Books - Coping with Pet Loss

Coping With Pet Loss

Seeing Zach
It can be hard to lose a family pet. When Timmy's Golden Retriever, Zach, dies, his grandmother helps himto understand the continunity of love and godness -- and finding healing by putting this knowledge into practice. What he learns may help readers of any age address the challenge of losing a loved one.

A Special Place for Charlee: A Child's Companion Through Pet Loss
Boy and pup grew up together and were best friends and playmates. Years later, when Charlee needed to be euthanized because of heart failure, the entire family mourned the dog's death. Charlee's vet encouraged Mark to share his feelings of sadness and grief with those he loved. In fact, Mark's family set aside a special time to sit together in the backyard and remember Charlee. They made a scrapbook to collect their memories and planted a flowering bush near Charlee's favorite backyard spot. Yet Mark's sadness lingered until, finally, time and an understanding neighbor helped heal his pain. This simply told story is right on the mark in legitimizing a family's, and particularly a child's, grief over the loss of a pet. Its sound counsel and suggestions for coping are gently incorporated into the straightforward story line, and understated black-and-white drawings eloquently reflect the characters' emotions.

Jim's Dog Muffins (Picture Yearling Book)
Everyone in the first grade feels sad when they hear that Jim's dog Muffins has been killed. His friends try to help him feel better, but Jim won't talk or listen to anyone. All he can do is think about his dog. Then Jim's friend Paul has an idea. Will Paul's plan help Jim cry and laugh about the times he shared with Muffins?

For Every Dog an Angel
For Every Dog An angel is a light, magical little book that honors the timeless connection between people and their canine companions. Written from the heart after the unexpected loss of her "forever dog" Martha, this charming book will bring comfort to anyone who has ever had to say goodbye to their best four-legged friend. For Every Dog An Angel is also a heart-felt way to welcome a new puppy or to celebrate a much-loved doggie friend.

Remember Rafferty: A Book About the Death of a Pet for Children of All Ages
A book about the death of a pet. . .for children of all ages. This book is unique because of the scrapbook in the back for children to write down memories of their beloved pet. Rafferty is a family dog that gets very sick. The family makes the difficult decision to end his life. Talks about remembering your pet and grieving the loss.

All God's Creatures Go To Heaven
The angel paintings of artist Nancy Noel beautifully portray Amy Nolfo-Wheeler's story of Jacob, a child angel on a journey of discovery. This keepsake book, in heavenly color, features a glow-in-the-dark cover. An inspiring message of hope and joy for children and other youthful spirits.

Spirit Dogs: Heroes In Heaven
An illustrated short story about the narrator and her dog, Ivan, who make a trip to dog heaven after being in a car accident. The narrator is greeted by all the dogs she's owned during her life. One collie, who saved her life when she was a child, explains how a dog's ultimate goal is to serve humans in an exceptional way or to save a human life. He tells her that all dogs evolve to this point and that Ivan is almost there. He also explains that a dog's love for its owner is always available to that person, even after the dog has died. Ivan remains in heaven, and the narrator must return to Earth.

Dogs Have Souls Too: The Spirit of Miss Sarah
If you have ever agonized over the decision to euthanize a pet friend, wondered whether animals have souls or worried that there might not be an afterlife for them, the uplifting story of this remarkable dog will ease your mind. By sharing their experiences, the authors provide comfort and reassurance to readers: The spirit of Miss Sarah most assuredly DOES live on. The Watsons send this message: In the absence of comforting spiritual leadership there is a need for animal stories that deal with death. To uplift one another each of us need to share our personal experiences. One way to do this is through the telling of dreams. Having dreams of our animals can be reassuring and spiritually healing.

Preparing for the Loss of Your Pet: Saying Goodbye with Love, Dignity, and Peace of Mind
The loss of a pet can be as emotionally painful as the loss of any loved one. But facing that possibility beforehand will help you make the right decisions when the time comes. In Preparing for the Loss of Your Pet, veterinarian Myrna Milani draws on her 25 years of personal experiences to help you prepare for the inevitable and guide you through the healing process. Here you will gain a deeper understanding of how to:
-Ensure a dignified farewell to your pet
-Understand the stages of pet loss and successfully cope with them
-Talk to children and help them cope with pet loss
-Deal with the different ways you can lose your pet—natural death, euthanasia, disappearance, and others
-And more
By following the thoughtful steps in this reassuring guide, you and your loved ones can come to terms with the loss of a pet.

Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet
Full of sound, compassionate advice to get you through the loss of your pet(s). Included are ideas for rituals and ceremonies, spiritual guidance and readings and poems to use for solace. addresses animals' grieving; their life spans; their growth, illnesses and needs. These are similar to ours: need to eat, to exercise, to sleep, to have fun, to enjoy companionship and to expect routine. Kowalski includes advice on how to take care of yourself after the death of a pet and the importance of honesty when talking with children about this event. Kowalski's book is not only useful for healing when a good friend dies, but also reasserts his primary message: that animals are important, that "pets are not petty," that they deserve our respect and our kind care. As Kowalski writes, "Animals enrich our lives in countless ways, with their playfulness, their tranquility [sic], their constancy, and their love..." This book will help readers mourn and remember them well.

Final Farewell: Preparing for & Mourning the Loss of Your Pet
The Final Farewell combines the expertise of a bereavement counselor with that of an expert in after-death pet care. It includes information about euthanasia and the grieving process, and explains in detail all the options available to people when their pets die. Unlike other books on pet loss, it is meant to be read in advance of a pet's death, when the reader is in a better position to make those kinds of decisions.

It's Okay To Cry
Its Okay To Cry contains warm, compassionate stories that help people to find hope and healing after the death of a beloved pet. Twenty-four people who have lost pets including dogs, cats, birds and working animals share their stories. Included are stories of Robert Weatherwax, Sr., the owner and trainer of Lassie, as well as Jack Hanna, former zoo director and frequent guest on Larry King Live. Its Okay To Cry is 224 pages in length and contains a 42 page journal that allows people to record their own stories.

Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates
There are no words that can change the feeling of emptiness we feel with the loss of that special "friend" who shared our heart and life. Their unconditional love and devotion are missed as much as their splendid and unique personality. But we can replace the grief with joyful anticipation and genuine hope can be found. The words of this book are offered to guide you to that place. You may begin this book a skeptic, but you will end it with a newfound hope and a lot to think about.

Surviving the Heartbreak of Choosing Death for Your Pet
Support and guidance for those facing pet euthanasia. What to expect at each step of the experience, how to cope, make decisions, deal with feelings, help a child with pet death and euthanasia, and adjust to life after the euthanasia.

Forever Friends: Resolving Grief After the Loss of a Beloved Animal
This book teaches you relaxation and visualization techniques and provides a series of exercises to help you deal with the stress and grief and to focus on the positive. And, it helps ensure that all the loving moments you have experienced with your pet will not be forgotten. A question and answer section covers sensitive areas such as euthanasia in a loving, compassionate way. Other topics covered include: Children and Pet Loss; Does Your Pet Have An Afterlife; and, Memorializing Your Pet (through photographs, paw prints, poems, sculptures, a lock of hair, etc.).

Legacies of Love, A Gentle Guide to Healing from the Loss of Your Animal Loved One
If you've given up hope that anyone would ever understand the depth of your love for animals or your profound grief when you lose them, take heart. The support you've been yearning for is here. With extraordinary empathy and love, this audiobook brings you a compelling message of hope and renewal. Author and reader, Teresa Wagner, gently leads you through a journey of understanding your grief and why animal loss is different. You learn tools to not only cope with grief, but to truly heal and find meaning from loss. You are guided through a magical meditation to help you more easily accept letting go, to connect you with the spirit of your animal loved one, fill you with grace and love, and the knowledge that your heart will go on. For too long, the death of animals and our grief of their loss has been trivialized. In your sacred time of grief, you deserve to be honored, supported and understood. The gentle words and soothing music of the Legacies of Love tapes will warm you and light your way.

Crossing the Rubicon: Celebrating the Human-Animal Bond in Life and Death
When Caesar crossed the Rubicon there was no going back; he was committed. How like the bond we create once an animal companion enters our lives. We are irrevocably changed. Crossing the Rubicon: The Human-Animal Bond in Life and Death celebrates these changes. A collection of stories, poems, interviews and exercises, the book is helpful to anyone coping with the loss of a dear animal friend. It is also pertinent to the reader who wants to help someone grieve their loss or better understand the full meaning of the physical, psychological and spiritual roles pets play in our lives. And as the animal messengers in these pages tell us, it is not only our pets lives that enrich us, but their deaths and their message from beyond death that affect us as well. To help the ones left behind, a series of exercises is provided as an aid in the grieving process. These exercises show how we can ease the sorrow, renew the spirit and celebrate the lives of our pets through ceremony, ritual and memory recollection.

