Pet Grief - How to Cope With Losing a Pet

Grief is a very unique issue. It will come and go, be absent for a month, back again the next week, long gone for one year and then become almost unbearable for a few days. Grief for a pet is real, since the relationship among master and pet is certainly an incredible thing.

Grieving means to show your own feelings, regardless how painful and it is what you do right after this loss, so that you can assimilate it as well as prepare yourself in order to carry on with living.

Grief upon losing a pet is actually a normal reaction, and a very individual one. For some people, grieving for a pet that has died could possibly be an even more difficult process than grieving for a human loved one. This type of loss may cause an individual to act irrationally and it's a must that you give yourself time to reflect on a situation prior to making the decision that you might regret.

Whenever coping with a pet's death, you have to accept all the deep sadness and profound feeling off loss that you feel. Comments like "It was just a dog", or "You'll always find another one, or "Be happy you don't have to look after him anymore" are not constructive. Instead they hurt as well as make the family's journey through grief more and more difficult.

Grief over pet death is certainly a very natural thing for you and your entire family, especially the younger children. Any little one old enough to love will be old enough to grieve. Children must be told the truth, always.

Life is not going to nicely wait for just the "correct" time to let you deal with something. For most children, pets will be more than simply animals they really are family. Your young ones might let you know in the next few weeks, and even months, that they're still heartbroken within the death of a family pet.

Kids cope with these things far better than many of us give them credit for, when we tell them the truth. The dog was ill, he died, we loved him or her a great deal and you should always remember him or her, and so on.

Here is a list of some of the traditional methods we lay many of our dogs to their finalized resting place:

Pet Cemetery

These are generally burial grounds which are usually located in a quiet, park-like place. A few of them have a special place in which the remains for the owners may be buried together with their own pets.

There are two questions that you should ask before deciding on the pet cemetery:

Is the actual proprietor of the actual property devoted to keeping the actual property for a pet cemetery in the future? To find out,you need make contact with the county records clerk and verify the property is indeed dedicated as a pet cemetery. Or else, the company could legally exhume your dog and sell off the property.
Will this cemetery charge a maintenance charge? It's to make sure proper keeping of the burial grounds.

Cremation

Three Types Of Pet Cremations That Can Be Found:

Personal Cremation: Only one pet is cremated plus the ashes is usually go back to your family.
Private Cremation: Several pets are cremated yet held in separate chambers so that the ashes will be returned to the right family.
Common Cremation: Includes numerous pets and the ashes are not returned.

A respectable crematory need to offer you a tour of their facility as well as permit you to be there throughout your dog's cremation. Ashes which are returned to the owners can be laid to rest, spread in a very special location, or put into an urn.

Body Disposal

Your vet will probably dispose of a dog's entire body for a minimal charge. The bodies are often incinerated or perhaps delivered to the landfill. If your dog is to be cremated, request the name and telephone number of the crematorium and call to verify the facility works together with your veterinarian.

Outdoor Property Burial:

Find out the local county's restrictions concerning backyard burials for your pets. Consider this question: If you believe you are going to be moving within a few years, will it trouble you to leave behind the dog's remains?

Grieving the passing of your family pet can take quite a long time. Possibly viewing the pet following death, or even just being told the pet is dead, may offer the particular closure they want, too.

Sudden death of your pet is a very distressful period for people filled with the pain associated with letting go.

Memorials

Many people memorialize their pets in various ways such as granite headstones, wooden plaques, etched glass portraits or simply by placing a picture and comment on a website. These acts of creating memorials not only help to cope with the loss but they also keep the memories alive.

At the bottom of this article there is a website where you place a picture of your pet and a few words to show others just how much you loved and miss your pet. What's great is it's FREE service.

"All of a sudden he begins to run away from the pack, soaring across the wide open field, legs propelling him above and beyond the bounds of this earth."

The author is lifelong pet owner, trainer and breeder and has produced numerous articles on pet health care, dog training techniques and general pet care. If your interested in more pet health care, simply visit http://www.dogailmentsonline.com, a website designed for the health care of pets.

Immortallize your pet by placing a picture and comment on the Pet Memorial Page.

