Grief Support

Lately, I've been thinking a lot lately about the sadness that comes along with the passing of an animal companion, not just because of my own loss, but because I am faced with loss quite often in the work I do. I recently realized that since last July, I have lost approximately one animal client per month, which has been painful for me, regardless of what an honor it is to help animals and their guardians through that final and often very difficult stage.

I will confess that I have had moments here and there, where I question whether I can keep doing the work that I do. Knowing that I will have to continue to face the transition of many more animals, and knowing that I will feel each loss very deeply, weighs heavy on my heart sometimes. In those moments, where I feel overwhelmed by the losses, I try to remind myself that death is a natural part of our experience here on earth and that it is as important to honor an animal during their life as it is to honor them during their death. And still, it is a challenge that I face.

For the guardians who have suffered these loses, I do everything I can to ensure that they feel supported and not alone and yet, I am still always left wishing I could do more to ease the pain and sadness they experience. I know there is just no way around it. Losing one of our beloved animal companions is going to hurt like hell, no matter what.

In recent weeks, I have been fortunate to learn about some of the support resources that exists out there for people who have lost a pet, because Jewel's mom has been doing a fair amount of research, as she navigates through her own journey of grief, and she has been kind enough to pass along what she had found. I thought it might be helpful for me to share with all of you, the things she has shared with me.

First of all, there is a fabulous website she found called: Animals in our hearts. The website is filled with resources, such as an on-line grief support system, information on animal communication, articles about the grieving process and the afterlife, etc. They also have free teleclasses. The next one coming up on May 11th is titled, Legacies of Love: Finding the Grace in Grief. They offer other teleconference workshops on a variety of topics (including dealing with grief). It looks like a wonderful place to find support, answers and comfort.

Their web address is www.animalsinourhearts.com

There is another animal website Jewel's mom found called The Animal Communicator Forum. I was pleased to see information on this site that can help grieving guardians as well, such as an article called "Exploring Myths about Healing Grief" and a section of the website called "Death and In Spirit" that has information on the dying process, grieving and reincarnation. There is also a section where you can listen to recordings of previous teleseminars from 2009 and 2010, with many of the topics of those seminars being relevant to people who have experienced a loss.

You can locate this website at: http://animalcommunicatorforum.com

There are also some great books out there. Here are a couple of recommendations:

Animals in Spirit, by Penelope Smith and Animals and the Afterlife, by Kim Sheridan

And there is actually a place here on earth called the Rainbow Bridge. (I had no idea). It's a national monument in Utah. If you want to learn more about it, you can go to: http://www.nps.gov/rabr/index.htm

For those of you who are dealing with your own grieving process, maybe some of these resources will reach an unmet need and help you find some more peace.

As for the precious animal clients of mine who have made their transitions in the last 10 months, I miss them all very much. Each one of them touched me very deeply, and while I shed quite a few tears over each of their departures, I have felt truly honored to have been a part of their lives, and in many cases, been a part of their deaths as well.

For the guardians of these incredible animals, who had the joy and the privilege of sharing their lives with; Hanna, Bood, Lucy, Montana, Natalie, Shadow, Lacy, Jewel, Misha and Kiki . . . I hope you will all remember that the love your animal had for you when they were here is just as strong as it always was. Their physical departures can't stop the love that exists between you. And I hope you will also remember that your beloved animals are watching over you . . . still caring very deeply for you and hoping you find more and more moments of joy, as you adjust to life without them in the physical world.