If you visit your typical animal shelter, you find many homeless dogs that need a new home. For those who decide to adopt a shelter dog, no doubt your furry friend will appreciate the new home and life you gave them until their death. After the death of your pet, you might be wondering how to give them a fitting...
When your pet dies, how soon should you get a new one? Until recently, the standard answer has been "right away!" That may not always be the best advice, however: Obtaining a new pet before you have had time to work through your grief can cause problems for both you and the pet. So when is the right time? There is no...
by Moira Anderson Allen, M.Ed. Sooner or later, any discussion of pet loss comes around to this question. You may have asked it yourself -- or, perhaps, you may have wondered how to answer when your child asks it of you. Lengthy articles have been written on both sides of the argument. A recent ABC News poll showed that 47% of...
by Moira Anderson Allen, M.Ed. Many think of bereavement as beginning after loss. For many, however, grief can begin much earlier. Often, it begins the day you realize that your pet is approaching the end of its life -- even though the final loss of that pet may still be many months distant. This stage of grief is especially difficult, because it...