The bond you share with your pets is unlike any other, offering steady comfort, loyalty, and unconditional love. Because pets become such an integral part of your lives, losing them can leave behind a deep and often disorienting grief. While nothing truly prepares you for the heartbreak of saying goodbye, music can give voice to the feelings that are difficult to express. Below are several songs of remembrance and solace to support you as you move through the tender loss of a pet.
1. Satellite Moments (Charlie Fink and Luke Treadaway)
‘Cause all our lives are just satellite
Here and gone, like satellite
Sometimes, it’s our pets who choose us. Written for A Street Cat Named Bob, this ballad honors author James Bowen’s bond with a stray cat who kept returning until Bowen gave him a home. Like a satellite that lights up the night sky before slipping out of view, your pet’s time with you may feel all too brief. This song can help you hold on to the bright moments the two of you shared and the memories left behind.
2. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel)
And friends just can’t be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
This well-known track sold over six million copies worldwide, became Simon & Garfunkel’s most successful single, and won five Grammy Awards in 1971, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Simon & Garfunkel describe a bridge that carries someone through hard times. The Rainbow Bridge offers a similar hope: the pets who carried us through our difficult times are waiting for us on the other side.
3. Angel (Sarah McLachlan)
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
Sarah McLachlan originally wrote her ’90s ballad “Angel” about coping with overwhelming pressure and grief. In the decades since, it has become an enduring soundtrack for sorrow, from memorable ASPCA campaigns to the Flight 93 Memorial dedication and other moments of national mourning. Lean into its lyrics for comfort as you navigate the profound loss of your pet.
4. Places We Won’t Walk (Bruno Major)
Birds of red color the trees
Flowers filled with buzzin’ bees
In places we won’t walk
In this song, British singer-songwriter Bruno Major reflects on the moments he will no longer get to share with a lost loved one. For anyone missing a pet, it’s a reminder of the walks and quiet routines you once shared. Woven through the sorrow is a thread of hope that light and joy can still find their way back to you.
5. Chasing Butterflies (Jordon Frank)
And when I needed answers well I just look into your eyes
Now I don’t know all the love you felt inside
My only hope is you’re up there chasing butterflies
Written for his dog Keys, who passed away from cancer, Jordon Frank, of Frankly Speaking, reflects on how they met and how much happiness Keys brought to his life. If you’re watching a pet’s health decline, there are ways to emotionally prepare for their passing and make the most of your remaining time together. May this track shift your focus from goodbye to reflecting on the love you shared.
6. Stars (Grace Potter And The Nocturnals)
And I can’t look at the stars
They make me wonder where you are
Stars, up on heaven’s boulevard
Often, the death of a beloved pet can be abrupt and feel as though there was no time to say goodbye. In “Stars,” Grace Potter wonders why a loved one has gone, a feeling many pet owners know well during quiet nights and evening walks. Listening to this song may help you put words to emotions that are hard to express.
7. Goodbye My Friend (Karla Bonoff)
Oh we never know where life will take us
We know it’s just a ride on the wheel
And we never know when death will shake us
And we wonder how it will feel
Written by Karla Bonoff as a personal way to process grief, this ballad later reached a wider audience through Linda Ronstadt’s cover. Losing a pet can leave a silence that’s hard to explain to others. This song gives that feeling a voice and reminds you that acceptance can come gently, in its own time.
8. The Time of My Life (Benson Boone)
And I wish that you were still right here
I wish you came along
You, why did you leave me so soon?
Before all the flowers could bloom?
In “The Time of My Life,” Benson Boone captures the ache of wishing someone were still here. For anyone grieving a pet, that ache can feel like being stuck in the moment you said goodbye while the world keeps moving around you. This song makes room for quiet remembrance and longing as you mourn the loss of a beloved pet companion.
9. Little Boys Grow Up And Dogs Get Old (Luke Bryan)
And I thought we would be together
Go on and on just like that, forever
A childhood pet is often your first best friend, and losing them can feel like losing a piece of growing up. In this song, Luke Bryan looks back on his childhood with Bandit, his fishing sidekick and constant companion, as they “grew like weeds together”. If you’re helping a child through their first experience with loss, this song can be a gentle way to remember the joyful moments you shared.
Our pets give us steady comfort, loyalty, and unconditional love, so it’s natural for their absence to leave a deep ache. While no song can take away the heartbreak of goodbye, music can give voice to feelings we struggle to express. Let these songs help you honor the bond you and your pet shared as you hold their memory close.
