American families use special occasions to express their feelings about each other, to mark the passage of time, and to preserve family memories for the future. Important rituals of family life include having portraits made, celebrating birthdays and holidays, and having a funeral or memorial service to mark the end of a loved one's life. Over time, pet animals have become participants in all these occasions.

Pet Portraits - After photography came to America in 1840, thousands of ordinary people began to have portraits made of themselves and their pets. By the early 1900s, casual snapshots became a common way for people to document their relationships with animals. By the 1940s, home movies allowed owners to record their pets for posterity; now home video is an easy way to preserve memories for the future.

Unidentified boy with dog
 Real photo postcard, about 1910

Celebrating Holidays - By the late nineteenth century, some families included their animals in their Christmas celebrations. By the 1920s, pet shop owners promoted the idea of giving Christmas gifts for pets, and by the 1940s, special stockings of treats were packaged for sale. Today, the Pet Product Manufacturers' Association suggests that owners celebrate every major holiday with gifts for their pets.

Christmas stocking for a parakeet 
Acme Pet Products Corp. 
Pelham, New York, around 1960 

Death, Mourning, and Remembrance - As early as 1800, Americans gave beloved pets careful burials with eulogies and graveside ceremonies, even establishing small graveyards with monuments and headstones. In 1896, pet cemeteries began to appear near large cities. Animal shelters, like Philadelphia 's Francisvale (founded in 1908), often included a pet cemetery on their property. Today, while some owners use cemeteries, increasing numbers have animals cremated. Thousands of internet pet memorial sites have become places for people to share their memories.

Posthumous photo of unidentified dog
Cabinet card, 1890s