FAQ

Our process begins with professional photo enhancement—a crucial step many companies skip.

Our artists carefully edit your pet's photo to ensure every detail will engrave beautifully in granite. We then take precise measurements of your chosen memorial and create a detailed digital layout.

You'll receive this layout by email for review, and we'll make any adjustments until you're completely satisfied with the design. This attention to detail ensures your memorial will perfectly capture your pet's spirit.

See how we create your memorial step by step →

Creating a premium memorial takes time—typically 2-4 weeks from order to delivery.

The design phase usually takes 5-10 business days, as we carefully enhance your pet's photo and create your custom layout. Once approved, the engraving process takes another 5-10 business days, using our superior diamond-impact technology.

While this may be longer than mass-produced alternatives, we believe your pet's memory deserves this level of care and attention. 

Learn more about our detailed creation process →

Once you approve your design, we begin the engraving process using our diamond-impact technology. This typically takes 5-10 business days, depending on the complexity of your memorial and our current workload.

Some designs require additional assembly time. While summer months may see slightly longer turnaround times due to higher volume, we never rush the creation of your memorial. 

Each memorial receives individual attention from our artists, who carefully enhance every photo to ensure optimal results in granite.

This crucial step—often skipped by other companies—requires careful attention to detail, adjusting contrasts, enhancing features, and ensuring every aspect of your pet's portrait will engrave beautifully.

We work on each memorial in order, giving every tribute the time and attention it deserves. 

As a second-generation memorial craftsman with a legacy dating back to 1965, I personally ensure every memorial meets our exacting standards.

Discover our legacy of memorial craftsmanship →

Each piece receives the same care and attention I gave to my own dogs' memorial. We never compromise on quality, using only premium granite and our superior diamond-impact engraving process to create tributes that will last generations. 

We maintain a careful inventory of our premium granite memorials. However, as these are crafted from specially selected, quarry-sourced granite, certain styles may temporarily become unavailable.

When this happens, restocking can take several months—granite must be quarried, cut to our specifications, and carefully transported to our facility. While we try to anticipate demand, the premium quality we require means we can't rush this process.

You can join our notification list on the product page, and we'll alert you as soon as new stock arrives. This ensures you receive the same high-quality granite we use in all our memorials. 

Yes, we understand some pet parents wish to plan ahead, especially with senior pets. You can reserve any in-stock memorial with full payment, and we'll hold it for up to two years. Simply note your "hold request" during checkout.

This option ensures you'll have your chosen design available when needed, particularly important since restocking our premium granite can take several months when styles sell out. 

The best engravings start with the right photograph. For portraits (showing your pet from the chest up), we recommend a clear, in-focus photo with your pet looking directly at the camera. For full-body shots, ensure the photo's composition matches your chosen memorial's shape.

Photo quality is crucial for achieving the best results. We recommend using the original photo from your phone or camera, rather than images downloaded from social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram, which often compress photos and lose important details. We accept files up to 30MB, allowing for maximum detail preservation.

While we can work with any photo you provide, higher quality images allow us to capture more details in the final engraving, especially fine features like whiskers and fur texture. 

Our diamond-impact engraving creates varying depths in the granite to achieve different shades of grey, producing a beautiful dimensional portrait. While we can work with either colour or black and white photos, all engravings are created in grayscale to achieve optimal contrast and detail.

During our professional photo enhancement process, we carefully convert color photos to grayscale, adjusting contrasts and highlights to ensure the best possible results in granite.

Learn more about our diamond-impact engraving process →

Absolutely! While we offer nine carefully selected fonts on our website, we can work with any font you prefer. During the customization process, simply specify your chosen font. We recommend browsing fontsquirrel.com for their extensive collection of free fonts if you're looking for something specific.

While there's no strict word limit, the amount of text affects its size on the memorial. We recommend dedicating approximately half the memorial's surface to your pet's portrait to ensure optimal engraving quality. The remaining space can accommodate your pet's name, dates, and an epitaph.

Keep in mind that more text means smaller lettering, and different memorial sizes offer different space constraints. We'll guide you on the best balance between text and portrait size during the design process to ensure a beautiful, readable tribute. 

See examples of our premium engraving quality →

Yes, we can incorporate decorative elements like hearts, paw prints, and other symbols to enhance your pet's memorial. These touches can add personal meaning to your tribute. While standard symbols are included, custom artwork or additional photographs may incur an extra fee due to the additional design time required.

