Anyone who has already told a pet owner, "Overcome this - it's just a dog," he never met the guardian.
Fuzzy Davis found the guardian when he was just a lost puppy hanging around the dock where Davis was a charter fishing boat captain. The mixture of Husky-Golden Golden Retriever, spent every night sleeping under the ramp that came down to the dock at the calibogue sound at the Hilton Head, S.C. One night during a storm, Davis ventured to check the boat. The puppy followed him to the dock, plunging wet. That's when Davis knew he was, well, a guardian.Keeper accompanied Davis about fishing travel for the next 13 years - 3,000 travel by Davis count. Friends joked that the guardian must have been a fisherman in his past life. He barked excitedly whenever Davis clients recovered in a fish. If they stayed for a photo with their capture, the guard was sneaked into the shot.
Fat Loss Vs Muscle Loss - Coping With Pet Loss
"Now they call Keeper Cove," says Davis WebMD. "I was there last night to fish."
Maybe your favorite puppy or kitten is not written in the local newspaper, or have a memorial stuck by a fleet of fishing boats. Maybe you're really a bit ashamed to admit friends or family how sad you would see the place to go.
Fortunately, the pet's sadness came from the shadows. There is now a bunch of books, support groups, direct lines and online forums where you will find others who will share their pain, or at least listen without being ruthless.
When Diane's author, Dianerance, Dallas, lost his favorite dog seven years ago, she was suffering more deeply by the dog than for the father. "I was crying all the time," said Pomerance Webmd. "I had a very short fuse. I could not concentrate or focus on work. Family and friends were still telling me," It's just a dog. You can get another ".
Instead, Pomerance sought to understand your pain. She was certified as a mourning recovery specialist by Sherman Oaks, from California Based Grief Recovery Institute. She started a support group to fight animal owners in the Texas SPCA in Dallas, and wrote a book to lose a pet.
. There are many reasons why someone can suffer deeply for the loss of a pet.
. "These animals offer us unconditional love," says Pomerance. "They do not betray us. They do not have a schedule. They are always forgiving and happy to see us. And they are with us 24/7. When we are at home, we can disappoint our guard with them."
The pomeric support group gives the owners of animals of the freedom to suffer. Your participants come from all the spheres of life. A retired doctor came to the group with photos of a dalmatian that she had lost 25 years earlier, she remembers. He also brought an urn containing the ashes of the dog. "He wrapped and cried like a baby," she says."Links with our beloved pets are in many stronger, more pure ways, and much more intimate than with most others of our species," says Wallace Sife, a retired psychologist from the loss of an animal pet. "We feel loved and insured in sharing our secret souls with them. How many times can you do this safely, even with someone who is very close?"
. Siff Heads The Pet Loss and Mourning Association in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Association's website features a chat room with moderators. "They leave with a lot of perception and relief that there is nothing wrong with them," says Sife on the participants of the chat room. "They realize they are not alone in their pain."
. The internet also promoted shared rituals and even mythologies designed to console pet owners. For the sailing ceremony of Monday night - which was born online, but it occurs offline - the light pet owners candles to memorize your pets at an hour set all Mondays. And in a slightly more elaborate version of a book that parents can use to console their children, many sites present the story of a "rainbow bridge", which spoke pets cross on the way to a worried pet .
. Mourning by a pet is normal, but not everyone experiences in the same way, says Pomerance. Lonely people may have a particularly difficult time. And the domerency says that pain can be cumulative: if you have suffered other traumas recently, losing a pet can be the last drop.
. Deep mourning for a pet for more than a few weeks can indicate that there are major issues that affect Mourner's psyche than just the loss of a pet, says Sife. When SIFF's pet struggle counselors are faced with such a case, they refer to the person to a psychotherapist, which has a much broader range of training.
The process of dealing with mourning can begin before the animal dies.
Some people prefer to experience the death of a pet at home with friends or relatives and not in an animal hospital. Many veterinarians will agree to get home to Euthanasia, says Pomerance.
. Pomerance has 16 dogs. When she lives, she holds a memorial service that includes friends who knew the animal. "It's somber, but also a thing of joy and beauty and gratitude," she says. "We thank the animal for your company."
The question of how suffering is intensely personal, but in general, it is important to feel free to express your emotions and memories.
For example, SIFE suggests maintaining a log of your thoughts and feelings. Online chat rooms and message boards and offline support groups and lines linked to human societies are also sources of support.
For those who experience severe weighing, SFE suggests write a letter to himself, assuming the person's person's person. "Observe how you are reacting to loss and ask yourself if your pet would like you to continue this way. We all know that pets want the best for us, because that's what love is about."
For children, the loss of a pet can be your first exposure to death. It can be much more affecting than the loss of an aunt or grandfather who rarely see, says Pomerance. The loss of a pet is a key moment to teach children about the value of life. Then give the space for children to regret, says Pomerance, who wrote a book to help children deal with the loss of a pet.
. Pomeness suggests helping the child make a scrapbook or newspaper on the animal. If the child seems intrigued by the concept of death, it says that parents can compare the cycle of life and death to the natural cycle of seasons.
. Above all, never try to discard the child's loss, or to put another animal in the child very early. "The main thing is to be empathic and solidarity," says Pomerance.
