When Your Pet Dies: A Guide to Mourning, Remembering and Healing [Paperback]

Alan D. Wolfelt PhD (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

Affirming a pet owner's struggle with grief when his or her pet dies, this book helps mourners understand why their feelings are so strong and helps them overcome the loss. Included are practical suggestions for mourning and ideas for remembering and memorializing one's pet. Among the issues covered are understanding the many emotions experienced after the death of a pet; understanding why grief for pets is unique; pet funerals and burial or cremation; celebrating and remembering the life of one's pet; coping with feelings about euthanasia; helping children understand the death of their pet; and things to keep in mind before getting another pet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A compassionate, practical guide for pet lovers." -- Parents Express

About the Author

Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD, serves as director of the Center for Loss and Life Transition. He writes the “Children and Grief” column for Bereavement Magazine and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live, and Today. He is the author of Healing Your Grieving Heart, Healing a Teen's Grieving Heart, and Understanding Grief. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Companion Press (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 187965136X
• ISBN-13: 978-1879651364
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Death & Grief > General
  • #34 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Home & Garden > Animal Care & Pets > General
  • #55 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Pet Loss

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, May 21, 2004

By 

Marty Tousley "Marty Tousley, CNS-BC, FT, DCC" (Traverse City MI and Scottsdale AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Your Pet Dies: A Guide to Mourning, Remembering and Healing (Paperback)

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.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book., March 12, 2009

By 

Darrell G. Rooney - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Your Pet Dies: A Guide to Mourning, Remembering and Healing (Paperback)

This book is part memory book and part written exercise book designed to help you put down in words all the things you want to say to your deceased pet. Your sadness, grief, fears, maybe guilt, your shared joys, deep love and never ending remembrance of them. Its sad, its painful to do sometimes but it really moves grief towards mourning, which as it points out, is an externalized emotion. And necessary for healing. I found it immensely useful.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A neat little book, August 5, 2005

By 

Dr. Shawn Messonnier "The Natural Vet" (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Your Pet Dies: A Guide to Mourning, Remembering and Healing (Paperback)

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
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