Yes, for memorials with polished surfaces on both sides, we offer back engraving for additional text such as poems or longer tributes that don't fit on the front. This service incurs an additional fee due to the extra design and engraving time required. We'll help you determine the best layout to ensure both sides create a meaningful tribute.

Yes, we can create memorials honoring multiple pets. For the best results, we recommend using a single photo that includes all pets together. This ensures proper sizing and maintains our quality standards, as we dedicate about half the memorial's surface to the portrait for optimal detail reproduction.

If separate photos must be used, an additional photo editing fee applies, as our standard service includes professional enhancement of one photo. We'll work with you to create a balanced design that honours all your pets beautifully. 

We'll provide revisions until you're completely satisfied with the layout and design. While we can adjust text, dates, and positioning at no charge, please note that editing a new photo would require an additional fee due to the extensive enhancement process each image requires.

Once you approve the final design, your memorial enters our engraving queue and changes cannot be made. This is why we encourage taking time to review your proof carefully and request any adjustments before approval. Our step-by-step approval process ensures you'll be completely satisfied with the final result.

Our difference begins with premium granite selection. While others might accept lower-grade materials or off-cuts, we carefully source only cemetery-grade granite that meets our exacting standards. This commitment to quality extends to every aspect of our process.

Our diamond-impact engraving creates deeper, more permanent portraits than the laser etching commonly used by others. This traditional technique, modernized with precision machinery, ensures your pet's memorial will maintain its beauty for generations, just like the monuments you see in prestigious cemeteries.

Most importantly, we invest time in professional photo enhancement—a crucial step many companies skip. Every portrait is carefully prepared to ensure optimal engraving results, capturing the unique personality and features that made your pet special. 

While laser engraving merely burns the surface of the granite, our diamond-impact technology physically transforms the stone using a precision diamond needle—the same technique master craftsmen have used for generations. This creates an engraving you can actually feel, with true dimensional depth that will never fade.

The difference is particularly noticeable in fine details like whiskers, fur texture, and facial expressions. Our process creates varying depths that capture these subtle features permanently, unlike surface-level laser engravings that can fade over time.

Discover more about our craftsmanship and engraving technique →

While we can engrave any polished granite, we specifically choose black granite for our memorials because it provides optimal contrast for portrait engraving. This allows us to achieve the finest detail and deepest dimension in your pet's portrait, ensuring every nuance is captured beautifully and permanently.

Our diamond-impact engravings are designed to last generations, using the same techniques and materials found in prestigious cemeteries. The physical transformation of the granite surface, combined with our premium materials and craftsmanship, ensures your pet's memorial will maintain its beauty and clarity through decades of weather exposure.

We use only premium, naturally polished granite—the same grade chosen for cemetery monuments. Our granite undergoes an intensive polishing process using industrial machinery to achieve its mirror-like finish. Unlike manufacturers who cut corners using lacquer coatings that can peel away, our granite's polish is permanent and integral to the stone.

This attention to material quality ensures your memorial will maintain its beauty for generations, without the deterioration often seen in lower-quality alternatives.

Learn why we choose only premium granite for our memorials →

We specialize exclusively in pet memorials, focusing our expertise on creating beautiful tributes for cherished companions. For human memorials, we recommend consulting a licensed monument dealer in your area, as these require different specifications and cemetery regulations. Our dedication to pet memorials allows us to perfect our craft and provide the highest quality tributes for your beloved pets.

Yes! Our engraving facility is located in Beamsville, Ontario, and we proudly serve pet families across Canada. We partner with multiple carriers (FedEx, UPS, Canpar, DHL, and Purolator) to ensure delivery to every province, including remote regions.

During checkout, you can compare shipping rates from different carriers and choose the option that works best for you. Each memorial is carefully packaged to ensure safe delivery to your door. 

Absolutely! About half of our memorials find their homes with American pet families. We ship to all 50 states, with shipping costs calculated automatically during checkout based on your location.

While we primarily serve North America, we occasionally accommodate international shipping requests. Please contact us directly to discuss shipping options for your location. We'll work with you to find the best solution for delivering your memorial safely.

Yes, we welcome local pickup at our Beamsville, Ontario facility. This option is popular with nearby families who prefer to collect their memorial personally or wish to save on shipping costs. Please contact us in advance to arrange a convenient pickup time.

