What do you love most about your pet?

Pets are amazing, and that's exactly why we set-up our business: we were sick and tired of seeing people make pet memorials that our pets wouldn't have been happy with (in fact, we know a few dogs that would have barked their heads off for hours!).

Another thing which happens every week here at Pets at Rest is emails...emails which aren't just about pet memorials, but about pets in general and all the amazing things they do and say (in their own special language, of course). Don't get us wrong, we work as hard as anyone when it comes to our business, but we also like to have a bit of banter with our customers when we can as well!

Here's 2 of the best recent emails we have had. And if you want to leave a comment about your pet experiences, please do below! Note: all names have been changed to protect the identity of pets and owners.

1) Deborah from Wales liked the way her tortoise -- Terry the tortoise -- would always run into the living room whenever the Eastenders theme-tune came on. It scared the dog (Harry) but made for good entertainment.

2) David from Staffordshire is always competing for the arm-chair in his reading-room with Sarah the Jack Russell. You'll be familiar with tales of dogs and cats stealing owners' seats, but this tale -- and David was adamant about this -- was particularly gripping. As gripping as a bestselling novel, maybe! Because every single time David tried to move Sarah from her seat, Sarah would give him a powerful stare, raise her eyebrows slightly and emit a low- dangerous-sounding growl which was a little bit scary. OK, so David was convinced she would never bite (and she definitely loved him, because she never left his side) but it still made David feel a little bit anxious sometimes. Still, he loves her anyway, and you have to, because pets are brilliant, even if they do steal your favourite seat.

Pets at Rest: at the cutting-edge of quality pet memorial products, and here's why...

Our new pet memorials website just launched! And yes, we are EXCITED. Want to read about all the great changes we've made and all the innovative new products we're making the bench-mark for quality pet-memorials?

And now, allow us to take you on a journey...

Imagine a perfect world: think about something happening in the best possible way and it happens without any effort whatsoever, leading to the ideal result. Or, perhaps, when you order something online you know exactly what you are getting before you order, as isn't always the case when buying some personalised products. In this perfect world, when you open that box up, there are no nasty surprises. Instead of saying “I wish they'd done this...” you smile and say, with more enthusiasm than you can ever remember having: “this is exactly what I wanted. They have done a fantastic job!”


OK, so a perfect world is a dream we all have, and in reality that's never going to happen (well, at least not in our life-times!). But does that mean that when you order your pet memorial product it has to be difficult, dull, or an experience to get over quick rather than one to take time with and enjoy? We certainly don't think so, which is why we're all about doing the following things in a pro-active way that doesn't cause you extra stress at a time which we know is already sensitive:

1: we're all about going to great lengths to work with the customer on their pet memorial. OK, so we're a business, but we don't see why we can't look after every customer's individual needs. Here at Pets at Rest, careful thought and attention goes into every single order. And it is YOUR order, after all. We listen to you and what you want, and then we do our best to make it happen just as you envisaged. It may sound like a simple philosophy but we're finding it really works!

2: we're all about art and graphics, aesthetics and beauty. For some reason we can't quite work out, for the last fifty years or so, the pet memorial industry has been much too stagnant for our liking: too few designs on offer, with the art-work often applied crudely in a way that we just can't be doing with (we must stress that this isn't always the case, it's just that we feel there is a huge difference between art and just a product which anyone can make). Which is why the most careful care and attention is applied to all pet memorial products we take on. If you're not happy then we're not happy, and if that's the case...why are we in business, exactly?


3: we're all about giving our customers a wide range of choice. We can't deny that it'd be easier to present merely a limited scope of options, but easier doesn't always mean the best product, does it? With every memorial we do, we discuss with the customer how and where they want lettering placed, how big it should be and how much space the photograph of their beloved pet should take up. Better still, we don't just produce the product without consulting the customer after we have finished laying out the initial design. We always seek the approval of the customer before production, and, that way, if they have any other suggestions to make we can change things before the piece is created by our expert craftspeople.


4: we're all about personality and style, flow and smiles. We're all about one-off products which you won't find anywhere else, which are designed solely with your pet in mind -- horse, cat, dog or pig. Basically, we like to think of Pets at Rest as a company which genuinely cares about the legacy we leave behind. It's worked wonderfully for us so far, and, thanks to the new website – more products, better design and even a real-time Chat function – we're confident that this will carry on well into the future!


AND, if you didn't know yet, over at the new site we're running a great new promotion...quote the special code petmemorials and you'll receive a 25% discount on anything for an entire month!

Before we leave you, don't forget to read our latest post all about the new website. And, if you're on Twitter and Facebook then so are we, so let's connect and see where things take us.

BREAKING NEWS: Brand-new Pets at Rest site just launched!

If you've visited the Pets at Rest website in the past couple of years, then hopefully you won't have been disappointed: everything was in place so that new customers and returning customers alike could find what they wanted easily enough. As well as this, every aspect of our service was linked directly to the website – and this blog you're reading now – so that you didn't waste hours trying to find out costs or what we had to offer. We also started using Twitter and Facebook a lot more, and that has proved itself to be a great way to connect with people and keep everyone up-to-date with all our daily happenings – which is what it's all about, don't you think? We like the fact that you can contact us directly if you need to, and we feel that interacting with our customers makes for a much more personal service.


Then again, here at Pets at Rest we don't like to just sit around; we're all about progression, and one of the best ways good progress is made is by listening closely to all the comments we get; we don't think any business can do without it, really. So it was with this combination of feedback and a want to make the site even better for you, the customer, that a new and superior web-site was conceived. It's been a long time coming, and now we can finally say that Pets at Rest has been born again – this time with an even greater emphasis on simplicity and customer service. After all, there are literally millions of confusing and boring websites out there, so when you come to us we want to make you feel perfectly at home in a friendly environment suitable for anyone, no matter what their level of computer literacy. Not to mention make it all easier so that what can be a sad and difficult occasion can be turned around into a worthwhile experience.

Oh, and don't forget that we're also doing a special promotion right now...quote petmemorials on the site and you'll receive an impressive 25% off anything for a month!


And now back to the improvements. Firstly, if you're sick and tired of websites which have no email address (ours is info@petsatrest.co.uk) and designs which are too much hassle to navigate, you won't need to worry about this with our new site. It's clearer and simpler than the last version, at exactly the same address, and the format allows you to peruse all the options available to you within mere seconds. On top of that, we've added rapidly changing images on the homepage so that within just a few moments you get a really good idea of what we can do. Another thing we've done is to add a real-time Chat function in the bottom right of the screen, as well as a latest products section on the bottom right (our white marble range is now even better, so that whatever kind of pet you're looking to create a legacy for -- horse, dog, cat or snake -- you'll be able to find something exactly suitable and within your budget). Additionally, we've enabled customers to sign up to our PR and News subscription service, which many people are doing, and which is getting them all the news as soon as it happens.

That's not where it ends, of course, because behind the scenes of Pets at Rest our staff have been busily adding yet more products to the ever-expanding range (one which was great before but is now even better!). Now, within just a few minutes of visiting the website you can view Urns and multiple design ideas, so that by the time you're ready to email us with your query, we're all on the same page and looking forward to working together!