Dealing With Losing a Pet

Families really value their pets. They become more than pets in most cases. Pets are just like members of the family. This is why losing a pet can be so traumatic. In some situations pets are lost due to accident. Car accidents are normally responsible for these types of losses. Other pets die as a result of sickness.

These are some of the most difficult losses. Some families have a pet that dies naturally due to old age. Although this is a difficult loss, it is one of the easiest to understand. The different members of a family are affected by the loss of a pet. Each person should be allowed to grieve in their own way.

This is particularly difficult when there are children in the family. Children often do not understand why a pet is no longer around. In many households, children are the closest members to a pet. For this reason, parents must assist children through this process. Patience is the key factor when these losses are suffered.

Losing a pet often occurs unexpectedly. This presents a shocking situation to families. Single pet owners also have a struggle with this loss. There are useful techniques to address this situation when it occurs. Let's take a look at ways to handle this type of pet loss.

Hold a memorial for your pet

Families often find that having a memorial ceremony for their pet is effective. This offers every member of the family a way to mourn together. It is also a time to really remember the things that you loved about your pet. A memorial is all about honoring the life of your pet and remembering the good times.

Purposely remember your pet

Some people think that remembering your pet is too painful. Whether you purposely do so or not, it is difficult not to think about your lost pet. So, instead of avoiding these memories, let them come naturally. This is a good tool for mourning this loss. Children often want to talk about their emotions related to the pet. Parents must be available for these conversations.

Discuss how the loss affects you

More than likely your pet played an instrumental role in your family. It had a relationship with each member individually. A healthy way to mourn your pet is to talk about it. Instead of outlawing this activity, allow it as a natural course in this loss. Some families set aside special times to discuss their pets.

Take time to mourn

Everyone mourns in a different and unique way. Some people are able to recover more easily than others. Allowing each person their time to mourn is wise. This may be an uncomfortable situation in some instances. Families also find this process quite sad. It is one of the healthy aspects to this loss and remembering your pet.

Consider a new pet

In time you should consider a new pet. Giving your love to a new pet will certainly take some time. It is possible to use your mourning process in this way. Some families immediately get a new pet. Others wait until everyone in the family is ready for this addition.

Doggienation is a leading provider of officially licensed Dog Sports Jerseys and Personalized Dog Accessories and Dog Collars and Leashes. Be sure to find something special for your pet at DoggieNation.

How Cremation Urns For Pets Can Help Children Cope With the Grief of Losing a Pet

Talking about cremation urns for pets is never easy, because it implicitly means that there was a loss of a pet in the family. Particularly if children are around, this is something very difficult to process. Children are unusually those in the family that have a strong bond to their pet and losing their dear friend is bound to affect them to no end.

When such a tragedy happens in the family, you need to let the children deal with their grief in their own time. They cannot be rushed and simply buying them a new (even if very similar) pet will not help them. Actually this might just aggravate the situation at times. So what to do when a pet belonging to your kids died, how to cope with it and how to help your kids cope with it as well?

This is where pet cremation urns can actually help as they are quite effective in helping children heal, and this is why.

First of all when you buy the cremation urn for pets, make sure that your child is involved in the process. Let them pick the urn that mostly symbolizes the pet, that mostly reminds them of the dog or cat's character, personality. This will ensure them feeling that they are part of the process somehow, that they are involved and not only pushed aside.

Also having a pet urn will convince your kids that the pet will not simply slip into being forgotten, but they will be always part of your life and your children's life. The urns should be place in a visible area (on a shelf, for example) in the house, where the kids can have easy access to always seeing it. The children usually feel comfortable knowing that the urns will always remind them of the fun times they had with their beloved pet.

Also they will have a first sense of the afterlife. This is a rather difficult concept for small ones to grasp, so having a first understanding of it will help them later on deal with their grief easier when a family member will pass away. The child might have various questions regarding the afterlife, so be prepared to answer them to the best of your abilities.

Your children can help you in choosing the best pet cremation urns either at the local funeral parlor or online at trusted shops like Amazon. There is a wide selection of these beautiful urns for ashes and your little ones will have a sense of fulfillment when they are part of something important that will keep the memory of their dear pet alive somehow.

