Pets Magazine June:July 2022

JUNE-JULY 2022, FREE

Meet Our COVER STAR: Pets Mag’s Nell, age 16!

TOP DOG LISTENER TONY KNIGHT: Tackling Separation Anxiety in Dogs

PET REMEMBRANCE DAY 5th July: e agony of losing a beloved animal & how to cope

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& much more inside!

& MUCH MORE INSIDE

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www.fleasgone.uk

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Meet Cover Star Nell, the Rescue Cavalier

Nell’s Story Nell is an amazing 16-year

Before her new, best life,

the years. Poor Nell, who most

old Cavalier King Charles

started, Nell was incarcerated

likely was nameless for a

on an Irish puppy farm where

decade, was probably kept in

she was forced to have litter

cramped conditions, perhaps

Spaniel, who spent 10 years being used as a breeding

after litter in the name of profit. fed hormones to produce a

machine on an Irish puppy

Vets said she’d had multiple

more regular heat, and be more

farm. She was re-homed

litters, severe ear infections,

‘commercially productive’ for

from Dogs Trust Darlington

most of her teeth had been

her owners. Hers was a life

removed and her muscles were

characterised by the need for

hardly developed due to a

survival.

on 1st August 2016 by our editor Marie Carter-Robb.

complete lack of exercise over

Rescue Nell: Living her best life

Nell is a true survivor and,

them as pets for years. It was

to the Dogs Trust, and I left my

thankfully, has no lasting

quite unusual to see a rescue

details with the admin team on

mental or emotional scars from Cavalier, so I walked over to say the off-chance that Nell’s new her tragic experiences. She

‘hello’. She was shy, but had the home should fall through.

could write a book about the

most beautiful eyes, and a soft

horrors of her life, but, knowing manner. Unfortunately, I

I thought nothing of it and tried

Nell, even if she could put pen

discovered that Nell had

to put Nell to the back of my

to paper, she’d say she’d rather

already been re-homed. I was

mind, until a week and a half

just put it all behind her and

sad, but glad for her at the

later Dogs Trust phoned to say

live in the moment! We could

same time.

Nell’s home had indeed not

all learn something from Nell.

worked out. Her prospective Despite this, I had a niggling

new owners had had a change

I first met Nell at Dogs Trust

feeling that I shouldn’t give up,

of heart and decided that were

Darlington’s annual Fun Dog

and that I might see Nell again.

too old to take on a new dog.

Show. She caught my eye as I

So, I, along with a very

love Cavaliers and have had

understanding husband, drove

My heart leapt!

Marie and Nell

A few complications later and a Since her adoption almost six

pups that were taken away

week after on 1st August, I

from her. Poor Nell, the most

years ago, she’s been on

raced to pick up Nell from Dogs countryside walks, run along

loving dog, was used so badly.

Trust. It was the most

beaches and stayed at pretty

Thankfully, she has now had

wonderful day.

holiday cottages all over the

some joy in her life, and she

UK. She loves life. She was a

loves her cuddles. Sitting next

After coming out of her shell

lovely companion for Sophie,

to her on a sofa, she will lift

over a period of several weeks,

who sadly passed away in April. your arm for a soothing hug.

Nell or ‘Nellie’ was abundant

She is also adoptive mum to

She receives many, many

with her licks, cuddles and

five year old Rufus, who loves

cuddles a day. I just want to

nuzzles. She loves her walks,

her so much. He is regularly to

make up for all the cuddles and

and is inquisitive about the

be found licking and cleaning

kisses she missed over so many

world around her. Her pads

his ‘mum’ and jumps up to

years.

were pink and puppy soft

comfort her if she ever shouts

through lack of walking and I

due to an arthritic twinge.

still call her my ‘grown up

Amazingly, I discovered that Nell’s ‘birthday’ is 1st May

puppy’ because of her need for

Rufus has become the forever

which is also my birthday! It

love and attention and her

son she never had - it’s

seems that Nell and I were

excitement for life.

heartbreaking to think of all the meant to be…

Curing Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Tony Knight, an internationally-acclaimed Dog Listener and

trainer, advises on how to tackle separation anxiety in dogs.

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To n y

Knight,

an

internationally-acclaimed Dog Listener and trainer, shares his revolutionary advice on how to tackle separation anxiety in dogs; a problem that has become increasingly common among so-called ‘lockdown pups’.

