No comments about When Pets Die: It's Alright to Grieve.

3 comments about Remembering Pets: A Book for Children Who Have Lost a Pet.

1. Written with wit and whimsically illustrated, this light-hearted look at a serious topic softened the blow of our pet's death. Now, we are even thinking of getting a new pet.



2. Gina Dalpra-Berman's vivid children's picturebook, Remembering Pets, is written specifically for young people who have lost a treasured animal companion. It is about remembering the joys shared with a favorite bird, dog, cat, turtle, or other creature that bestowed unconditional love upon its owner. Remembering Pets tells a young person that it is OK to grieve for the loss of a beloved animal, and to embrace the joys of a new pet. Highly recommended for any child who has outlived his or her cherished animal friend.



3. Most of us have lost a pet, many of us at a time when we shared that loss with children. The text and illustrations of this book can help children deal with that situation. The book is honest and comforting, helping kids to think about how important their pet was, but also the value in having had that pet, and how those memories can continue to enrich our lives.

5 comments about Rainbows and Bridges: An Animal Companion Memorial Kit.

1. This is one of the few books that helped pull me through. Others were very religious or didn't reach the part that I needed to start healing. This book was compassionate and did everything I needed to start my healing process. It supports your grief and allows you to grieve and then helps you start your healing process. It's absolutely amazing. The journals, the memorial cards, and the book are all sensational.



2. I recently lost my little dog, Toby, through an animal attack. I have been devastated. Toby was my heart. In the local bookstore I asked if she had anything on pet loss and she showed me this book. I read it through and found so much comfort. No where else had I come across such inspirational material with regards to our beloved animal friends. I wrote his name an the cards, and reread the book. The journal was enormously helpful and I wrote the things about him I didn't want to forget . From there I made a small scrap book, using the paragraphs I'd written in the journal.
   
   I wouldn't find the need to do this with all my animal companions, but Toby was a special friend, and this kit helped me a great deal towards the beginnings of healing.



3. Rainbows & Bridges is the first set to address the need for mourning the death of an animal in the family, offering the clergy member authors' insights on healing. It's more than a book - it's a kit of materials which walks adults, kids and even other household pets through the grieving process, identifying 'rainbows' and 'bridges' which allow the user to move from grieving to recovery. From what things should never be said to someone whose pet has died to how to support a person suffering from pet loss and how kids and adults adjust, Rainbows & Bridges covers the entire process from initial loss to phrases of grieving and considering a new pet.



4. The kit is wonderful and I know it will help a lot of people through the grief that comes from losing a beloved pet. Just knowing they are not alone in that grief will be healing. Hearing the stories of other people who have experienced what they are experiencing will give them the courage to go on.



5. I am thrilled to have this beautifully presented resource in my home office now. For decades I've been working with people and their pets as a minister, teacher, healing arts practitioner and writer, and I have never seen anything like this loving work. Allen and Linda Anderson have compiled an exquisite collection, a warm and graceful toolbox that's destined to become a classic for helping us honor our animal kin. An invaluable treasure map at your fingertips! Rainbows And Bridges An Animal Companion Memorial Kit has jumped to the top of my holiday shopping list for gifting family, friends, neighbors, students, clients and congregants. Thanks Angel Animals Network!

5 comments about Old Dogs Remembered.

1. Like a good box of chocolates, this book is best consumed one piece at a time, slowly, with time to ponder, cry, and hug your dogs between portions. In Daniel Pinkwater's perfectly crafted essay, the reader can actually feel the writer's love for his big old fur-friend. I'm crying just thinking about it. Anyone who has had to put down an adored dog, anyone who has lost an old pal to illness or accident, will love this book. But it should come with a warning -- may cause ceaseless sobbing. It's worth the tears.



2. I first read this book when my own dog died. The collection of stories from sometimes famous writers about their own dogs and own losses is incredibly moving. It helped get me through a rough time. Since then I've given the book to others when they've lost dogs (or cats) and each one has really appreciated it.



3. This is a great book to read if you are grieving the death of a beloved dog. This a great collection of short, long, moving, funny, serious, and sentimental stories about dogs. Many of the writers are unfamiliar names to me and I found myself wishing that the book included a brief bio of each author, or at least the date of the first publication of each story.



4. Some of the greatest writers of our times have humbled themselves to celebrate the memory of lost dog-friends amd provide us with a spiritual boost. To experience the depth of feeling and understanding a human and dog can share is only possible through direct experience, or through the masterful language of these gifted people.
   
   As a dog trainer, shelter worker and rescue volunteer, I am continually confronted with man's inability to respect, admire and wonder at the enrichment domestic dogs and cats bring to our lives. Even the most expensive purebred specimens are not exempt from man's ability to be inhumane.
   
