In Coping with the loss of your beloved pet: Animals & Grief, we learn how to deal with the old age or terminal illness of our pet and the dying & death of your dog or other pet. We examine grief and move towards healing from this unique loss.
We discuss the challenging decisions we can encounter when facing terminal illness or old age and the death of our beloved pets through real-life stories of (primarily dogs) - our beloved animal companions and friends - from natural death to euthanasia. We have a series of videos, a workbook, articles and graphics to guide us through the course. We begin with:
I'm not gone yet. I'm your pet
Life expectancy
What is death?
Confronting death
Let's not take it lightly. Euthanasia is a decision
Signs your pet is getting ready to transition
Quality of life assessment
The process of euthanasia - Kiki
Being with your pet as they transition
Real-life pet stories:
Bono's Story
Max's Story
Mira's Story
Sara's Story
Nerica's Story
Kiki's Story
We then take a deep dive into grief itself:
Grief, let's talk about it!
Dealing with people who do not understand
Stages and symptoms of grief
Grief looks different in different people
Other animal friends grieve too
And we take action to heal our hearts through ritual, ceremony, self-care, and journaling.
Heal your heart, self-care
Heal your heart, journaling
Remembering your animal companion and healing
Ceremony
Finally, where do we go from here:
Should you consider getting another animal companion?