T

he recent pandemic has had a huge effect on our lives, especially

for any of us who found themselves isolated from everyone else. Humans are pack animals by nature, so it is unsurprising that for company, many people opted to get a lockdown or “Covid pup”. carpet, barking non-stop or

understand why your dog is

Now that the world is starting

destroying the house - a dog

acting like he does, it‘s also way

to reopen and life returns to a

suffering from separation

too easy to make it worse.

new normal, these Covid pups

anxiety is a source of great

are now experiencing a new

distress to everyone concerned. The best way to solve this distressing problem is two-fold:

concept; their humans are going back to work and leaving

It‘s actually quite a common

- Understanding what causes

them at home. This has led to

problem in dogs and if your dog separation anxiety in the first

some problems. Whether

is suffering from it, there is no

place.

howling in desolation, chewing

doubt that you‘re suffering too.

- How the problem can be

your best shoes, peeing on the

And while it‘s often hard to

successfully dealt with.

The solution is very simple and

Actually, this was only one of

The next theory given for the

kind, although it does

the problems but it was the

chewing was that Roxy was

potentially come up against a

most expensive. She would

bored. Her human was advised

barrier in the human mind.

howl and bark non-stop from

to purchase a hollow, rubber

Once we can realise and accept

the time her owner left until

toy that should be filled with

this barrier exists we can push

their return to find a trail of

food; the idea behind this was

past it and give everyone, both

destruction and a dog who was

that now Roxy would have

human and canine, the peace

so distressed that her chest and something to play with and

they all deserve.

stomach were covered in white

food, thus eliminating her

foam from all the saliva she was boredom.

‘The Termite’

I

producing. It would take two hours for her to calm down.

have been a dog trainer

What actually happened was that Roxy did not touch her toy

for over 20 years, and in

Roxy’s human decided to do

that time I have worked

something about it. At first, the would still howl/bark/destroy

at all while she was alone (and

with countless problem dogs,

usual advice from vets and

etc.), only picking the toy up

many with Separation Anxiety.

trainers was followed.

when her human returned.

However, to this day I have

“Calming” drugs had no effect

Reasoning that Roxy didn’t like

never met a dog as extreme in

whatsoever on Roxy, while

the particular colour of the toy,

their behaviour as Roxy, aka ”

attempts to exercise the

a second one was bought,

The Termite”.

problem away was far from

followed by a third, a fourth…

practical. Shar-peis are one of

When you are desperate and

several breeds that do not cope

you do not know why

well in hot weather, mainly due something is happening, you to their shorter noses. Roxy

will try anything.

would barely have made it a kilometre from home on the

In the end, Roxy had eight

hotter days before collapsing in rubber toys to play with. Again, Roxy was a Shar-pei (an

a heap.

she would only play with them

adorable mix of Labrador and

when her human was back

accordian!) who had earned the N.B. The “tired dog is a happy

home.

above nickname due to her

dog” theory does not work. If

talent of chewing through

exercise did lead to good

N.B. Incidentally, this practice

anything made of wood while

behaviour, football players

of leaving food-filled toys was

her human was out at work.

would be angels!

one of the ways that Roxy

reinforced in her mind that she

technique will only take five

supermarket – we won’t be

should carry on with the

seconds and will immediately

long”. Dogs don‘t know what

destruction!

start to have a positive effect.

you are saying. They don‘t know what you are doing. They

Inspiration finally came in

don‘t know if they are ever

desperation; Roxy’s human

going to see you again. Imagine

discovered the Amichien

how shocked you would be if

Bonding. Not only was the

your dog handed you a

reason for Roxy’s behaviour

shopping list of things they

finally explained properly, but

would like you to buy…

an Action Plan was given that

Before we go into the process of

would help Roxy to calm down. putting an end to our dogs

Have you ever noticed that

It took a little time and effort,

distressing behaviour (and start some people when out at the cinema or at a party will be to make often immediate and

but the results were dramatic

dramatic progress), there is a

(insofar as there was no more

barrier we must overcome. This watch, worrying that they have left their dog for 2-3 hours (as barrier exists in the minds of

drama). From being a dog who

constantly looking at their

would start to react from the moment she heard the heels

if their dog are at

Roxy’s human discovered

home checking

Amichien Bonding.

regular basis).

of her human’s work shoes on the

their watches on a They‘ve not yet

floor, she transformed into a

human beings and is actually a

realised that the idea of

dog who would barely raise an

major contributor to the

minutes, hours, or seconds

eyebrow when her human went problem. Ironically it stems

doesn‘t exist for our dogs like it

out of the door. The non-stop

from the best intentions of

does for us.

barking stopped (as witnessed

owners. That thing is known as

by grateful neighbours) and the GUILT.

