When a friend's dog or cat dies, it is easy to say nothing because you are not sure a message is called for. It is. Tell this tool who you are writing to and who the pet was, and Hemmingway writes a few gentle lines that use the pet's name and treat the loss as a real one. You send them yourself.
It will not make up a memory of an animal you never met, or say how they died. If you knew the pet, add one thing you remember. If you did not, leave that box empty and the message says you are sorry and thinking of your friend.
What to say, and what to leave out
- Use the pet's name. "I'm so sorry about Biscuit" lands very differently from "sorry about your cat".
- Do not measure the loss. No "at least he had a long life", no "only a cat", and nothing that compares it to losing a person.
- Leave the future alone. Never ask whether they will get another. That is theirs to raise.
- Say nothing about the decision. If the pet was put to sleep, they may be turning it over already. Unless they ask, do not comment on it.
An example
Asked for a gentle card message to a neighbour called Helen, whose ginger cat Biscuit has died at sixteen, with the memory that he sat on her front wall every afternoon and let the schoolchildren stroke him, a message along these lines is what to expect:
Dear Helen, I'm so sorry about Biscuit. Sixteen years is a long time to have someone beside you. I'll miss seeing him on your front wall in the afternoons, letting every schoolchild who passed stroke him. Thinking of you.
Card, text or a colleague
A text can be two lines, and a card has room for the memory. For a colleague you do not know well, ask for something brief and leave the memory empty. For a child who has lost a pet, say how old the child is and ask for simple words.
There is more in the guide on what to say when someone loses a pet. If a person has died, use the condolence message generator or read what to write in a sympathy card.
Common questions
Is the pet loss message generator free?
Yes. Hemmingway has a free trial with no card needed, and this tool opens it with your answers filled in. You sign up once, and the message is written in the chat.
What do you say to someone whose pet has died?
Say you are sorry, use the pet's name, and share one thing you remember about them if you can. "I'm so sorry about Max. He was a lovely dog and I know how much you will miss him" is enough.
Should I send a sympathy card when a pet dies?
Yes. A pet is part of the household, often for many years, and a card or a text shows you understand that.
Will it sound like AI?
It is built not to. Hemmingway-1, the model behind it, came first on sounding like a person in our own blind test, Human-Likeness. It still helps to read it aloud and change any word you would not use.