Transform your beloved dog into a bonsai tree

And other barking new ways to let your pet live beyond the grave

SCArLeTT, my 14-yearold majestic standard poodle, had to be put down last year, and every day I miss her. She was as much a part of our family as my husband and children. If I was sad or upset, a wet, woolly nose would nudge my hand, then she would bend her head to allow me to hug her.

She knew I’d feel better for it. How I needed that comfort when she’d gone. My grief was absolute. Yes, she’d been frail and stiff and I believed the vet when they said it was time. But I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her and I wept without selfconsciousness as she slipped away — and often in the months after.

Friends and family were forgiving — even writing me letters of condolence — and if they thought I was dippy for being so emotional, well, we Brits have always been daft about our pets.

Since the lockdowns I think people are more forgiving of grief, of sentiment of any sort.

Which is why, when I recently read TV presenter Gail Porter’s wail of sorrow about losing her beloved cat, I wasn’t surprised by the chorus of sympathy in the comments below.

When she went on to share how she’d had the puss cremated, my first thought was: ‘Oh, I wonder what she’ll do with the ashes?’

I have a daily reminder of Scarlett sitting on the mantelpiece in my office at home. It’s a prettily decorated cardboard container holding her ashes.

FOr nearly a year, I looked at them every day and wondered what on earth to do with them. I couldn’t bury them in our garden because we may not live here for ever and I’m not letting some stranger dig Scarlett over for a new rosebed.

So when I read Gail Porter’s Twitter thread, I felt I had stumbled among kindred souls.

Her followers had hundreds of suggestions.

‘I had a Pandora [charm bracelet] bead made that includes some of my puss’s ashes,’ wrote one. ‘really helped when I lost him.’

Jennifer Aniston had the ashes of her German Shepherd turned into a diamond necklace. She’s not sharing the details, but Heart In Diamond, a UK-founded company that also operates in LA, tops out at £13,500 for a 1 ct white diamond created from pet ashes, setting not included.

Dakota Fanning skipped the cremation step for her West Highland terrier, Lewellen, and simply had the dog’s white fur pressed into a pendant.

‘I’m a walking shrine to her,’ said the actress in an interview last week.

Chef James Martin not only chose a custom-decorated treasure box for his dog Fudge’s ashes, but keeps it on his bedside table with one of his many culinary awards.

He says: ‘I have this nightly mantra where I tap the box and touch the award, then I can go to sleep. It’s pretty special.’

WHen I investigate the world of pet ash art, at first I am blinded by choice. Then I realise that, for most of the mementos, I need only a teaspoon of ashes.

It’s when my husband finds me totting up a list that reads, ‘resin letter ‘S’, keyring, light-up vase, ring and paperweight’, adding up to nearly £500, that he takes me gently by the hand and puts a stop to it.

‘Scarlett will be confused if she’s divided up between so many things,’ he says. ‘Just choose one. Two at most.’

And so I am now awaiting delivery of a ‘living urn’ — a double-walled plant pot, the outer section of which I will fill with Scarlett’s ashes, keeping a handful aside to mix into the soil underneath the bonsai tree that goes into the main inner section.

I have also sent off a teaspoon of ashes to be made into a ring. Secretly I have done the same for a glass Christmas bauble, but haven’t told my husband.

I will wear the ring on the little finger of my right hand, while the plant pot will travel with us to whichever house we move to in the future. each December, I will hang her ash bauble on our Christmas tree.

Scarlett’s memory will never die — so long as I can keep the bonsai alive . . .