I will put up my hand and

house was no longer under

admit that the Guilt Fairy has

demolition. Result! Roxy was

Some people feel so guilty at

affected me from time to time,

finally able to relax when her

the thought of leaving their dog however knowing that my dogs

human left the home…

at home that they will say

don’t regard Time in the same

things like - and I have heard

way that we do helps me to feel

Your own dog can benefit from

people use these exact words -

better.

these techniques. The first

“We’re just going to the

Because of the dreaded “Guilt

I’m sure parents will

more, this can happen to your

Fairy”, people feel really bad

understand these feelings -

dog many times a day.

about leaving the dog, and the

worrying when their babies are

first thing they feel compelled

out in the big wide world,

Some dogs pee in the house

to do upon returning home is to feeling angry if they break

when their humans are

make a big fuss of the dog,

curfew, desperation, and when

missing. This is so the territory

which is a completely human

the key finally finds the door,

smells of them in order for the

thing to do. But that is exactly

absolute relief.

rest of the pack to be able to

where the problems are caused.

find their way back. It‘s a

This interaction leads to the

Of course, not all separation

desperately sad thing, made

dog believing it is the leader of

anxiety behaviour is seen as a

worse by the bad reaction it

the pack, and therefore

problem. Many people believe

always creates. For a dog, a

responsible for the survival of its family.

How desperate would any parent be if their baby went missing?

This is why dogs

family is their pack, regardless of species. They use their

howl, mess in the house, chew

that when they come home and

instincts and logic to make

the furniture or even chew

their dog jumps all over them

sense of the world around them

them-selves, trying to deal with and makes a fuss, their dog is

and cope with any problems

the stress of worrying where

“pleased” to see them. A better

they may have. To avoid any of

the ‘toddler’ is.

word to describe the dog‘s

these problematic symptoms,

feelings would be relieved.

we just need to know that they

Chewing releases a natural

can stop worrying about us.

endorphin that helps calm the

If your toddler had been

system down. Once you know

wandering about in the middle

that, you can understand why

of the road and you couldn‘t get take their toll on us too. Some

your dog will chew anything he

out to look after it, and then

dog anxiety is so bad that their

can get his teeth into. Human

they just walked back in, you

owners won‘t even leave the

beings chew gum, comfort eat

would make a bit of a fuss too.

house if the dog is whining.

or bite their fingernails for the

Any person who has

Others have to grab their car

same reason. In some cases the

experienced that kind of worry

keys and rush out of the door to

dog’s stress leads to extreme

knows exactly what dogs are

get in the car, while the dog

destructive behaviour. Roxy

going through. And what's

goes crazy.

was a prime example of this.

Separation anxiety problems

can get in the way. If at any point you feel

The Golden 5 Minute

guilty, remind yourself

Rule

that by implementing

Although this time period is

this process you are

only a general guide (for those

actually being kind to

who suffer from Guilt this may

your dog by taking

seem like an eternity), 5

away a lot of stress.

minutes really isn‘t that long a

So I‘ll start by getting

time, and yet it is usually more

the hardest bit out of

than long enough for your dog

the way first: The most

to calm down. If your dog

effective thing you can

leaves you alone after 30

do when you come

seconds then that is fine, call

home is to pretend your them to you. dog isn’t there, no

Let them enjoy their chill out time

matter what it does to

Some dogs actually grab their owners as they leave because they want to bring them back in the home. They have no hands

get your attention. You wait

absolutely crazy and leap

until it calms down and leaves

around for half an hour (or

you alone, then call it to you.

more in some cases). So you may need to exercise a strong

and they grab with the one part they have!

However, some dogs can go

will and some

Did you feel the sudden jolt

The Good News Now you understand the

of the Guilt Fairy’s wand?

patience, but it will gradually lessen!

The other reason that the Golden 5

reason behind your dog‘s separation anxiety, here‘s

This does not mean that we

Minutes is a good thing to do is

the good news - we‘re going to

ignore our dogs forever; you

that if you wait and let the dog

look at what you can do to stop

can be as affectionate was you

calm down it might be the first

it.

like except for the first few

time that it has actually

moments after you are

experienced being calm. Let

straightforward and easy to

reunited. Get this right and you them just enjoy that chill out will remove a huge burden time.

implement in principle. In

from your dog’s shoulders.

