Elma Animal Hospital

3180 Transit Road
West Seneca, NY 14224

(716)656-8387

elmavets.com

Pet Loss Support Groups 


If you're having a difficult time with a loss of a pet, we recommend that you contact one of the following organizations:

 

Lap Of Love

 

Lap of Love

Veterinary Hospice and In-Home Euthanasia

Pet Loss Resources

www.lapoflove.com/Pet-Loss-Resources

 

 

The Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement

The Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement

Euthanasia and Pet Loss Resources

Free Chat Rooms

www.aplb.org

 


 

Pet Loss Hotlines

 

  • ASPCA Pet Loss Hotline (877) GRIEF-10

  • Cornell Pet Loss Support Hotline 607-253-3932
                5:30pm-9:30pm Eastern Time
                Every Monday and Thursday

 


Pet Loss Books Recommended by the Veterinary Information Network

 

Children:

  1. Bryan Mallonie & Robert Ingpen:  Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children, 1983, New York: Bantam Books; describes death as part of the life cycle

  2. Debbie Morehead:  A Special Place for Charlee: A Child’s Companion through Pet Loss, 1996, Broomfield CO: Partners in Publishing, LLC; story of dog’s aging and death, includes a kind veterinarian

  3. Fred Rogers:  When a Pet Dies, reissue 1998, 1988, New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons; color photos, including veterinarian’s office, multi-cultural story

  4. Susan Varley: Badger’s Parting Gifts,1984, New York: William Morrow &Company; after his death, Badger’s (Wind in the Willows) sad friends begin to feel better as they remember things he taught them

  5. Judith Viorst: The Tenth Good Thing about Barney,1971, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company; young boy loses his cat, includes ceremony and burial

  6. E. B. White & Garth Williams: Charlotte’s Web,1999, 1952, New York: HarperCollins Juvenile Books (also on audiotape & videotape); farm girl saves life of piglet, spider befriends & saves his life again, pig mourns spider’s death from old age

  7. Hans Wilhelm: I’ll Always Love You, 1989, New York: Crown Publishing; one day a boy’s dachshund doesn’t wake up

  8. Four books with slightly religious flavor:
    • Nechama Liss-Levinson, PhD & Rev. Molly Phinney Baskette:  Remembering My Pet: A Kid’s Own Spiritual Workbook for When a Pet Dies, 2007, Woodstock VT: SkyLight Paths Publishing; interactive workbook with spaces for pictures, thoughts, as well as narrative about feelings, beliefs; good for children of anyfaith or none at all
    • Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth & Lynd Ward:  The Cat who Went to Heaven, 1983,1931, New York: Simon & Schuster; story of friendship between poor artist (commissioned to paint a picture of animals bidding farewell to Buddha) and his beloved cat, who wants to be included even though according to legend, cats weren’t there
    • Christine Davis: For Every Dog an Angel,1997, Portland OR: Lighthearted Press; every dog has a guardian angel (even after death) keeping watch until “forever person” joins pet
    • Cynthia Rylant: Cat Heaven,1997, New York: Scholastic Press; what heaven is like for cats, i.e. they all sleep on God’s bed

  9. Video: The Land Before Time (1988), director Don Bluth; young dinosaur is orphaned on a journey to a better land, speculates on what death means, has adventures with other dinosaurs, is reunited with grandparents

  10. TV “Harold and the Purple Crayon: I remember Goldie” HBO Family, original airdate 2/2/02 young child wonders what happened to his goldfish, whether it was his fault, and how he can get over feeling of loss

 

 

Adults (All of the above, plus)

  1. Moira K. Anderson: Coping with Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet, 1987, Los Angeles: Peregrine Press; one of the first

  2. Melba Colgrove, Harold Bloomfield, Peter McWilliams:  How  to Survive the Loss of a Love, 1976, New York: Bantam Books; loss in general, good for people who are too sad to read a lot at once

  3. Laura & Martyn Lee:  Absent Friend: Coping with the Loss of a Treasured Pet, 1992,Bucks, England: Henston; helpful for planning

  4. Samantha Mooney:  A Snowflake in My Hand,1983, New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.; cats with cancer

  5. Herbert Nieburg: Pet Loss: A Thoughtful Guide for Adults and Children, 1983, New York: Harper & Row; the first book on the subject, check libraries

  6. Linda M. Peterson: Surviving the Heartbreak of Choosing Death for Your Pet, 1997, West Chester PA: Green Tree Publishing; guide to questions and what to expect

  7. Jamie Quackenbush:  When Your Pet Dies: How to Cope with Your Feelings, 1985; hard to find, but worth it

  8. Wallace Sife: The Loss of a Pet, Revised Edition, 1998, New York: Howell Book House; photos, views of various religions, guide to cemeteries

  9. Enid Traisman: My Personal Pet Remembrance Journal, 1996, Portland OR: Order through Direct Book Services, 800/776-2665; guided journal for coping with death and remembering life