   Knowing that human intelligence and emotion at its highest levels of achievement and expression, through the works of these brilliant writers, recognizes the treasure that is the dog's presence in our lives, and deeply mourns its loss, gives me continued hope for humanity.
   
   Barbara Davis
   BADDogsInc
   Corona, CA



5. Old Dogs Remembered is a wonderful collection that reflects on the joy of being owned by a dog and being the object of unquestioning devotion. While it is the collected remembrances and obituaries for famous people's dogs long past, it also focuses the reader on the dogs in our lives now. Our dogs pass away, but we have the power to make sure they are remembered. Take a minute to reflect on your current companion or one that awaits you in an afterlife that can only exist because we love our pets. Write his or her story, and save it, for yourself, your children, or just for the future. All old dogs deserve to be remembered.

2 comments about When Your Pet Dies: A Guide to Mourning, Remembering and Healing.

1. This is a neat little book, very special. I think it would be very helpful for those facing the loss of a pet. As a veterinarian, dealing with owner grief is an important part of my practice. I'm happy to recommend this to all of my special clients who may experience the trauma associated with pet loss. Well done!
   
   Shawn Messonnier DVM
   author, 8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog, The Allergy Solution for Dogs, and the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats
   (...)



2. As an animal lover myself, as a certified hospice bereavement counselor, and as another author who's written about pet loss and specialized in pet loss counseling since 1992, I loved this book. Like all the rest of Alan's books, this one is clearly stated, clinically accurate and beautifully written -- and it comes from the heart of the author's own personal experience with pet loss. Because Alan Wolfelt is so very well known and respected in the field of death education and counseling, I believe his book about pet loss will do more than help bereaved animal lovers. I think it will lift the experience of pet loss into the mainstream of professional grief literature where it rightfully belongs, and that alone is a cause for celebration. For many years I have felt that uninformed and insensitive mental health professionals can do more damage to disenfranchised bereaved animal lovers than any member of the lay public can do, because they should know better -- and it is up to those of us who know the agony of pet loss to teach them. I want to thank Alan for writing this book, and I wish him every success in its sales and distribution. For my part, I've already listed it under the BOOKS ABOUT PET LOSS category on the Articles and Books page of my own Grief Healing Web site (http://www.griefhealing.com), I've recommended it to both pet loss support organizations with whom I consult, and I will continue to recommend it to my clients and participants in my pet loss support groups as well.

No comments about I Still Miss You: Letters of Comfort for Cat Lovers.

5 comments about Will My Pet Go to Heaven?.

1. Will My Pet Go to Heaven?This book does not try to prove without a doubt, but instead gives a preponderance of biblical evidence that weighs heavily in favor of our pets being with us in heaven and on the new earth. This is the perfect book to share with someone who has lost a beloved pet. The author teaches the basics of salvation and how as Christians we don't need to grieve our loss like the rest of men who have no hope, because our hope is eternal.



2. Ever since I was a small child, I visualized animals in heaven. After all, God did make them first, my little girl mind rationalized. As I got older and had many animals come and go in my life, I needed conformation that my belief was in fact true. I could not imagine a perfefct place that DID NOT include my beloved pets who had passed on. Then on a recent Sunday morning, I was watching a pastor give a sermon on television. He made the mistake of telling his congregation and his television audience that animals do not survive beyond death; that only humans occupy heaven with our Lord. I began a search. The Bible talks little about the direct question: Are His animals to live forever? But after all, the bible was written for human salvation. The animals cannot sin and don't need to be saved. They already are perfect in God's eyes. Jesus has said that He was going to prepare a place for us - his children - and a place for me would not be complete unless all my wonderful and beloved animal children are there with me. And then I found Steve Wohlberg's book! This book has confirmed to me what I have known since a child. Animals do, of course, go to heaven. Steve has given biblical references in this book and explained in a way that only a man of the clergy can do in pointing out God's love for and eternal existence of animals. This is a wonderful book and should be included in bible school curriculums. Every person who has ever loved an animal needs to read this book. And those who preach that animals "die and go into the ground forever" and wrong, wrong, wrong. I wrote and told that televison pastor so and used Steve's book as a reference. He has since recanted his views.