How Pet Urns Can Help Your Children Cope With Losing a Pet

Pet urns are very helpful when it comes to coping with grief over losing a pet. When a pet passes away, the children are often deeply affected by this loss. That is because children often have a special bond with the family pets and they are generally not yet familiar with this feeling of loss.

It is important that your children process this loss in their own time and their own pace. This is something that they cannot be forced through. However, you can help greatly with their healing by buying urns to hold the cremated remains of your family pet.

How do memorials help your children deal with their grief? Here are a few reasons why pet urns are effective when it comes to speeding the healing process.

1. Pet urns assure the children that their pets will not be forgotten. Many children are unwilling to move on and deal with the loss of their pet because they are afraid that they may forget their cherished pet in the long run. If the pet urns are kept close by, the children may feel comfort in knowing that they will always remember the fun times they had with their friend and move on without fear.

2. Pet urns assure the children that their pets will always be near. While the family pet was still alive, no doubt that they spent a lot of time with your children, playing with them or just keeping them company. Pets are greatly loved because they show the utmost loyalty and unconditional love in return. With pet urns, children will always feel that they can still spend time with their pets even when they are already gone.

3. Pet urns give children some sense of the afterlife. No matter what you yourself may believe about the afterlife, the afterlife is still a concept that children may find hard to understand. Nonetheless, it is a thought that would be niggling in their mind. Having the pet urns around may help settle some of your child's questions about the afterlife instead of creating confusion that may affect them psychologically later in life.

We all know that the most basic function of a pet memorial is to serve as receptacles for our pets' cremated ashes when they pass on. But more important than that, pet urns can help your children cope with grief over losing a pet, which may be something that they are too young to process and can greatly affect them later in the course of their lives.

There are so many wonderful pet memorials on the market today. Choosing a memorial for your pet can be a huge help in overcoming the grief of losing a pet [http://losingapet.org]. They assure the child that their friends life is remembered in a real and physical way, which reinforces their own connection with the pet. Pets to Rest provides some wonderful information about losing a pet and continues to write extensively on the subject. Thank you for reading and I hope this article has provided some useful information.

Losing a Pet

Losing a pet for most of us is one of the darkest days of our lives.

The loss, whether it is by death due to health reasons or an accident, or simply a pet that has just disappeared, there are no words to describe the emptiness we feel.

We feel that the empty spot in our heart, will never fill up and we will always feel like a "half of a person."

The ray of sunshine, the one bright spot in our sometime dreary lives has left us.

How do we cope?

The process is different for each of us. The important thing is "we have to face it and deal with our grief."

By denying our feelings, we are hurting ourselves emotionally and we are not honoring the life of our "best friend."

Whatever the situation, a pet that was ill, a sudden unnecessary accident or a pet that wandered off and can't be found, each has to be dealt with.

You, as an emotional human being, need to honor the existence of your wonderful pet and by doing that; you will heal the empty spots in yourself.

How do you do that?

Simply by allowing yourself to go through all of the stages of grief. It does not matter, which stage you go through first, you just must begin.

The first stage is denial.

You cannot believe your pet is gone. In your mind you think it is a mistake, that it was not your cat or dog that got run over, your pet was not really sick and even though your pet ran out the open door and cannot be found, you know it will come back. It is okay for now to believe that.

Face every feeling that comes up. Get angry, scream and yell, if it makes you feel better.

Allow yourself to feel massive anger toward the vet, the person who accidentally hit your pet, or get mad at the pet who ran away.

Let what ever you are feeling flow free, do not keep it bottled up inside.

Talk to a close friend or family member, actually sometimes talking to a wall helps even more.

Try bargaining with whatever "Supreme Being" you believe in helps. Even though you know that whatever the terms of your bargain is, it will not bring your pet back, with the exception of the lost one.

Cry, sometimes crying is the best medicine. Cry until you think your heart will break and then cry some more. Cry intermittently for days, if that is how you feel. It really is okay.

Talk to people, your vet, and your minister or seek a professional counselor, if you feel you can not cope.

Check the Internet for sites that offer you a chance to communicate with others who have faced a loss like you have. Communication with like minded souls is good for you.

Do not feel rejected, if some of your family or friends do not understand your grief. Understand that there are some people that do not put the same value on a relationship with a pet as you do.

