Luckily, I haven't lost a dog I was close to since I was a kid. I dread losing Duke so much that I cry just to think about it. I'm going to have an urn made for Duke here: http://adirondackpeturns.com/ They hand paint your favorite portrait on a wooden urn. I have also heard that you can get a bit of the ashes put in a glass charm. I'm also going to try to find one of those for my charm bracelet. I'm going to use his colar and make a shadowbox with it and some bandanas, etc. Wow, this is so hard to talk about! I'm at work and getting leaky eyes. I guess I can't imagine your loss. As for the food, I'm sure the Humane Society would appreciate a donation.