WARNING: The solution is

practice though, the Guilt Fairy

Equally, if your dog needs time

(no matter how long or short),

the next move to establish good

to calm down then as you

the pecking order has to be re-

contact.

implement this process

established. So the dog needs to

consistently, you will notice the know where it fits in every

Therefore your comings and

chaotic time gets shorter and

goings are none of its business

single time. If as you walk in

shorter, a sure sign that the dog and the dog stands back

and consequently nothing for it

is getting the right message.

to worry about, and that takes

wagging its tail that is fine.

After a while the dog will start

all the stress off the dog. The

thinking, “Why am I doing

The important thing to think

this?” if it doesn‘t get them the

about here is that your personal

attention they are looking for,

space is being respected. At

When your dog is reassured

because the dog, much like you

first though, practice waiting

that it has not got a job to do

and I, will not continue to do

until the dog has left you alone

that it cannot cope with, then

something that has no

and relaxes before you make

it‘s behaviour will start to

worthwhile reason.

Consistency is the key here because when the pack is back

dog is reassured.

change. It should stop whining

The key point about the Golden 5 Minute Rule is that what you are actually doing is showing the dog you are the leader.

and chewing and messing in your house, or any of the other behaviours that were a result of

together after

their separation

every separation

anxiety.

Remember the most important

opportunities to repeat it in a

the results. Better still, with

part of this all is the Golden 5

short timescale, without

this method you get such

Minute Rule. You must ignore

frightening the dog.

phenomenal success that

your dog until he calms down

anybody could do it no matter

before you make any kind of

Guilt is the ultimate saboteur.

what size dog (or person). This

contact; that means no eye

People feel that they really

is great news for children who

contact, no speaking to your

must pay attention to the dog

often find themselves at eye

dog, and no physical contact

as soon as they walk in. But let

level with a dog. Teaching a

(unless you have to ward them

me reassure you, if you can

child to ignore a dog that

off from leaping all over you!).

ignore the feelings of guilt for

approaches them without

Only then should you call them

just a short while, you‘ll be

permission means they get left

to you (rather than approach

amazed at how quickly your

alone much more quickly.

them) to make a fuss and say

dog will

hello.

understand the Golden 5

Using this technique, the dog

Minute Rule

gets the same consistent

and very

message and you get plenty of

pleased with

To find out more, visit: www.tonyknightdoglistener.com OR for more tips, visit: https://tonyknightdoglistener.com/pages/doganxiety

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Why National Pet Remembrance Day is so Important

On Tuesday 5th July, we remember all the beloved pets who have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. Sadly, these include Pets Mag’s Sophie who gained her angel wings in April. MARIE CARTER-ROBB tells us why the national day, which is now celebrated world-wide as a day of commemoration, is so important.

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I

n the run up to national Pet Remembrance Day on Tuesday 5th July, MARIE CARTER-ROBB, Editor of Pets Magazine, writes on why there was a real need for such a day on which to celebrate the lives of our precious departed pets.

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This year’s national Pet Remembrance Day is particularly poignant for me. On 19th April, I said a final goodbye to my darling Sophie, a true dog in a million.

Sophie had celebrated her 14th birthday at the end of February, but many people mistook her for a much younger dog. She loved running around, playing with her favourite toy, Mr Tiger, and she was also filled with her own unique quirks, such as preferring natural water over tap and sneezing for attention. She was the sweetest and most gentle soul I have ever had the privilege to know. Sophie is a huge loss who (I personally don’t ‘get’ anyone who calls a sentient being, ‘it’ or ‘that’) will always hold a special place in my heart.

Pet bereavement is both real and very raw and manifests as an overwhelming sense of loss

loss. Employers, friends, and even other family members, may react as if the death means little and that the individual should just ‘pull themselves together’. Thankfully, with only one or two exceptions, I have generally had a positive experience from other people.

It’s something we try to put to the back of our minds but we know from the start that our pets’ lives are transient.

Poignantly, Rudyard Kipling asks plaintively in his poem, ‘The Power of the Dog’, ‘why in—Heaven (before we Remembered forever: Sophie, are there) 22.02.08 - 19.04.22 Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?’

Kipling’s answer is a ‘Love un inching that simple and pure ‘Buy a pup and your money will cannot lie’. buy; Love unflinching that cannot lie’. felt by anyone who has truly loved a pet.

Dogs are also known to develop By loving them like family, we are allowing ourselves to be subjected to heartache when they inevitably slip this mortal coil.

The sad fact however is that other people may fail to understand the gravity of the

the kind of attachment that can be described as love. When they see their beloved person, scientists have proven that the ‘cuddle’ chemical oxytocin is produced in their brains.

