A gotcha day gift: the day they came home, made official

A personalised certificate of adoption print for Biscuit the cocker spaniel, with an engraved portrait in an oval frame, a household seal and signatures

Plenty of rescue dogs and cats arrive without a known birthday, so the household celebrates the day they came home instead. The pet records print marks that day as a proper document: a certificate of adoption, signed and witnessed, stating that this animal joined this household on this date and is hereby declared, for the record, a very good boy (or girl, or whatever the household's verdict is).

The certificate of adoption

You type the pet's name, what they are, the household's name and the date they came home. The sheet adds an engraved portrait, a seal drawn for the household with a paw at its centre, an inked stamp at the head and your signatures either side. Our example reads: "This is to certify that Biscuit, a Cocker Spaniel, was welcomed into the Thompson household on 14 May 2021."

The date is usually on the adoption paperwork from the rescue, or in the email that confirmed the collection. If nobody wrote it down, a month and year is fine; the print doesn't need more than you know.

The official record

Once they have been home a few years, the record does the job better. It is set like a form with dotted leaders: also known as, born, came home, colour, weight, distinguishing marks, loves, known offences, official title and status. "Born" can be a guess ("about 2019") for a rescue whose start is unknown. The known offences are where most people have the most to say.

The third style is an award for outstanding service: a post such as Head of Security or Chief Nap Officer set large, and a citation of up to ninety letters in your own words.

Portraits and photos

This print uses an engraving from our own library of thirty-two animals, from the Labrador and the cockapoo to the ginger tabby, the tortoise and the budgie, so every sheet prints crisply. Choose the nearest or leave the portrait off. If you want their own face, the pet portrait print engraves it from your photo, and you can keep the gotcha date in its small line under the name.

  • Cats get their own file; one of our examples is a cat's record kept in "a different register entirely".
  • Two rescues, two records: make the first, keep the link, and build the second from it so they match.
  • For a mixed-breed rescue on a T-shirt or a mug, see our Mixed-Breed Rescue Dog design.

Every print is made to order in the UK after you approve it. More ideas for the household with a dog are on our Christmas gifts for dog owners page.