Meghan
My name is Meghan. I grew up on my family’s farm in Montana. When I was a child, my days weren’t spent with dolls or toys. They were spent among horses and cattle, learning how to move quietly, how to wait, and how to listen. Animals were not something we “owned.” They were part of daily life, part of responsibility, and part of family.
Dalia, My Godmother
On my eighth birthday, my grandfather gave me a chestnut mare named Dalia.
He told me she was my godmother.
Years earlier, when I was still in a cradle, a strong wind knocked over a pitchfork in the stable. Dalia stepped forward and took the impact with her body, shielding me. No one forgot that moment—not my family, and certainly not my grandfather.
From then on, Dalia was treated with special care. And when I turned eight, my grandfather placed her reins in my hands and told me it was my responsibility to look after her.
Seventeen Years of Growing Up Together
Dalia stayed with me for seventeen years.
She was there as I grew from a child into an adult, as the farm changed, as seasons repeated themselves again and again. Losing her to worsening arthritis felt like losing a part of my body, not just my past.
Her absence was physical. The land felt different. I felt different.
Searching for a Way to Stay Close
After Dalia passed, I needed something to hold on to—something connected to horses, to land, to memory.
I began researching eco-friendly burial practices, equine memorials, and rural mourning traditions. In farming communities, grief is often quiet and practical, but it is no less deep. Remembrance happens through markers, land care, and the way stories are passed down rather than spoken aloud.
That research became a way to stay close to Dalia, even after she was gone.
Why I’m Part of Pet Memory Guide
Through a series of coincidences, I met others who carried their own animal losses and questions. Together, we created Pet Memory Guide.
For me, this site is a place to fill the space Dalia left behind—not by replacing her, but by honoring what she gave me. It’s a way to share knowledge shaped by rural life, long companionship, and the understanding that animals shape us over time, not moments.
What I Write About
At Pet Memory Guide, I focus on:
- Horse memorials and large-animal remembrance
- Eco-conscious burial and memorial practices
- Rural and land-based grieving traditions
- Long-term companionship and life-after-loss reflections
I write for people whose relationships with animals were built over years of shared labor, care, and presence.
A Note to Readers
Some bonds are forged slowly—through seasons, work, and quiet trust.
If you’re grieving an animal who shaped your daily life rather than just a chapter of it, I hope you find recognition here. Memory doesn’t disappear with loss. Sometimes, it settles into the land and stays.
