Custom Silver Border Terrier Memorial Necklace: Rufus

This is a story I really wanted to share because it shows something important about the way I work, and why I offer my Happy Customer Guarantee.

Sandra contacted me because she wanted a custom necklace of her beloved Border Terrier, Rufus, who had sadly passed away. She sent me lots of photographs, which I always love receiving because they help me build up a picture of the dog I'm making.

But Rufus presented me with a rather unusual challenge.

He had looked completely different at different stages of his life!

When he was younger, Rufus was a lovely brown Border Terrier. But as he grew older, his appearance changed dramatically. His coat became dark grey and white, he developed wonderfully long eyebrows and his ears grew lots of hair. He was almost unrecognisable compared with his younger self.

I made what I thought was a good attempt at incorporating both versions of Rufus into one necklace. I wanted to capture the whole of his life, rather than just one particular photograph.

Unfortunately, I got it wrong.

I sent the necklace to Sandra, and after a few days without hearing anything, she messaged me to say that she wasn't happy with it. She was in tears, and I felt absolutely awful. This was her Rufus, a dog she loved and missed terribly, and the last thing I wanted was for the necklace to cause her any upset.

I reassured Sandra and asked her to send him back to me. I wanted another chance to get him right.

Sandra sent me this lovely message:

“I can't thank you enough for all the care and attention you put into making my beautiful Rufus necklace. We most certainly are very happy customers. The tears have flowed listening to the wonderful way you told our story. You truly are a wonderful and compassionate person and really care and understand the loss of a beloved dog. Thank you so much. Love from Sandra and Fred.”

I was so relieved and genuinely delighted that we'd got there in the end.

I wanted to share this story because I think it's important that people understand something about ordering custom jewellery from me. I work directly from your photographs, and while I always put an enormous amount of care into every commission, sometimes getting a particular dog just right takes a little more work.

That's why every piece comes with my Happy Customer Guarantee.

I don't want anyone to feel stuck with a piece of jewellery that doesn't look like their dog. If it's not right first time, please tell me. I'll listen, we'll work out what's missing, and I'll do everything I can to put it right.

You're trusting me with something incredibly personal. I take that responsibility seriously.

Sandra and Fred, thank you for giving me the opportunity to make Rufus again. I'm so glad we got him there in the end.

If you would like to have your own dog recreated in silver, even from older photographs, I would love to see them. You can read more about my process here: Custom Pet Jewellery.

Who knows? Your precious friend might just be the next one I’m smiling about at my workbench.