Resources

Losing a pet carries the same emotional toll as losing a family member. Navigating the greiving process can be difficult and confusing. Please utilize the resources we have compiled below to help during this difficult time.

Hotlines & Support Groups

ASAP National Pet Loss Hotline: Call 1-877-474-3310 (available daily from 12:00 PM to 12:00 AM Eastern)

Pet Compassion Care Line: Call 1-855-245-8214 (available 24 hours a day)

Tufts University Pet Loss Support Hotline: Call 508-839-7966 for grief support during evenings and weekends

Lap of Love Pet Loss Support: Call 1-855-352-5683 (Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM)

Maine Veterinary Medical Center offers a virtual monthly support group and guidance from veterinary social worker Erin Schlicher (contact at 207-766-8880 or eschlicher@mvmc.vet)

Online Resources

Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (APLB) is a non-profit organization offering online chat rooms, memorial pages, and structured video support groups

Petloss.com features a global weekly candle ceremony, online message boards, chat rooms, and the classic Rainbow Bridge resources

Jasper is a pet loss support community with weekly virtual support groups, grief coaches, and wellness tools to help navigate the loss of a beloved pet. Jasper has partnered with Best Friends to offer a free month to anyone who needs it. Visit jaspergrief.com and use code BESTFRIENDS

PawsPathway, a virtual pet loss support groups and one on one support

Grief Healing lists several pet loss helplines, as well as virtual support groups

The Pet Loss Support Page lists hotlines and contains many other grief resources

Books to help with losing a pet

A Hard Farewell: Saying Goodbye to Our Beloved Cats and Dealing with the Grief that Follows by Fred Jandt shares the author's personal journey through grief and offers readers a compassionate guide through a form of loss that too often goes unrecognized.

A Tail of Grace: A Year in Search of Home After the Death of My Soul-Dog by Ashley Brown

Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates by Gary Kurz can help you cope with the loss of a pet and tries to answer questions about pet afterlife.

Goodbye, Friend by Gary Kowlaski is full of sound, compassionate advice to get through the loss of a pet. Included are ideas for rituals and ceremonies, spiritual guidance, and readings for solace. Kowalski also includes advice on how to take care of yourself after the death of a pet and the importance of honesty when talking with children about this event.

Grieving the Death of a Pet by Betty Carmack is written by a nurse and professional pet loss counselor. This book draws from her experience of counseling people who have lost a beloved pet, as well as the loss of her own furry friends. Carmack offers pet loss support to counter “a world that reminds us repeatedly that grief for an animal doesn’t count as much as grief for a person.” The book is poignant and sometimes heartrending, filled with personal stories of love and loss.

P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna by Sarah Chauncey, illustrated by Francis Tremblay is a book for adults trying to cope with losing a feline soulmate. The author and illustrator’s belief that the love between a cat and their person is eternal is comforting and will be a source of solace for readers.

Pet Loss: A Spiritual Guide by Julia Harris helps readers to understand the many emotional reactions to the loss of a pet, to assist children in coping with and recovering from their loss, and to learn how different spiritual belief systems recognize and counsel pet loss. Practical topics include what happens at a pet cemetery burial, cremation, or home burial; what legal arrangements are available; how to develop a ceremony to honor the pet; and how to cope with the trauma of a terminally ill or runaway pet.

Saying Good-Bye to the Pet You Love by Lorri A. Greene, Ph.D. is written by a psychologist who is a leader in the field of pet bereavement. This practical but sympathetic guide validates the survivor’s often misunderstood feelings, explains the importance of the human-animal bond, and offers strategies for working through the grieving process. Topics include memorializing the pet, recognizing problematic thinking, finding support, dealing with guilt, and explaining the pet’s death to a child. The special needs of the guardians of working animals are addressed, as are self-help resources for older adults.

Three Cats, Two Dogs: One Journey Through Multiple Pet Loss by David Congalton sees the author talk about how he transformed his anguish over the loss of several pets into a commitment to abused and abandoned animals. This down-to-earth book offers solace and practical suggestions for coping with grief. Anyone who has an animal companion will find this story inspirational and hopeful.

When Only the Love Remains by Emily Margaret Stuparyk is a collection of poignant poems about pet loss.

Your Dog Memory Journal by Sherry Benjamins is a place to remember your furry soul mate when healing from loss and celebrating your special friend. The prompts encourage sharing memories by way of writing, photos, sketches, or poems. The art work is original and paper collage.

Pet loss books for children and teenagers

I Miss my Best Friend by Penelope Lagos is a heart-warming story for children that will help them learn how to deal with the loss of a pet. Author Penelope Lagos also offers ten helpful steps parents can use to help their children cope with grief.

Dog Heaven and Cat Heaven by Cynthia Rylant will appeal to children from preschool to grade 2. The simple, colorful illustrations take the child on a journey to Dog Heaven or Cat Heaven, places of warmth and happiness. In Dog Heaven, there are “fields and fields and fields,” and in Cat Heaven, there are thousands of toys and soft angel laps in which to cuddle up.

For Every Dog an Angel and For Every Cat an Angel by Christine Davis are two short books that tell the story of the Rainbow Bridge. They are beautifully illustrated in whimsical watercolors and appropriate for a wide range of ages.

My Cat Is Blue by Sarah Sommer features rhymes, illustrations that evolve from grayscale to full color, and a story of pet loss that examines grief from the viewpoints of those directly affected by it and those in supporting roles.

Tear Soup by Pat Schweibert tells the story of a woman named Grandy who is making “tear soup.” It’s not specifically about the death of a pet (the reader is not sure what loss Grandy has suffered), so the book is relevant for any grieving process. The full-color illustrations are wonderful. The book is recommended for ages 4 to 8, but it has been a comfort to people of all ages.