Pet Loss and Grief

Losing your beloved pet is one of the most heartbreaking occurrences you will ever experience. Please accept our sympathy for your loss.

We want to help you by giving resources for making tough decisions, dealing with grief, and memorializing your pet. Whether you are afraid of a possible loss, have just experienced a loss, or are dealing with ongoing grief, we hope that we can help you.

If you need to speak to someone right now about your grief, please see below for a list of pet loss
support hotlines.

Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, in her book Death and Dying, identified several common stages of grieving. You may experience only some of them. You may have all of them, but in a different order than what is listed here. The important thing to know is that grieving is a process. It will take you time and you should not deny yourself the process.

• Denial – This isn’t happening to me
• Anger – Why is this happening to me?
• Bargaining – I’ll be a better person if this will just stop happening to me.
• Depression – I don’t care
• Acceptance – I’m at peace

• Talk to others who will let you discuss your real feelings. Unfortunately, many people are still not very sympathetic over the loss of a companion animal. Seek out friends, chat rooms, message boards, and hot lines that will provide you with support.
• Take photos of your pet. Especially have someone take pictures of you with your pet.
• Keep a journal or blog.
• Make a memorial to your pet. You can buy or make memorial items (see below), or donate to a charity in your pet’s name.

Interactive sites:

• The Grief Forum at the Feline Diabetes Message Board (FDMB). Register for this community of loving cat caretakers.
• The Pets Grief Support Page: Extremely moving. Get ready to cry. You will find the Rainbow Bridge poem and a memorial page here.
• Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement: Hosted chat rooms where pet loss and grief can be discussed.
• Lap of Love Pet Loss Support Center – individual and group support options via Zoom

Pet Loss Support Websites

• Pet Loss Support Page Answers lots of questions and includes links to pet loss hotlines. Has grief support and information, memorial items and tributes.
• Making “The Decision”: Help to know when and how is a post on FDMB with quality-of-life scales to help with the decision.
• The American Veterinary Medical Association tries to help you make this heart-breaking decision.
• Coping with the loss of a pet from AVMA brochure on pet loss and grief.
• Help Guide – has links to finding a therapist in the US to help you with loss of a pet.
• Your vet may know of local therapists in your area who specialize in pet loss and grief.

University of Tennessee – Pet Loss Hotline 865-755-8839. Monday to Friday: 10am to 5pm.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) – Pet Loss Hotline 877-GRIEF-10 (877-474-3310). Daily from Noon to Midnight, EST. This is a direct line to ASPCA’s psychologist and grief counselor, Dr. Stephanie LaFarge, PhD.

Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets Help Line (707) 557-8595

Pet-Loss.net lists hot lines for various US state, Canada and the UK.

Check out digital or used copies as well

• Animals and the Afterlife by Kim Sheridan.
• Absent Friend by Laura and Martyn Lee.
• Death of an Animal Friend by the Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS)
• When Only the Love Remains: The Pain of Pet Loss by Emily Margaret Stuparyk
• Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet by Gary Kowalski
• Cat Heaven by Cynthia Rylant. A “children’s” book for everyone. Warning: Some reviewers at amazon.com thought the book was depressing when read during their active grieving stage.
• How to ROAR: Pet Loss Grief Recovery by Robin Jean Brown.
• The Book of My Pet by David Marshall & Kate Marshall. A fill-in journal to tell the story of your pet’s life.
• Coping with Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet by Moira Allen
• Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates by Gary Kurz and other books by this author

• Personalized high-quality video/audio keepsakes commemorating your pet’s life are available from Furevermemory
• Memory pendants for containing a sample of cremains are available from pet crematorium services, Etsy, and other places online
• Blown glass memorials incorporating some cremains are featured at Memory Glass.
• You can have cremains made into a gemstone as seen at LifeGem. (note, pricey)
• Put your cat’s photo on a memorial T-shirt, search online, including Etsy for this service.
• Pet Urns for cremains may be found on E-bay, at any pet crematoriums and many other places on line.
• For instructions on making memorial items yourself, and pet memorial ideas

Last updated May 2026.