Losing your pet can be heartbreaking, and every person deals with their loss in different ways.
The simplest way to preserve the memory of your pet is in a photograph. Or you can preserve your pet's DNA in a necklace.
'It's the 21st-century version of a locket,' says Elaine Young Yi-ling of Pet Lover, a company which creates these keepsakes. 'People have really strong connections to animals, and they are looking for ways to celebrate this relationship. Taking their DNA is a way for [pet owners] to be closer to their pets.'
Obtaining DNA involves extracting cells by scraping a brush along the inside of the animal's mouth. The process from brush to necklace takes about a week and costs about HK$500. '[Inside the necklace is] a cloudy crystal or clump of skin, which is purified cells. It can be different colours, from beige to white to tan,' Ms Young says. If your pet isn't alive, DNA can be extracted in other ways.
For mementos with bling, owners of deceased pets could have a synthesised diamond made out of the carbon which is released during the cremation of their pets. One company that does this is LifeGem.
If a diamond or photograph just won't do, preservation of another kind could be the answer for some pet owners. 'People who are older and have had this pet all their life might have a taxidermy pet,' says taxidermist Gary Pegg of South Pacific Taxidermy.