3. What I liked about this book:
   Most importantly, the book is based on Scripture. I you are a dedicated agnostic, hoping to find a story to make you feel better, based on a bunch of other people's opinions, you won't find it in here. Wohlberg has searched for the truth on this topic, and wants to share with his readers what he has found. He admits that he is not sure whether or not our pets will go to Heaven, but he tells us why he thinks there is a strong possibility that they will indeed be there. I also like that the book is written in a simple, understandable format. There's no deep theology or "Christianese" that's not explained clearly. Due to the writing style, and some of the other topics covered in this book, it could be a great evangelistic tool - a wonderful book to give to your non-Christian friends when they are struggling with the loss of a pet. I also like the little quotes Wohlberg has scattered throughout the text.
   What I didn't like about this book:
   Wohlberg only actually spends 9 pages in the book answering the question "Will my pet go to Heaven?"!! The rest of the book is about human-animal bonds, his own personal (and tragic) loss of his pet that led him to write the book, God's love for animals, animal sacrifice, and other somewhat-related topics. Most of this material is good, but I found the chapter entitled "Pets, People, & Priorities" to be inappropriate. Although I agree with the basic idea ("people come first, then pets") I do not think this book was the appropriate place to discuss it. Wohlberg seems to have a particular soft spot for dogs, horses, and cats, or what he calls "God's more intelligent" animals. He is somewhat exclusive. I know I'm not the only person with a pet leopard gecko! I also found several typographical errors, and for a book that is only 94 pages long, I believe this is pretty bad. Doesn't someone proofread these books before they publish them?



4. This book does have some nice thoughts in it but there is only a fraction of the book that actually deals with scripture. Like other similar books it's mostly opinion, and opinion which is not even encouraging! He says we don't know for sure that our pets are in heaven and that we must come to our own conclusion! He stresses so much about how people are so much more important than animals to God and that Jesus died only for humans not animals! (Rom 5:8)
   He says all we can do is "hope" that our furry friends will be with us. He does say he believes in a "real possibility" of this happening! He says that animals can't think, they can only give love. I think that since animals can display such attributes as love, hate, sympathy, generosity, reasoning powers, language and body language, memory, a sense of moral responsibility, unselfishness, self denial, forethought, affection, friendship, humour, pride, jealousy, anger, revenge, conscience, love of master, conjugal love, and parental love all of which belong to the spirit, not to the body, that animals can think.
   He says that it's a "no brainer" that we should think that a human's eternal life is more important than our pets." Real encouraging huh! One nice thing he teaches is that animals display so much love and compassion and he asks "where do such feelings come from anyway?" Well, love and all the above attributes can only be from God and is evidence they can THINK! I feel for his loss of his precious little dog. My heart goes out to him and his wife. But it is my opinion that Steve Wohlberg should stick to his specialty which is Bible Prophecy.
   I've read several books on the subject of animal afterlife and the best one I've found is "There Is Eternal Life For Animals" by Niki Behrikis Shanahan as it details Bible Scripture and shows from the Scriptures how much God loves ALL His creation and it proves from the scriptures that animals ARE going to heaven. That is what a grieving pet parent needs to hear, not just someone's opinion.



5. Get the kleenex ready, because this is a heartwarming tear-jerker. However, it will provide some comfort and assistance in dealing with the grief of losing a beloved pet. An ideal gift book for the animal lovers in your life. Buy several copies at a time, and keep them on hand, for when the appropriate occasion arises, and for when the right words fail.
   Arlene Millman
   author of BOOMERANG - A MIRACLE TRILOGY
   (The tale of a remarkable Boston Terrier)

2 comments about Remembering My Pet: A Kid's Own Spiritual Remembering Workbook for When a Pet Dies.

1. Pets are (or should be) a part of every child's growing up. Caring for pets teaches children so many essential values about life and responsibility. One essential and unavoidable aspect of having a companion animal is that they will inevitable die. Sometimes of old age with all the medical complications associated with aging. Sometimes suddenly from accident or injury or error. The death of a pet is also a life-teaching aspect that if properly handled, can provide a child with values that will carry on to their benefit throughout their adult years as well. "Remembering My Pet: A Kid's Own Spiritual Workbook For When A Pet Dies" is the collaborative effort of Nechama Liss-Levinson and Molly Phinney Baskette to provide parents with a means of helping children ages 7 to 13 to cope with the loss of their pet through such means as planning a memorial service, recording photo memories of their animal companion, honoring their pet's memory by sharing with and giving to others, and so much more. Strongly recommended - especially for anyone who has lost an animal companion - "Remembering My Pet" will enable a child to express and deal with their feelings by drawing, writings, reading, creating, and engaging in activities that will result in a memorial keepsake they will treasure for the rest of their own lives.



2. This is a great gift for any kid whose pet just died, whether the pet is a dog, cat, hamster or rabbit. I really like it because it respects children's feelings, and understands that the loss of a pet can be as profound and sad for a kid as the loss of a friend or family member. At the same time, it offers ways for kids to learn to remember, grieve and go on with life.
   Missy Chase Lapine
   Author, The Sneaky Chef

2 comments about Pet Loss and Human Emotion: A Guide to Recovery (2nd Edition).

1. First, this book is expensive. It is paperback and very brief. The Amazon blurb gives the impression it is scholarly; and that's the worst thing about it, because it is trite beyond belief.
   