Shipping costs reflect the weight and care required to transport premium granite memorials safely. Our memorials typically weigh 30-50 pounds, requiring special handling and packaging.

To help manage costs, we offer multiple carrier options during checkout. We've found that rates can vary significantly between carriers—sometimes by up to 50%—so we provide choices to help you find the most economical option for your location. 

We take exceptional care in packaging your memorial. Each piece is thoroughly wrapped in protective foam and carefully secured in a sturdy cardboard box designed for heavy items. This comprehensive packaging ensures your memorial arrives safely, regardless of distance traveled.

See our complete process from creation to delivery →

Delivery times vary based on your location from our Ontario facility:

• Local areas: 1-2 business days

• Within province: 2-3 business days

• Other provinces/states: 3-5 business days

• Remote areas: Up to 7 business days

You'll receive a tracking number to monitor your memorial's journey every step of the way. 

While shipping damage has never occurred in our history (thanks to our careful packaging), we have a comprehensive process in place just in case. If your memorial arrives damaged:

1. Document the condition with photos of both the box and memorial.
2. Contact us immediately.
   
3. Keep all packaging materials.
   

We'll work directly with the shipping carrier to file a claim and arrange either repairs or a replacement memorial, ensuring you receive the perfect tribute you ordered. 

Yes, our memorials are crafted from the same premium granite used in cemetery monuments, designed to withstand everything from harsh Canadian winters to intense summer heat. The substantial weight ensures stability in strong winds, while our diamond-impact engraving maintains its clarity through all seasons.

For optimal placement, we recommend:

• Choosing level ground

• Avoiding high-traffic areas

• Positioning away from lawn maintenance paths

• Creating a dedicated garden space 

Proper care ensures your memorial maintains its beauty for generations. For regular cleaning, we recommend:

• Using only water and mild dish soap

• Cleaning with a soft microfiber cloth

• Gentle pressure when wiping

• Garden hose for general rinsing

Important care considerations:

• Avoid abrasive cleaning tools or harsh chemicals

• Keep metal objects away to prevent rust stains

• Be cautious with jewelry (especially diamonds) that could scratch the polish

• Prevent candle wax contact, as it can permanently embed in the stone

Read our complete care and warranty information →

Our diamond-impact engraving creates permanent, deep impressions in the granite that will never fade. While we apply a protective sealant to enhance letter visibility when wet, the engraving's depth ensures lasting contrast and readability even as this coating naturally ages over decades.

The combination of premium granite, professional diamond-impact engraving, and proper care ensures your memorial will remain a beautiful tribute for generations to come.

View our lifetime guarantee coverage →

Our lifetime warranty covers any natural weathering of your memorial, including potential cracking or discoloration from outdoor exposure. The deep, diamond-impact engraving is guaranteed to maintain its clarity and readability throughout the years.

To demonstrate our confidence in our craftsmanship: the memorial I created for my own dogs over six years ago maintains the same crisp detail and clarity as the day it was engraved. While the protective sealant may naturally age over time, our deep engraving technique ensures lasting contrast and readability.

Please note: The warranty doesn't cover damage from external impacts (such as lawn equipment), scratches, or stains from cleaning products or decorative items. Additionally, once you approve your design proof, the text and layout are considered final—we cannot be responsible for spelling or text errors after engraving. This is why we encourage careful review of your design proof before approval.

Read our complete lifetime guarantee details →

As each memorial is personally crafted and permanently engraved according to your specifications, we cannot offer refunds. Once your design is approved and engraved, the process cannot be reversed. This is why we take extra care in our design approval process, ensuring you're completely satisfied before engraving begins.

While our memorials are crafted to last generations, we understand accidents can happen. Depending on the type and extent of damage, we may be able to offer repair guidance or services (additional fees may apply). For severely damaged memorials, we can discuss replacement options at a reduced cost. Please contact us to discuss your specific situation.

The price shown includes professional enhancement of one photograph, custom layout design, and premium diamond-impact engraving. Additional fees apply only for:

• Extra photo editing

• Back-side memorial engraving

• Custom symbol design requiring significant artistic time

We accept all major credit cards (VISA, MasterCard) and PayPal for your convenience. As a Canadian company, all prices are listed and processed in Canadian dollars (CAD). Full payment is required before we begin your memorial's design and engraving process.

For our international clients: Your bank may apply a standard currency conversion fee when processing payments in Canadian dollars. These rates are set by your financial institution and will be clearly shown on your statement.