Customer Reviews

The Loss of a Pet

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Three weeks ago, we lost our 8-year old Boxer, Taylor, to Lymphosarcoma. We took her to the very best Oncologists(several of them), spent thousands of dollars in trying to keep her with us for as long as possible, but in the end we knew it was time for us to let go.

Not having children, the pain of losing such a loving animal was beyond my expectation of grief. When I researched the list of books on pet loss, I was looking for facts on how to deal with this agony and pain. Dr. Sife's introduction and chapters on this subject matter was a validation that what me and my husband were feeling and going through were normal.

Dr. Sife's case histories throughout the book were very helpful in applying what other people have experienced and what we were going through.

For anyone who has recently lost a pet and is looking for some insight on the feelings they are experiencing, I highly recommend this book. He is very factual. If you are looking for a spiritual or religious aspect, this is not the book. Although Dr. Sife does touch on this subject in a chapter, the basis for the book is the psychological aspects of losing a member of your family.

As an RN, MA, I was devastated at the loss of my beloved pet.Dr. Sife's book helped me enormously to understand the grief processas it relates to pet loss. It is written in a compassionate and very knowledgeable way. If you only can buy one book on pet bereavement, this is it. And if you have lost a pet, or know someone who has, this book will help you. I also highly recommend that you visit the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement website, which organization Dr. Sife is President of. Grief over the loss of a pet is a normal response, and Dr. Sife makes this very clear. END

I just lost my dog two weeks ago. He was 16 years old. I'm heartbroken. I started reading this book a few days ago and it immediately began to help me. It's so hard to deal with the loss of a pet because so many people do not understand. This book lets you know that everything you're feeling is normal and Dr. Sife really and truly does understand. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who just lost their pet.

This is a must read book for anyone who is agonizing over the decision to put their beloved pets to sleep or anyone who has lost a pet. This book helped me understand the process and the emotions that went along with losing my beloved cat. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a pet lover.

My beloved Scottie died two weeks ago from lymphoma, and I completely fell apart.

I know everyone has their own opinion, but I don't get it when some reviewers say that this book is "cold". The last thing I needed to get myself together was to read some touchy-feely book that would only make me cry harder. That's why I thought this book was tops. Not only did it give me a practical understanding of what I was going through, but more importantly, I got to stop crying for a few hours while I read it.

Call it "tough love" if you want. I wouldn't. But it sure helped me out a lot. I highly recommend it.

If you really want to cry, get the book called "When Only the Love Remains." I could not get past page one, and that is not what I needed right now.

I was experiencing such a deeply intense grief after the death of my beloved cat that I searched for a book that would give me support. After reading just the first page, I felt a wave of peace and comfort, realizing that I was not alone in feeling so deeply about the loss of a pet. This is a very practical guide for working through your grief. I highly recommend it for anyone who has just lost an animal companion.

This guy is so cold, clinical and at times even takes on a judgmental tone; I couldn't even finish the book. I just lost my beloved pit bull mix to osteosarcoma and after reading in this book for the third time the implication that people who get too emotionally attached to their pets are somehow less than mentally healthy, it was just too much to take. I happen to love my pets. More than a lot of humans I know. Pets don't judge, they are always there for you and never let you down. So I'm crazy because of this? Or less than what the author deems 'normal'?? That's a ridiculous assumption. Don't buy the book, unless you're a cold fish and only want the clinical, judgmental side...a far superior book for the grief-stricken is "Goodbye, friend" by Gary Kowalski.

I first purchased this book in February 2003 after loosing my cat Sabre to heart disease. Almost three years later I am reading it again due to loosing Sabre's sister, Gabriella, to the same dreadful disease.
The first time I read this book, it made me feel that I was not alone in my grief and that other's experience the same guilt and anxiety that I felt. It helped me understand my feelings and did not sugarcoat them with poems and scripture.
Just this past week I reread some of the chapters and it allowed me to be able to handle the event which unfortunately occurred less than 24 hours later. I recommend this book to a lot of people and to anyone who wants to understand the mental happenings behind their emotions without all of the Rainbow Bridge stuff to make them cry even more.

The loss of a Pet: Third Edition is is by far the best book on pet bereavement. The first two editions kept winning awards and rave reviews, but Dr. Sife has pulled a rabbit out of a hat with this revised and expanded Third Edition. As a result it is by far, the best-selling book on the subject. Dr. Sife has been acclaimed as the leading authority in this field, and was the founder/president of The Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement: www.aplb.org. This Third Edition is completely revised, and also contains 56 additional pages of wisdom and practical advice, based on his experience with over 18,000 bereaving pet owners, since he founded the APLB. It is all in this book! But some readers may feel let down when he informs them that prolonged grief is almost always a side-effect of other personal repressed problems, triggered by the death of a beloved pet. He wisely points out that in such cases the bereaver should also be working with a professional therapist, to address these problems. This wonderful book is analytical, but not "clinical" as some have claimed. And it is written with a wisdom and compassion that is truly a gift to the open-minded reader.

Perhaps Sife's philosophy can be summed up by his statement. "Life is a wonderful transition we can barely understand. Yet there is a lesson here that our beloved deceased companion animals can help us learn - in salute to their memory. A joyful celebration of that life is our best memorial and tribute. We are not victims, but celebrants. And by achieving this we now honor them, and enrich ourselves, as well."

After the death of our beloved dog-child Ruffy, this was the only book on pet grief I could find at my bookstore. My heart was, and still is,bleeding and I took it home and devoured it in a matter of days. It is written more to those who counsel the grieving in my opinion and did not minister to my pain. It is too technical and black and white. I felt it left out heartfelt emotion and soul. I am still searching for a book to touch my heart.