Pet loss is normally a devastating loss. We feel lonely, and sad, as we gaze around at all the empty spaces that are no longer filled with our pet’s large presence.
Children who are suffering because of pet loss may feel that the animal will return someday, or that they will never see them again, or that death is now going to happen to others around them – so the following ways that we express our grief is often helpful to our children, and also ourselves:
AN ACROSTIC POEM
We align the first letters of our pet’s name and then we fill in anything we can think of about him/her.
MAC
M ade a bed out of anything
A ttacked sunbeams in the late afternoon
C aused us all to fall in love.
We miss you, Mac.
SPACES WHERE WE FILL IN THE GAPS
When a pet leaves us, empty spaces become noticeable; those spaces where our pet slept, ate, ran, played, walked, and cuddled.
Using all our senses, we explore these empty spaces, as we describe how we feel about them.
“I can’t throw out his food bowl,
not yet;
I’ll lose the image of him sitting there waiting for me to fill it.”
Here is an easy fill-in-the-gaps template:
_________ (pet’s name), you took a piece of my heart with you
leaving _________ (something that makes you happy) instead,
and from ten thousand smiles you gave me
my heart shall slowly mend.
RAINBOW BRIDGE (for those of us who believe in the hereafter)
There is a beautiful, sunny place existing between Heaven and Earth, where all pets go to wait patiently for the day when they will be reunited with their caregivers.
The Rainbow Bridge is where:
• all animals are restored to full health and vitality
• they run and play with each other
• the sun shines every day
• they are eventually reunited with their caregivers
FROM A PET TO ITS CAREGIVER
This is a different perspective from our beloved pet’s point of view. Perhaps he or she sends this to us from The Rainbow Bridge.
To _________ (you, the caregiver)
When we meet again, one day in the distant future, you will once again
hear my _________, see my _________, and feel my _________,
In the meantime live long, live well, live happy, knowing that we had,
and always will have, something very special.
COMMEMORATING OUR BELOVED PET
We sometimes have in our possession a sentimental object, e.g. a Christmas ornament, or a framed photograph, and we describe how the object signifies a life that shines on forever in our hearts.
For warmth and protection, many species, like bluebirds and small fish, huddle together. This is also what we humans do as we gather together to form a solid bond, especially during grief – which strengthens us, protects us, and saves us all from despairing loneliness.
Our warm smiles
our sympathetic ears
and our welcoming hearts
open the doorway to love
whenever a beloved pet departs.
Read more about our commitment to everyone and everything – through life and through death – in the book SIGH, written on behalf of All of Us.
