Getting a portrait of your pet is probably one of the least controversial decisions you can make when it comes to tattoos - no pet guardian would deny that a pet is a part of your family that you’ll love forever, even if their lives are tragically short.

Here are some of our favourite pet tattoos, across styles and subject matter, from our talented sponsored artists!a

Duda Lozano & Cloto - Cat Tattoo

Duda Lozano’s patch-style portraits are an excellent way of showing off your beloved pet while creating something a little different - Ninu the cat still has plenty of detail despite the simplicity of the style, and we love that their collar appears to be an actual charm hanging from an eyelet in the patch itself!

Cloto’s adorable cat tattoo is a slightly cartoony take on Tigger the cat with huge anime eyes, surrounded by gorgeous flowers and with a few ink splatters - a gorgeous way to make sure your pet is with you forever.

Nick Noonan & Joanne Baker - Dog Tattoo

Talk about mixing up styles - Nick Noonan’s taken images of this dog and transformed them into a ninja piece that takes up a large part of his client’s upper thigh. It’s done in a traditional Japanese style with hints of colour realism, with swirls and leaves around to create a sense of movement.

Meanwhile, Joanne Baker has used her watercolour style and love of Halloween to create this adorable portrait of Pumpkin Pie the Westie poking out of a pumpkin! Both of these tattoos really get across a particular personality.

Makkala Rose & Tom Petucco - Pet Rat Tattoo

Rats may be a little less common as pets than cats and dogs, but they can be just as sweet, funny and loving as any bigger creature!

Makkala Rose created one of her signature soft colour realism pieces featuring Ricotta the Rat, a gorgeous white rodent just chilling among mushrooms, ferns and autumnal leaves. The face and eyes are so expressive, and we can’t get over that tiny hand!

Tom Petucco’s rat has just as much personality - Tom quite frequently works on pet portraits, always incorporating elements of the animal’s favourite food or toys. This new school rat is backed by a geometric design, and framed with a “hang loose” hand gesture and large “Squeak!” speech bubble.

Samanta Annie & Alex Garcia - Horse Tattoo

If you’re fortunate to own a horse - which can live 25 to 30 years or even more, and require a lot of maintenance and care - you’ll probably want to get it tattooed on you to keep them with you forever!

Samanta Annie’s pair of colour realism horses are surrounded by blossoms, and are an incredible way to make sure this person never forgets her noble steeds!

Alex Garcia’s traditional-style horse surrounded by ginkgo leaves almost looks like something from a haunted carousel. We love the rose detailing on the bit and the top of the bridle.

Ina Pineapple & Larisa Ganzvind - Pet Bird Tattoos

While seemingly less popular nowadays, we humans have a long history of keeping pet birds - from the friendly homing pigeon to the exotic parrot and beyond.

Ina Pineapple’s colour realism parrot really pops out of the skin, and somehow manages to make this feathery friend look a bit cheeky!

Pet chickens are a little more rare still, but the love is no less real, as evidenced by this pair of gorgeous neo-traditional chickens on the chest by Larisa Ganzvind. They’re distinctly different and matched with their own style of flowers, but positioned symmetrically within the ornamental framing.

Jason Baker & Ashleigh Baxter - Pet Paw Print Tattoo

When some people lose their pets, they choose to memoralise them with tattoos of their paws - just like the human fingerprint, paws can vary drastically, making them a brilliant reminder for their owners.

Jason Baker created this gorgeous colour realism cat tattoo where Ruby the cat has her tongue stuck out, and beneath is a messy paw print, presumably made from the charming ginger cat herself.

Ashleigh Baxter’s paw piece uses the paw print as a framing device to show a black and grey realism portrait of Coco poking out. The eyes are incredibly lifelike, and the nose so shiny it’s just begging to be booped!

Patry & Jonathan McKenzie - Fine Line Pet Portrait Tattoo

Continuous line tattoos have become a lot more popular over the years, since fine line tattoos have risen in popularity and quality. Patry’s gorgeous fine line pet portrait connects Kira and Kael with their owner forever, in a subtle way that’s still unmistakably them.

Jonathan McKenzie’s pair of cuties has a fine line black and grey representation of his client’s pet cat and dog is simple and understated, but still full of detail.

Leonardo De Amici & Alex Lloyd - Micro Pet Portrait Tattoo

While some people want full sleeves dedicated to their pets, plenty are happy with just a tiny piece showing their furry friends!

This tiny microrealism piece by Leonardo De Amici can’t be more than an inch across, but he still manages to pack so much detail and expression into this Yorkshire Terrier’s face!

Alex Lloyd is a legend when it comes to capturing expression and character in the tiniest of tattoos, and he’s done so incredibly in this tiny portrait of Rocco the sausage dog! The framing device and the way Rocco pops out of it works beautifully.

David Corden & Matteo Pasqualin - Realistic Pet Tattoos

We’ve already seen a couple of realism pieces, but these two are particularly special!

The king of colour realism David Corden created this touching and realistic tattoo of Dave the goldfish - fish are probably one of the rarer pet types to get tattooed, but there’s no reason a person can’t love their pet fish!

Matteo Pasqualin’s signature brand of black and grey realism with a little surrealism results in tattoos like this one - the recognisable parts of a pet are incorporated into a human image, to fantastic effect.

Luiz Lacorte & Debora Cherrys - Neo-traditional Pet Tattoo

A few last pet portraits for you, now in a dedicated neo-traditional style!

Luiz Lacorte’s neo-traditional calf tattoo of Brian is absolutely adorable - he’s surrounded by flowers and has a bee delicately positioned on his paw. The expressiveness of the whiskers and the fluff inside the ear really make this piece stand out.

Debora Cherrys’ creation features a very cute cockatiel perched on the head of a pug whose tongue is sticking out - both are looking out of the tattoo with cheerful-looking faces, surrounded by blossoms.

Find even more incredible pet portraits over on our Pinterest “animals” board, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram to check out the latest from our sponsored artists!