   It's merely a collection of truisms about pet loss that the most unlearned child would be able to express, and the unimpassioned quality of the writing makes it very difficult to believe the author (or authors; I'm still not clear how many people were involved in the work) were pioneers in their area in the field of pet grief counseling.
   
   I returned the book and asked for my money back, and I haven't done that with another book from Amazon.



2. Pet Loss and Human Emotion - guiding clients through grief by Cheri Barton Ross, MA & Jane Baron-Sorensen, RN, MA, MFCC The seriousness of issues that can arise from the loss of a pet and the severity of feelings experienced are explicated with great expertise and sensitivity by Ross and Baron-Sorenson. This book is designed to assist anyone in the helping professions to understand what a pet owner may be experiencing when their companion animal dies. Teachers, clergy, mental health professionals, veterinarians and staff, and anyone who has ever experienced the loss of a pet will benefit from the authors advice and years of experience in this beautifully written book. The authors begin with a description of the well documented benefits of animal owing for children, the elderly, people with AIDS, the terminally ill and the handicapped as well as for the general public. They suggest an assessment of the role an animal plays in the life of the client and careful consideration of how that affects their daily functioning, self esteem, sense of well being and identity. The phenomenon of "Animal Collectors" (individuals who keep animals in greater numbers than they can humanely care for) is described and the authors explain how to avoid the pitfalls in therapeutic intervention with them. When an animal dies the authors find that pet owners go through the same phases as grief as for human loss and suggest strategies for supportive therapy. Specifics about the procedure of euthanasia are given along with guidelines for assisting clients in working through all the issues that present before, during and after euthanasia is performed. Client issues stemming from euthanasia will range from memories of other deaths to situations where the client and pet share the same illness. Case studies are given from the authors' experiences of special types of pet loss such as accidents, a pet being stolen or being killed by someone, divorce situations and missing pets. Helpful suggestions are given by Ross and Baron-Sorenson of how helping professionals may best navigate potentially explosive situations and handle the complex emotions of pet owners due to these special circumstances of pet loss. A range of feelings from guilt to rage can occur when a pet owner feels they were responsible in some way for the death, or that someone else was culpable. The authors give valuable insight into how to respond to these difficult situations before bereaved pet owners' job performance, marriage and daily functioning are adversely affected. Information on how children of varying ages assimilate loss and how to communicate the facts of death or euthanasia will be of invaluable help to anyone working with children and to parents. Concerns of the elderly are addressed including the profound impact of lifestyle changes a pet's death presents for this vulnerable population. Guidelines for acquiring a new pet are detailed with a special eye to timing and each individual's unique situation. The authors find that resolution of the issues presenting from the loss of a pet is advisable before bringing a new pet into the home. Their clinical experience has shown that when grief is resolved, the tendency to make painful comparisons between the former pet and a new pet is diminished In situations where there is more than one pet in the household, suggestions for clients in dealing with feelings of missing a favored deceased pet, while allowing existing pets personalities a chance to surface are explored. Behavioral manifestations of grief and loss are detailed with a list of common grief reactions to inform the reader how to recognize reactions that have become maladaptive. Prolonged despair and substance abuse issues that can surface when a pet dies are handled comprehensively with suggestions for handling crisis situations. Special attention is given to guilt, compound loss and suicidal client issues. This book is well thought out, and very easy to read as the authors have created an optimal balance of clinical and anecdotal information. This is a great desk reference for anyone who may encounter a bereaved pet owner in their work or co-counseling situations. By Deborah Antinori, MA, RDT, LPC, NBCCH Director of Therapy - Davison Counseling Center and Pet Loss & Life Transitions Counseling, Basking Ridge, NJ Author - "Journey Through Pet Loss" - 1999 Audie Award Winner, Best New Publisher - Audio Publishers Association

3 comments about Surviving the Heartbreak of Choosing Death for Your Pet.

1. "Fluff" for the bereavement shelf in book stores. Buy "The Loss of A Pet" by Dr. Wallace Sife instead. You won't be sorry ...



2. This book was difficult to read right after I made the decision to have my best friend put to sleep, so I had to wait for a couple of months. When I did finally pick it up (a gift from a friend), I could feel my chest lose its tightness, and a sense of calm come over me.

   There is an incredible sense of guilt associated with making this choice for your friend. This book helped lift this guilt and replace it with a sense of peace.

   Thanks, Linda.




3. This book was extremely helpful! Having to choose death for my best friend of 20 years was incredibly painful and brought feelings of guilt, despair, relief and depression. At the time, I felt I might just be loosing my mind. This book helped me work through all of my feelings. It gave me a peaceful feeling. It let me know, that I was not alone. There are a number of useful references in the back. I really can't recommend this book enough. I was so helped by this book that I have since made it available to my local vets office.
   Thank you to the author.

   For anyone considering this book. Buy It. It will help.