Youandyourpet Whenawell-lovedfamilymemberdies,thelosstouscanbeverygreatandleaveabigholeinourlives.Wemayneedhelpincomingtotermswith this. Pets can bringa specialpresence into the lifeofyouandyourfamily.Theyprovide alovingconnectionandawaytoshareourdeepestemotionswithouttheneedsforwords.Theyareour“welcomehome”attheendofahardday, ourlinktootherpetowners andapart ofourdailyroutine.Wegothroughsomuchwithourpetsthattheybecomewovenintothefabricofourlives.Itisthereforenaturalthatwhenwelosesuchavaluedfriend,itwillcauseus deeppain, no matter what thespeciesofanimal- dog,cat,bird,horseorrabbit.
BREAKINGTHENEWSTOCHILDREN Itcanbedifficulttobreakthenewstochildrenthatapetisveryillorhasdied.Althoughwemaywanttoprotectthem,theyhaveaneedtogrieveandarighttoknowwhathashappened.Thismayalsobetheirfirstexperienceofdeathandifitishandledwell,itcanprovidevaluablelearningforcopingwithfutureloss.Whenbreakingthenewstochildrentrytobeashonestaspossible,usingwordsthattheywillunderstand.Encouragethemtorememberthehappytimesyousharedwithyourpetandtorecordthesememoriesthroughphotos,drawings,poems,etc.Otherpetsinthefamily mayalso showsigns of upset andneedextraattentionastheyadjusttothechangesinthehousehold.
COPINGWITH YOURLOSS Thereareanumberofthingsthatyoucandotohelpyoucopewiththelossofyouranimalcompanion. Youmayfind the followingguidelines helpful,butrememberthatyouarethebestpersontodecidewhatyouneed.
Accept that the pain of this grief is normal and allow yourself time to feel sadness, anger, guilt or whatever it is you need to feel.
Try to share your emotions with someone who will understand.
Youmay wishto bury your pet’s body orscattertheircrematedremainsinaspecialplace.Havingaritualorceremonyatthistimecanbeahelpfulwaytomarkhowmuchyourpethasmeanttoyou.
Keepamemoryboxfull offavouritetoysandkeepsakes.Recordspecialmemories-put photographsinascrapbook,painta picture,writeastoryorpoem.Youcanalso putaphotoand storyon a memorialwebsiteforanimals.
It’simportant to look after yourself whenyouaregrieving.Trytotakeregularexerciseandeatwell-balancedmeals.Restisimportant.Setupnewroutinestoreplacethoseyouhadwithyourpete.g.changethetimeandlocationofwalks.Avoidmakinganybigdecisionsandseekthecompanyofsupportivefriendsandfamily.
Sometimesgriefcanseriouslyaffectyoursleep,eatinghabits andabilitytocopewithlife.Ifthisisthecasethen you mightbenefitfromprofessionalcounsellingwithsomeonewhowillunderstandandvaluethelovingbondyouhadwithyouranimalcompanion.
MISSION STATEMENT
It is my vision that petownerswho have lostabelovedpetwillnotonlybeabletocopewithandhealafterthelossoftheiranimalcompanion,theywillalsobeabletousethelossoftheiranimalfriendasacatalystforpersonaltransformation.Thisvisionisbornoutofmanyyearsofspiritualpracticecombinedwiththepersonallossofseveralpets.