There are some people that think pets are not a necessary part of life and they cannot comprehend such emotional attachment.

Allow them to feel as they do. You know the joy that they are missing.

Grief and depression are normal feelings; it matters not if your loss was a person or a pet. The feelings are just as intense and need to be expressed.

If someone you know has lost a pet, let them talk, express your feelings and sympathy. Send them a card (there are cards for loss of pets,) write a note in your own words to express your thoughts and feelings. It will be appreciated.

Don't offer advice

Euthanasia: If you are faced with making the decision to have your pet euthanized, it can be the hardest thing you may ever have to do.

The thoughts of guilt that can fill your mind will be overwhelming.

Whatever the health situation is of your pet, you are never prepared to make that decision, no matter how well you know, you should make it.

When that time comes, most of us do two things, we pray for a miracle recovery or we pray for the pet to make the decision for us by passing in its sleep.

The thought of making the decision to take your pet's life, to many of us is like "playing God" and we do not like that choice.

Euthanasia is a painless death; it is accomplished by an injection of a strong dose of anesthetic. It takes only seconds to put the pet into a state of unconsciousness, then the breathing and the heart stops.

If you are considering this process for your pet, here are a few thoughts to hopefully help you make the right decision and to feel better about making it.


Is the current quality of my pet's life a good one?
Is my pet eating and is it interested in what is going on
around it?
Is there any pain associated with my pet's condition?
Are there any options available that I have not tried, to help
my pet?
Is my pet comfortable and aware of me?
Do I want to be present, when the injection is given?

These are just a few questions to consider.

Do not feel guilty regarding whatever choice you make. Know in your heart that you will make the correct decision and whatever it is IT WILL BE THE RIGHT ONE for you and your pet.

Your vet will be only to happy to give you counsel, but do not expect your vet to make the decision for you.

It is your choice, your vet can only tell you what to expect if you decide not to and what will happen if you do.

How do you tell the children?

First and foremost you, tell the children the "TRUTH."

Children are so much wiser that we give them credit for. They are aware of death, as they see it everyday, dead bugs, animals hit by cars, and birds that the "cat" got.

It is truly wrong not to be truthful with them, tell them if the household pet is sick and will soon die, or the pet has met with a sudden accident.

Children of all ages should be allowed to grieve, even if they don't understand the significance of death.

One of the worse things parent do, is tell the younger children that the pet is "going to be put to sleep" that phrase can cause much damage.

A young child can interpret it to mean that sometimes when you go to sleep you may never wake up. They could start to worry that such a thing could happen to them or to mommy and daddy.

Children do not require long lengthy explanations when they are in the two to three year old age bracket.

A simple statement like their pet died and will not come back is usually good enough. Children will cry or they may have a bed-wetting situation for a while, but with love and comfort from mom and dad, that will pass. Also the thought of a new pet will soon make a fears vanish.

Children that are four, five and six years old have a better understanding. However, it is important that they do not feel any responsibility for the pet's death. Some children may think they did something that made it happen (like telling the pet it was bad or to go away at one time or another.)

Parents should allow the children to express their concerns. Explain death in simple terms, possibly using some of the beliefs from your own faith.

The seven, eight and nine year old has already formed a preconceived notion of what death is. It is important that you as parents, answer their questions as honestly as you can. Usually their main concern is that you (mom and dad) are not going to be leaving them.

Children may not understand death as we do, but as a parent you cannot hide what is part of life. If you avoid telling your child the truth, you may be creating a deeper problem within the child.

If mommy or daddy won't talk about it, it really must be bad, so I won't talk about it either.

Burying the pet will not hurt as much as burying your child's emotions, regarding something that is as much a part of life as breathing is.

Be honest. If you have a religious faith use those principals to help illustrate the process of death. When talking to young children, let them ask questions. It is not necessary for you to go into great detail about death and dying. A brief explanation is usually all that is necessary.

Older children, especially young teenagers, who are going through enough emotional turmoil, just growing up, need to be handled carefully.

Allow them to express their grief in their own way. Give them some freedom to deal with their emotions, be patient and be supportive, but not overly so.

If your pet is ill and you are aware that the big decision will soon be forthcoming. Help your children prepare.

