Losing a beloved pet is one of life’s most painful experiences.  To make matters worse, many people are not supportive to those who have lost their beloved pets.  In fact, many do not consider this loss a “real” loss, and as a result, can be invalidating or even cruel to the person suffering.  People like this are of the opinion that pets are “just animals” so losing them cannot and should not affect a person like losing a person does.  These people fail to realize that the relationship many people have with their pets can be just as powerful as the relationship people can have with each other, if not more so.  Many people view their pets as family, particularly their own children, as I do.  These people are as devastated when their pet dies as they are when a person they love dies, and often even more so.  They often suffer alone, and unsure of how to cope.

There also are many people who suffer with tremendous guilt after their pet dies.  These often are the people whose pets died in an accident, or when they received a very unexpected diagnosis from the vet. They grapple with guilt for not protecting their beloved pet or recognizing the signs that something was wrong sooner.

After euthanizing their pets, many people not only are grieving but grappling with doubts such as, “Was that really the right decision?”, “Was I being selfish by doing this?”,  “Did I do it too early, and deprive my pet of good times?” or, “Did I wait too long and let him/her suffer unnecessarily?”

So many people are struggling alone to navigate these natural yet painful emotions that come with losing a pet.  This simply should not be!

If this describes your situation, it does not have to any longer!  I can help you to learn ways to cope and to heal.  While losing someone you love is not something anyone ever “gets over,” there is life after loss, and I can help you to get to that place.  I am a certified grief coach for pet loss.

What this means is I am trained to help people navigate their grief journey.  To do this, I offer online support tailored to each client’s individual personality and situation.  I also incorporate Biblical wisdom into your healing journey.

And, not only do I have training, I have a lot of personal experience. My entire life, I have been an avid animal lover.  Growing up,  I spent a lot of time at my paternal grandparents’ house which was always full of rescued dogs and cats.  I also had several parakeets of my own as a child.  And, my maternal grandmother lived near the woods which contained a large feral cat colony.  I spent quite a bit of time taming those cats.  My mother always said I had “a way” with animals, and that “way” I have come to realize is a gift from God.  

When I was seventeen, my parents adopted one of my grandparents’ rescued cats.  After living with that wonderful cat, when I moved out at nineteen, I knew I had to adopt a cat of my own.  That is when I met Magic, my first cat.  That wonderful, fateful day was October 30, 1990.  Since then, I have been a pet mom to many wonderful cats, three dogs, several parakeets, finches and one adorable guinea pig. (You can see many of my pets, past and present, at this link.)  My amazing pets taught me so much!  Magic taught me a lot about how to be a good cat mom.  And, my first dog, Bear, taught me how to be a good dog mom.  My sweet little orange cat, Bubba, also taught me how to communicate with animals, and Bear later helped me to get better at it by teaching me how to communicate with him. (That story can be found at this link)  I am forever grateful for all they taught me!

Naturally, being blessed with such wonderful pets also means I have experienced the pain of loss.  In fact, I decided to start this practice after losing my precious cat, Molly.  I was struggling a great deal after losing her, and I thought the course might help me to learn to cope.  I did not expect it to be a new career option!  However, the deeper I got into the course, the more I felt that this was the direction where God was leading me.  If you would like to learn more about this, you can read the story here.

If you are interested in having me support you through this painful time, click here to get started on a monthly plan or click here to get started on a weekly plan.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at MentoringByCynthia@gmail.com (I will not sell your email or spam you!  Just simply answer your questions.) 

I also offer some free online resources at this link:  Pet Loss Grief Resources

If you are looking for more of a group setting to individual, I have created a Facebook group for that purpose.  The group is private, which means while it can be found easily on Facebook, only other members can see who is in the group and what they post.