Pet Loss Support
There are many sites to provide support and help you handle losing a furry member of your family or feathered friend.
- www.Griefhealth.com Provides a site map for a variety of pet-loss topics.
- www.tufts.edu/vet/petloss/ Gives details of pet-loss resources including hotlines, articles and links to Internet support groups and e-chat rooms.
- www.Rainbowbridge.com is a virtual memorial home for your departed family member. Whether furry, feathered or scaled, all are welcome.
- peteducation.com/ contains articles on dogs, cats, birds and small animals.
- Whether a dog dies, is lost or stolen, or must be placed in a new home, this is the place to gather together to give and receive love and support when you experience the loss of a beloved dog. Click here
- We miss you memorial area of dogster.com
- ASPCA Pet Loss Support
- ASPCA Pet Loss Hotline 877-GRIEF-10
- University of California Pet Loss Hotline 800-565-1526
- 24/7 services of a psychologist specializing in grief counceling 217-337-9773
- Pet loss chats (Meeting times Mon. Wed/ Fri 8-10 PM eastern)
This is Why Dogs Never Die
Some of you, particularly those who think they have recently lost a dog to “death”, don’t really understand this. I’ve had no desire to explain, but won’t be around forever and must.
Dogs never die. They don’t know how to. They get tired, and very old, and their bones hurt. Of course they don’t die. If they did they would not want to always go for a walk, even long after their old bones say: “No, no not a good idea. Let’s not go for a walk.” Nope, dogs always want to go for a walk. They might get one step before their aging tendons collapse them into a heap on the floor, but that’s what dogs are. They walk.
It’s not that they dislike your company. On the contrary, a walk with you is all there is. Their boss, and the cacophonic symphony of odor that the world is. Cat poop, another dog’s mark, a rotting chicken bone (exultation), and you. That’s what makes their world perfect, and in a perfect world death has no place.
However, dogs get very very sleepy. That’s the thing, you see. They don’t teach you that at the fancy university where they explain about quarks, gluons, and Keynesian economics. They know so much they forget dogs never die. It’s a shame, really. Dogs have so much to offer and people just talk a lot.
When you think your dog has died, it has just fallen asleep in your heart. And by the way, it is wagging its tail madly, you see, and that’s why your chest hurts so much and you cry all the time. Who would not cry with a happy dog wagging its tail in their chest. Ouch! Wap wap wap wap wap, that hurts. But they only wag when they wake up. That’s when they say: “Thanks Boss! Thanks for a warm place to sleep and always next to your heart, the best place.”
When they first fall asleep, they wake up all the time, and that’s why, of course, you cry all the time. Wap, wap, wap. After a while they sleep more (remember, a dog while is not a human while. You take your dog for walk; it’s a day fill of adventure in an hour. Then you come home and it’s a week, well one of our days, but a week, really, before the dog gets another walk. No WONDER they love walks).
Anyway, like I was saying, they fall asleep in your heart, and when they way up, they wag their tail. After a few dog years, they sleep for longer naps, and you would too. They were a GOOD DOG all their life, and you both know it. It gets tiring being a good dog all the time, particularly when you get old and your bones hurt and you fall on your face and don’t want to go outside to pee when it is raining but do anyway, because you are a good dog. So understand, after they have been sleeping in your heart, they will sleep longer and longer.
But don’t get fooled. They are not “dead.” There’s no such thing, really. They are sleeping in your heart, and they will wake up, usually when you’re not expecting it. It’s just who they are.
I feel sorry for people who don’t have dogs sleeping in their heart. You’ve missed so much. Excuse me, I have to go cry now.
Anonymous
On Losing a Dog
In his grief over the loss of a dog, a little boy stands for the first time on tiptoe, peering into the rueful morrow of manhood. After this most inconsolable of sorrows there is nothing life can do to him that he will not be able somehow to bear.
– James Thurber
Dogs never die. They don’t know how to. They get tired, and very old, and their bones hurt. Of course they don’t die. If they did they would not want to always go for a walk, even long after their old bones say: “No, no not a good idea. Let’s not go for a walk.” Nope, dogs always want to go for a walk. They might get one step before their aging tendons collapse them into a heap on the floor, but that’s what dogs are. They walk.
It’s not that they dislike your company. On the contrary, a walk with you is all there is. Their boss, and the cacophonic symphony of odor that the world is. Cat poop, another dog’s mark, a rotting chicken bone (exultation), and you. That’s what makes their world perfect, and in a perfect world death has no place.
However, dogs get very very sleepy. That’s the thing, you see. They don’t teach you that at the fancy university where they explain about quarks, gluons, and Keynesian economics. They know so much they forget dogs never die. It’s a shame, really. Dogs have so much to offer and people just talk a lot.
When you think your dog has died, it has just fallen asleep in your heart. And by the way, it is wagging its tail madly, you see, and that’s why your chest hurts so much and you cry all the time. Who would not cry with a happy dog wagging its tail in their chest. Ouch! Wap wap wap wap wap, that hurts. But they only wag when they wake up. That’s when they say: “Thanks Boss! Thanks for a warm place to sleep and always next to your heart, the best place.”
When they first fall asleep, they wake up all the time, and that’s why, of course, you cry all the time. Wap, wap, wap. After a while they sleep more (remember, a dog while is not a human while. You take your dog for walk; it’s a day fill of adventure in an hour. Then you come home and it’s a week, well one of our days, but a week, really, before the dog gets another walk. No WONDER they love walks).
