How to take a lock of your pet's fur and turn it into a keepsake

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1. Prepare your tools

First things first, you will need to get everything you need together in one place. Be sure to have a pair of scissors and a bag ready to put the clippings in.

2. Comfort your pet

Whatever way works best to get your pet to relax and be most comfortable, use it now.  That may be different for your pet however some ideas include giving them treats,playing with toys, snuggles and pets, etc. If you have another person with you, be sure to have them help distract your pet while you strategically choose which area of your pet’s body you’d like to collect their fur from.

3. Hold up the fur and snip

When you’re ready, gently hold on to a small patch of fur. I’d recommend taking no more than about 1.5 cm or 0.5” of fur at a time.  You’ll want to hold the fur straight up and separate it from the surrounding hairs to get a good section that you’ll be keeping.

4. Clip close to the skin – but not TOO close!

Lift upwards and away from the skin to avoid snipping your pets skin. Eyeball the roots of the fur and carefully but quickly snip.

5. Give your cat or dog a quick rub

Your pet shouldn’t experience any injuries from this method, nor should it be too uncomfortable for him or her.  However, they are likely going to be wondering what you are doing. We recommend laying down the remaining fur and then petting that area on your pet where you just cut some fur away so they relax and become more comfortable.

6. Repeat in a new area

If you want to collect another small bit of hair in the same session, use the methods above but go about it in a different location on their body.  This will likely help to avoid exposing too much skin at once and your pet getting curious as to why you keep poking around the same area.

What can I do with my pet’s fur when they’re gone?

There are so many personalized items you can create nowadays to keep your pet close to your heart once they’ve crossed the rainbow bridge. It’s nice to have a piece of memorabilia to remember your loved ones. Some that we’ve seen recently that we’d like to share with our clients include: 

Customized Jewelry: https://www.etsy.com/search?q=dog%20hair%20keepsake%20jewelry

Customized KeyChain: https://www.etsy.com/search?q=dog+hair+keepsake+keychain

Customized Keepsake Boxes: https://www.etsy.com/search?q=dog+hair+keepsake+box

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