When Only the Love Remains: The Pain of Pet Loss
From the Author:
Dear Reader, This book is for those who share a love and concern for all animals. Anyone who has ever loved and lost an animal companion knows the incredible pain and feeling of emptiness. Poochie, my pet rabbit, died suddenly, at five years of age. As you read these poems, you will wish that you had known and loved her, as I had the great privilege to do. Poochie is every dog, cat, bird, horse, rabbit, ferret, hamster, guinea pig, or other animal that you have loved and lost. She lives in my heart and in every animal that I will love after her. I hope that this book can be a close friend to you and a source of comfort that will help you through the pain of losing a pet. Emily

Angel Pawprints: Reflections On Loving and Losing a Canine Companion.......
A dog is more than just a petits a loyal companion, a beloved member of the family, a trusted friend. Celebrates dogs from the past and present in a moving tribute. This beautiful collection of poetry and short stories about cherished dogs, featuring vintage photographs, is both an elegant keepsake and perfect gift for anyone who has ever loved and lost a canine companion. This heartfelt collection allows the expression of grief and facilitates the healing process. Its a heartwarming book for anyone who has ever loved a dog.

Shamanic Guide to Death and Dying: Includes Meditations & Rituals
Take a journey beyond this reality... ...as a shamanic deathwalker gives you a firsthand account of her many journeys to the Lands of the Dead. This book is written for anyone interested in death and dying, as well as those who are interested in shamanism. An ancient mystical path, shamanism uses altered states of consciousness to gain insight, effect healing, and act as a bridge between realities. A shamanic deathwalker is responsible for guiding us through our journeys to the next world.

Blessing the Bridge: What Animals Teach Us About Death, Dying , and Beyond
A pioneer in working with sick and dying animals, Rita Reynolds offers a spiritual perspective on the final stages that moves beyond fear and grief. She draws on 20 years of working with animals at her sanctuary, Howling Success, and includes inspirational stories and suggestions on how to be involved with an animal during the transition into death and beyond.

I'll Always Love You
In this gentle, moving story, Elfie, a dachshund, and her special boy progress happily through life together. When she is young, Elfie is full of pep and pranks; but as her master grows taller and taller, Elfie grows fatter and slower. One morning Elfie does not wake up. The family grieves and buries her, and the boy refuses a new puppy. He is not yet ready for another pet; but when he is, he will tell that one, as he told Elsie every night, "I'll always love you." The watercolor illustrations, tender and warm in color and mood and cozily rounded in form, suit the simple text perfectly. Elsie's gradual change from a lively mischief-maker to a portly old dog is treated with a sweet humor.

Children and Pet Loss: A Guide for Helping
This guide is a practical tool for veterinarians, teachers, counselors, parents, grandparents and others who are in a position to help children cope with the loss of a pet. Topics include understanding children's attachment to their pets and the significance of their loss; understanding the child's concept of death; recognizing how children grieve; encouraging the child's successful grieving; knowing when and whether to suggest getting another pet; recognizing loss as a valuable lesson about life; and knowing which books are recommended for grieving children.

Pet Loss: A Spiritual Guide
The grief that follows the death of an animal companion has only recently become recognized and in mental health field. While it is absolutely normal and healthy to mourn a deceased pet, the grieving process can be crippling emotionally, mentally, and even physically. This insightful and helpful book will help anyone:
* Discover the many emotional reactions and responses to the loss of a pet.
* Learn what happens at a pet cemetery burial, cremation, or home burial.
* Find out arrangements that are legally available that your veterinarian may not tell you.
* Follow the rituals provided or get ideas for developing your own ceremony to honor your pet.
* Cope with the trauma of a terminally ill or runaway pet.
* Assist your children in coping with and recovering from their loss.
* Understand how different spiritual belief systems recognize and counsel pet loss.
Readers will learn the psychological facts about the human and animal bond and how to deal with the initial shock of their loss, as well as the anger, guilt, and sadness they may feel. Extremely practical, Pet Loss also offers the gift of understanding for those who may feel they are alone in their sorrow.

Dog Gone : Coping With the Loss of a Pet REVISED
For anyone who has lost a pet, Bronson has created a rare, deeply empathetic and healing book. Author of the acclaimed Early Winter, and The Good Bye Book, Bronson creates another winner in the newly released version for the year 2000. Filled with endearing vignettes and actual children's illustrations of their own pets, this book makes a great gift for anyone who is mourning the loss of a pet.

The Last Will and Testament of an Extremely Distinguished Dog
The perfect gift for every dog owner. In the early 1940s, famed playwright Eugene O'Neill wrote a moving piece of prose about his dog, Silverdene Emblem O'Neill (Blemie). In The Last Will and Testament of an Extremely Distinguished Dog, O'Neill eloquently and compassionately articulates what all dog owners feel as their pet nears the end of its life. O'Neill's elegy has been lovingly restored to print and is beautifully illustrated by the award-winning quilt maker Adrienne Yorinks. Yorinks complements the text using twenty-five machine-pieced and hand-stitched quilts with color photographic transfers of dogs. The Last Will says everything that needs to be said to someone you love who is losing or has lost a beloved canine friend.

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