Anyway, like I was saying, they fall asleep in your heart, and when they way up, they wag their tail. After a few dog years, they sleep for longer naps, and you would too. They were a GOOD DOG all their life, and you both know it. It gets tiring being a good dog all the time, particularly when you get old and your bones hurt and you fall on your face and don’t want to go outside to pee when it is raining but do anyway, because you are a good dog. So understand, after they have been sleeping in your heart, they will sleep longer and longer.
But don’t get fooled. They are not “dead.” There’s no such thing, really. They are sleeping in your heart, and they will wake up, usually when you’re not expecting it. It’s just who they are.
I feel sorry for people who don’t have dogs sleeping in their heart. You’ve missed so much. Excuse me, I have to go cry now.
Anonymous
On Losing a Dog
In his grief over the loss of a dog, a little boy stands for the first time on tiptoe, peering into the rueful morrow of manhood. After this most inconsolable of sorrows there is nothing life can do to him that he will not be able somehow to bear.
– James Thurber
Pet Loss: How Do I Explain My Sense of Loss to My Boss?
It can be hard to imagine if you haven’t been through it, but the death of a pet is a profound loss for many people. It can lead to such grief that some pet owners want employers to offer pet-bereavement leave. Some employers quietly grant bereaved pet owners time off case by case under other paid-time or sick-leave policies. Still, many grieving pet owners don’t ask for it because they’re too upset or afraid of eliciting eye-rolls from co-worker For information on how others have handled this difficult time check out this Wall Street Journal article
When You Can No Longer Care for Your Pet
There are unfortunately situations when you can no longer care for your dog or cat. Sometimes you must move to a place that does not allow them. Sometimes it’s just too much for you. Hopefully you have friends or relatives who can help. Some people put ads in the local newspaper. In any case this is a traumatic circumstance that you should plan for well in advance.
Animals at Risk Care Sanctuary (AARC Sanctuary) is committed to providing lifetime care for domestic animals in a homelike setting. This non-profit organization allows people to set up a lifetime trust for their pets. This ‘pet retirement through estate planning’ concept gives people the added assurance someone will care for their pets upon the death of their human companion.
Click here to reach Animals at Risk Care Sanctuary.
AARC Sanctuary is unique in that it provides a lifetime refuge for domestic pets. Animals left in the care of AARC Sanctuary are not available for adoption. They are lovingly cared for during the remainder of their lives while residing at our pet retirement home, along with their live-in pet nanny/caregiver. They receive quality care and comfort while living in a safe, permanent, homelike atmosphere, WITHOUT caging.
You can get information from your local Human Society.
You can check with The Lander Pet Connection which provides the following information on its Web site: “We love all animals, and have a deep and abiding respect for all kinds of life. We spay/neuter, pay for vet care, boarding/fostering for homeless strays, unclaimed “pound” dogs and cats. We maintain a list of unwanted pets and match them with people wanting to adopt. Since November 1998 not one healthy pet in our community has been euthanized due to our efforts! And a total of 2500 dogs and cats have been placed in new homes. We are non-profit 501 C-3organization and exist only on donations from caring animal lovers. Donations are tax deductible.”
You can also get help provided by Animals at Risk Care Sanctuary located in Stanislaus County, California. It is a non-profit organization staffed entirely by volunteers. Click on “links” on this site for an excellent list of rescue and other U.S. organizations that can help.
If you are interested in providing funds out of your estate to care for your pet after you have passed on, check out Estate Planning for Pets which will give you information, links, and reference material.
Animals at Risk Care Sanctuary (AARC Sanctuary) is committed to providing lifetime care for domestic animals in a homelike setting. This non-profit organization allows people to set up a lifetime trust for their pets. This ‘pet retirement through estate planning’ concept gives people the added assurance someone will care for their pets upon the death of their human companion.
Click here to reach Animals at Risk Care Sanctuary.
AARC Sanctuary is unique in that it provides a lifetime refuge for domestic pets. Animals left in the care of AARC Sanctuary are not available for adoption. They are lovingly cared for during the remainder of their lives while residing at our pet retirement home, along with their live-in pet nanny/caregiver. They receive quality care and comfort while living in a safe, permanent, homelike atmosphere, WITHOUT caging.
You can get information from your local Human Society.
You can check with The Lander Pet Connection which provides the following information on its Web site: “We love all animals, and have a deep and abiding respect for all kinds of life. We spay/neuter, pay for vet care, boarding/fostering for homeless strays, unclaimed “pound” dogs and cats. We maintain a list of unwanted pets and match them with people wanting to adopt. Since November 1998 not one healthy pet in our community has been euthanized due to our efforts! And a total of 2500 dogs and cats have been placed in new homes. We are non-profit 501 C-3organization and exist only on donations from caring animal lovers. Donations are tax deductible.”
You can also get help provided by Animals at Risk Care Sanctuary located in Stanislaus County, California. It is a non-profit organization staffed entirely by volunteers. Click on “links” on this site for an excellent list of rescue and other U.S. organizations that can help.
If you are interested in providing funds out of your estate to care for your pet after you have passed on, check out Estate Planning for Pets which will give you information, links, and reference material.