This is Penny, an enormously sweet beagle mix who was killed by a car in November 2007.
When she died, I sought and found solace from my dog-loving friends, who helped me plan a funeral service for her, an event that proved very cathartic.
I also found support from some online sources, including Moira Anderson Allen’s Pet Loss Support Page. The site does contain some advertisements, but it also offers a lot of free sympathetic and useful advice.
At one point during my grieving trajectory, I called the free Pet Loss Support Hotline , a service staffed by veterinary students at The University of California – Davis. To be honest, I found the whole process of revealing my feelings to a faceless helper a little unnerving. But after our conversation, the woman sent me a whole bunch of materials about coping with pet loss and a very kind sympathy card. The handouts she sent me were helpful, and the card was extremely thoughtful.
2 Comments
June 26, 2008 at 4:37 pm
It’s so hard to lose a pet, especially to something like a car accident. I’m not one for talking about my feelings much either, so I tend to really withdraw inside myself for awhile. Something I’ve found really helpful is reading the memoirs of other people who have lost their pets and published the stories of their lives. The last one I read was about a cat called Tatianna by Linda Mohr, but I know there’s some great dog memoirs out there as well.
June 26, 2008 at 7:59 pm
When I lost my cat, I didn’t now how I should deal with it.
I stumbled upon a book called Tatianna, by Linda Mohr. What a lovely author ! It’s a true love story of that great bond we know between ourselves and our pets—filled with insight, introspection and a deep appreciation for the unspoken connections between man and animal.
I think this book will complete the unfinished grieving process for some people.