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Saying goodbye to our pets is never easy, whether it’s through illness, injury or euthanasia. They are truly members of our families who have given us unconditional love and will always hold a very special place in our hearts. Through the years we bond with them, and they grow to trust and depend on us to care for them. Though emotionally our equals, God or nature has blessed them with ignorance and they don't have the intellectual capacity to contemplate their own mortality or any afterlife. But we do, and when they leave us, we must journey through the grieving process. The traditional stages of grief include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Even though they’re described as stages, they’re not meant to be experienced in any logical or orderly sequence, with defined beginnings or endings. All five stages can be experienced over a period of hours, days, weeks or even months. Even after you think you’ve moved on emotionally, some stages of grieving can resurface when triggered by a memory or an event. Grief is a deeply personal experience, but you don’t have to go through it alone. Here in New England, The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University has a PET LOSS HOTLINE available to the general public that you can call at 508-839-7966. If you look around the internet, you’ll find there are many other resources that can help as well. Here are a few links to get you started:
American Animal Hospital Association Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement Center For Grief & Healing Pet Loss Grief Website Pet Loss Website UC-Davis Pet Loss Hotline Cornell University Pet Loss Hotline Michigan State University Pet Loss Hotline
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American Veterinary Medical Association
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