Possibly make a photo album of pictures of their pet, plan a simple burial service and let them come up with the ideas of how to handle it.

If a burial is not possible, let them plant a tree, a bush, shrub or flower in honor of their pet.

Let the child (children) have something concrete to remember their pet by.

Doing this allows the child to feel close to their pet and will give them something they can sit by and talk to. It will help to ease their grief.

Talk about your pet, remember the fun times you all shared and all the silly or naughty things your pet did. Savor the memories and when enough time has passed create some new ones with another furry friend.

Whatever you do, just be truthful, be patient and allow each member of the family time to handle their grief in their own special way.

Life and things are temporary, but memories live on forever.

As the mother of 6 now grown children, our household has suffered the loss of many beloved pets. From the lowly goldfish to our beautiful cats and dogs, they were mourned and their loss felt by all of us. Grief is a part of life and without the sadness, how would we appreciate the other joys that touch our lives. If you are a pet lover and even if you are not, come and visit me at http://www.cats-and-dogs-on-the-web.com/ You just may be glad you did.

Losing a Pet

Losing a pet for most of us is one of the darkest days of our lives.

The loss, whether it is by death due to health reasons or an accident, or simply a pet that has just disappeared, there are no words to describe the emptiness we feel.

We feel that the empty spot in our heart, will never fill up and we will always feel like a "half of a person."

The ray of sunshine, the one bright spot in our sometime dreary lives has left us.

How do we cope?

The process is different for each of us. The important thing is "we have to face it and deal with our grief."

By denying our feelings, we are hurting ourselves emotionally and we are not honoring the life of our "best friend."

Whatever the situation, a pet that was ill, a sudden unnecessary accident or a pet that wandered off and can't be found, each has to be dealt with.

You, as an emotional human being, need to honor the existence of your wonderful pet and by doing that; you will heal the empty spots in yourself.

How do you do that?

Simply by allowing yourself to go through all of the stages of grief. It does not matter, which stage you go through first, you just must begin.

The first stage is denial.

You cannot believe your pet is gone. In your mind you think it is a mistake, that it was not your cat or dog that got run over, your pet was not really sick and even though your pet ran out the open door and cannot be found, you know it will come back. It is okay for now to believe that.

Face every feeling that comes up. Get angry, scream and yell, if it makes you feel better.

Allow yourself to feel massive anger toward the vet, the person who accidentally hit your pet, or get mad at the pet who ran away.

Let what ever you are feeling flow free, do not keep it bottled up inside.

Talk to a close friend or family member, actually sometimes talking to a wall helps even more.

Try bargaining with whatever "Supreme Being" you believe in helps. Even though you know that whatever the terms of your bargain is, it will not bring your pet back, with the exception of the lost one.

Cry, sometimes crying is the best medicine. Cry until you think your heart will break and then cry some more. Cry intermittently for days, if that is how you feel. It really is okay.

Talk to people, your vet, and your minister or seek a professional counselor, if you feel you can not cope.

Check the Internet for sites that offer you a chance to communicate with others who have faced a loss like you have. Communication with like minded souls is good for you.

Do not feel rejected, if some of your family or friends do not understand your grief. Understand that there are some people that do not put the same value on a relationship with a pet as you do.

There are some people that think pets are not a necessary part of life and they cannot comprehend such emotional attachment.

Allow them to feel as they do. You know the joy that they are missing.

Grief and depression are normal feelings; it matters not if your loss was a person or a pet. The feelings are just as intense and need to be expressed.

If someone you know has lost a pet, let them talk, express your feelings and sympathy. Send them a card (there are cards for loss of pets,) write a note in your own words to express your thoughts and feelings. It will be appreciated.

Don't offer advice

Euthanasia: If you are faced with making the decision to have your pet euthanized, it can be the hardest thing you may ever have to do.

The thoughts of guilt that can fill your mind will be overwhelming.

Whatever the health situation is of your pet, you are never prepared to make that decision, no matter how well you know, you should make it.

When that time comes, most of us do two things, we pray for a miracle recovery or we pray for the pet to make the decision for us by passing in its sleep.

The thought of making the decision to take your pet's life, to many of us is like "playing God" and we do not like that choice.

