered.”

“Pets leave pawprints on our hearts.”

“Don’t ever apologize or feel silly about crying over a dog. When you lose your best friend, you have every right to be sad about it.”

“You’ve lost a dog but gained a guardian angel.”

Grief Quotes – Perfect for Pet Loss Quotes

And finally, our list of pet loss quotes concludes with tried-and-true quotes about grief that ring true for pets just as much as they do for humans.

“The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief – but the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love.”

Hilary Stanton Zunin

“Grief is the price we pay for love.”

Queen Elizabeth II

“The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.”

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“Sometimes, only one person is missing, and the whole world seems depopulated.”

Alphonse de Lamartine

“Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.”

Vicki Harrison

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”

Helen Keller

“Grief doesn’t have a plot. It isn’t smooth. There is no beginning and middle and end.”

Ann Hood

“While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till it be digested, and then amusement will dissipate the remains of it.”

Samuel Johnson

“It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”

John Steinbeck

“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”

Kahlil Gibran

“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.”

Kenji Miyazawa

“No one ever really dies as long as they took the time to leave us with fond memories.”

Chris Sorensen

Jessi Larson

Jessi is a marketing strategist for Fortune 50 companies who loves to research and write about all things dog. She is the proud mom to Toby, a giant Labrador Retriever who thinks he’s a lapdog. He inspires her to be a better pet parent and to share advice with other dog owners.