"Grief is the Price of Loving"
Making the decision to let a beloved pet go and grieving a companion animal is difficult. These resources can help make both processes a little easier.
MAKING END OF LIFE DECISIONS
Euthanasia: How Do I Know When the Time Is Right for My Pet?
This article gives you practical ways to make the difficult decision to let a pet go.
End of Life Care
A guide to keeping your pet peaceful and honoring their dignity during their final days from the ASPCA.
Pet Euthanasia
Faith Maloney, co-founder of the rescue and animal advocacy organization Best Friends, walks readers through a series of questions that can help determine when it's time to say goodbye to a beloved pet. She also offers rituals for healing.
How to Talk to Your Kids About Pet Euthanasia
Explaining the difficult decision to children.
HELPFUL GUIDES FOR GRIEVING
When a Pet Dies, Helping Children Through the 'Worst Day of Their Lives'
This article explains how children view their pets and their pets' deaths, and offers ways parents can ease their kids' grieving process.
When a Pet Dies
This article suggests comforting words you can offer children to soothe their grief and includes book recommendations.
What to Say to a Child When a Pet Dies
Tips for explaining a pet's death to children.
Grieving a Pet: How to Cope With the Loss of a Dog
Advice for people grieving a dog and ideas for memorializing your friend.
Loss of a Pet
Clinical psychologist Linda R. Harper explains why the death of a pet is so heartbreaking, describes the stages of grief you might experience and offers healing strategies.
4 Steps to Take After Experiencing Pet Loss
This Psychology Today article lays out helpful things to do immediately following the death of a pet.
Coping With the Loss of the Pet
Strategies for dealing with the death of a pet from the American Veterinary Medical Association.
7 Self-Care Essentials While Grieving the Death of a Pet
This Psychology Today article offers seven coping strategies if you're grieving a companion animal.
What to Say to Someone Whose Pet Has Died
Helpful tips for expressing your condolences and writing sympathy cards.
Pet Sympathy Messages
Condolence messages for people after the death of a dog, cat, fish or other pet.
5 Tips to Help Pets Deal with Grief
Includes a useful chart of signs of grief to watch for in dogs and cats.
How the Loss of a Pet Affects Your Other Pets
This article gives tips for helping your pet cope with grief.
Helping Cats Cope Over Pet Loss
Cats grieve, too. This article offers ideas for helping your cat through mourning.
INTERESTING ARTICLES
Why We Need to Take Pet Loss Seriously
A Scientific American article about grieving after a pet's death and how society needs to take the process more seriously.
Why the Loss of Your Pet Could Be the Hardest to Bear
This Healthline article by Linda Hagen-Miller explains why, for some people, the death of a pet can be more difficult to cope with than the loss of a relative.
COMFORTING QUOTES
Loss of Pet Quotes
More than 50 quotes to comfort people grieving their pets.
Quotes About Grief
Thirty quotes about losing a dog and dealing with grief.
Pet Loss Quotes
Passages from authors and novels about pet loss.
INFORMATIVE PODCAST
Pet Loss Podcast
Host and certified pet loss counselor Stephanie Lam started the Pet Loss Podcast after losing her beloved French bulldog. She shares her personal experiences and interviews counselors, trainers, vets and other experts about pet loss, aging pets, grief and related topics.
SUPPORTIVE HOTLINES
The Tufts Pet Loss Support Hotline
508-839-7966
This hotline in Massachusetts is staffed by veterinary students at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, who are acquiring the skills needed for pet loss and grief counseling. Available 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. (EST) Monday through Friday, with 24-hour voicemail.
SPCA of Texas
214-461-5131
The SPCA of Texas' Pet Grief Counseling program in Dallas offers comfort, guidance and support, as well as tools that can help facilitate grief recovery. Calls are returned within 24 hours.
WSU College of Veterinary Medicine
866-266-8635
Staffed by volunteers from Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Callers are asked to leave a message and a volunteer will return the call.