Euthanasia is a painless death; it is accomplished by an injection of a strong dose of anesthetic. It takes only seconds to put the pet into a state of unconsciousness, then the breathing and the heart stops.

If you are considering this process for your pet, here are a few thoughts to hopefully help you make the right decision and to feel better about making it.


Is the current quality of my pet's life a good one?
Is my pet eating and is it interested in what is going on
around it?
Is there any pain associated with my pet's condition?
Are there any options available that I have not tried, to help
my pet?
Is my pet comfortable and aware of me?
Do I want to be present, when the injection is given?

These are just a few questions to consider.

Do not feel guilty regarding whatever choice you make. Know in your heart that you will make the correct decision and whatever it is IT WILL BE THE RIGHT ONE for you and your pet.

Your vet will be only to happy to give you counsel, but do not expect your vet to make the decision for you.

It is your choice, your vet can only tell you what to expect if you decide not to and what will happen if you do.

How do you tell the children?

First and foremost you, tell the children the "TRUTH."

Children are so much wiser that we give them credit for. They are aware of death, as they see it everyday, dead bugs, animals hit by cars, and birds that the "cat" got.

It is truly wrong not to be truthful with them, tell them if the household pet is sick and will soon die, or the pet has met with a sudden accident.

Children of all ages should be allowed to grieve, even if they don't understand the significance of death.

One of the worse things parent do, is tell the younger children that the pet is "going to be put to sleep" that phrase can cause much damage.

A young child can interpret it to mean that sometimes when you go to sleep you may never wake up. They could start to worry that such a thing could happen to them or to mommy and daddy.

Children do not require long lengthy explanations when they are in the two to three year old age bracket.

A simple statement like their pet died and will not come back is usually good enough. Children will cry or they may have a bed-wetting situation for a while, but with love and comfort from mom and dad, that will pass. Also the thought of a new pet will soon make a fears vanish.

Children that are four, five and six years old have a better understanding. However, it is important that they do not feel any responsibility for the pet's death. Some children may think they did something that made it happen (like telling the pet it was bad or to go away at one time or another.)

Parents should allow the children to express their concerns. Explain death in simple terms, possibly using some of the beliefs from your own faith.

The seven, eight and nine year old has already formed a preconceived notion of what death is. It is important that you as parents, answer their questions as honestly as you can. Usually their main concern is that you (mom and dad) are not going to be leaving them.

Children may not understand death as we do, but as a parent you cannot hide what is part of life. If you avoid telling your child the truth, you may be creating a deeper problem within the child.

If mommy or daddy won't talk about it, it really must be bad, so I won't talk about it either.

Burying the pet will not hurt as much as burying your child's emotions, regarding something that is as much a part of life as breathing is.

Be honest. If you have a religious faith use those principals to help illustrate the process of death. When talking to young children, let them ask questions. It is not necessary for you to go into great detail about death and dying. A brief explanation is usually all that is necessary.

Older children, especially young teenagers, who are going through enough emotional turmoil, just growing up, need to be handled carefully.

Allow them to express their grief in their own way. Give them some freedom to deal with their emotions, be patient and be supportive, but not overly so.

If your pet is ill and you are aware that the big decision will soon be forthcoming. Help your children prepare.

Possibly make a photo album of pictures of their pet, plan a simple burial service and let them come up with the ideas of how to handle it.

If a burial is not possible, let them plant a tree, a bush, shrub or flower in honor of their pet.

Let the child (children) have something concrete to remember their pet by.

Doing this allows the child to feel close to their pet and will give them something they can sit by and talk to. It will help to ease their grief.

Talk about your pet, remember the fun times you all shared and all the silly or naughty things your pet did. Savor the memories and when enough time has passed create some new ones with another furry friend.

Whatever you do, just be truthful, be patient and allow each member of the family time to handle their grief in their own special way.

Life and things are temporary, but memories live on forever.

As the mother of 6 now grown children, our household has suffered the loss of many beloved pets. From the lowly goldfish to our beautiful cats and dogs, they were mourned and their loss felt by all of us. Grief is a part of life and without the sadness, how would we appreciate the other joys that touch our lives. If you are a pet lover and even if you are not, come and visit me at http://www.cats-and-dogs-on-the-web.com/ You just may be glad you did.