Acknowledge your grief Below are a few suggestions to help with the loss of your four-legged family member.
· Acknowledge your grief
o Give yourself permission to grieve
o Don’t feel bad about grieving
· Talk through it
o Find someone to talk to and reminisce with about your pet
o Children will also want to talk about the pet
o Write about it in a journal
· Address any feelings of guilt
o Don’t see it as taking your pet’s life but as a privilege and gift to spare them for the end stages of dying which can cause lots of pain and suffering (need to paraphrase better)
· Consider having a ceremony
o Help children with remembrances like drawing a picture or a make a clay paw print
· Take your time grieving.
o Everyone grieves differently
o Don’t feel rushed to get over your grief
· Tie up loose ends
o Talk with your vet if you have lingering questions about how your pet died
· Memorialize your pet
o Find a meaningful to you way to honor your pet
§ Plant a tree in their honor
§ Volunteer
§ Make a donation to a favorite charity