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History is full of close bonds between people and pets. If we look for one moment at bereavement from a pet’s eye view, there are countless stories of dogs demonstrating overwhelming grief upon the death of their master. Perhaps the most well-known is that of the Greyfriars Bobby, a tale of a terrier who, it is claimed, spent 14 years in mourning at his master’s graveside.

a crime - that only the most hard-hearted would ascribe to that we should not also remember and celebrate their lives?

That is why Pets Magazine launched national Pet Remembrance Day in the UK back in 2015. We felt there was a need for this special memorial day for pets to allow grief, and remembrance, to come into the open.

job. Having had to make the decision to end my own pets’ lives as well as those of my clients’ pets I completely understand the incredible sense of guilt and the mix of other emotions we all go through.

“For me, like everyone else, animals are part of the family.

My ‘boys’, Pan and Badger, were with me for 15 years through thick and thin and their loss utterly crushed me.

Events like Pet Remembrance Day are hugely important to e Rainbow Bridge bring people together through shared anguish and unite them to help them I love the idea of a ‘Rainbow Bridge’, remember the great times which our pets are believed to cross with their pets rather than when they die. just the final moments.”

Another poignant story is that of Hachikō, an Akita dog who for nine years after his master’s sudden death returned to the same place at a train station where he used to meet him after work, until his own death in In the Norse legend of Bifrost, the 1935. Spot is another canine who waits in a Rainbow Bridge represents the place where she used to notion that owners will meet their meet her owner Wayne pets again after death in a joyous Giroux before he was reunion. killed by a drink driver in 2010. Giroux’s son, Paul, checks in on Spot twice a Supporters of national Pet day while she stands guard at her post, but he said he knows Remembrance Day include TV it’s never him she wants to see. vet Emma Milne.

Paul told US news Emma explains: “As a vet and a channel KSLA 12 “If you can pet owner, I have experienced ever find anything that loves the devastation of pet loss from you that much, it's the most every angle. One of the hardest precious gift in the world.” things for any vet is helping When a living creature with the owners through the most difficult times of their lives but capacity for love brings so much joy into our lives, isn’t it it is also our most important

Best-selling author and speaker Wendy Van de Poll, MS, CEOL (Certified End of Life and Pet Loss Grief Coach and Founder of Center for Pet Loss Grief, LLC) said: “Pet Remembrance Day is a time for outwardly expressing your deepest love for your pets that have reached the end of their lives. The feelings of pet loss grief are deep within your soul and often times you may not give yourself permission to express your emotions of grief.

“Outwardly mourning is a way of saying good-bye in a very healthy way by celebrating the life of your beloved

companions. Paying tribute to those animals that touched your heart with a pet funeral, memorial, and/or remembrance will help you heal your loss all the while keeping the love of your companion close by.”

Brilliant services such as the PDSA’s Pet Bereavement Support Service (www.pdsa.org.uk/getinvolved/remembering-pets/ dealing-with-grief) have emerged that can help people cope with their grief. Many people worry about asking for time off from work after the death of a beloved companion animal, and the PBSS can advise on ways to have this important discussion with employers, as well as helping in other ways.

On July 5th, I will be joining the hundreds, and hopefully thousands, of other bereaved pet owners who will be remembering their beloved departed companion animals, including my special Sophie.

Please put Pet Remembrance Day in your diary this year.

How you can take part on Pet Remembrance Day: Here are ways you can remember deceased pets on National Pet Remembrance Day, including:

- A memorial service in a place where the pet liked to walk or play.

- A memento mori such as a sculpture of the pet - A living memorial by planting a tree or flowerbed - A pet portrait featuring the pet or their image printed on a coaster or other accessory -A scrapbook, blog or social media channel, with photos and other reminders of the pet.

- A poem about the pet - Give to animal charities or The Oldies Club and help to support an older dog.

Jacobs uses her own personal experience and grief counselling expertise to guide readers through 31 days of exercises and support to help process your loss. Published by Orion Spring | 16th June 2022 | Hardback | £14.99.

The memorial heart If you’re looking for something truly special to remember your beloved pet, there’s a beautiful Grief Support hand-painted memorial heart

by Devon-based Lynda Here are few useful things that Bowler.Pictured above is the will help you in times of grief: heart Lynda produced of Pets Mag’s beautiful Sophie. A truly The Pet Loss Guide by Millie special memento.

Jacobs is a book that will help anyone experience the pain of More info: https:// pet loss. The Pet Loss Guide is devonartistnetwork.co.uk/ a long overdue guide to members/member/lyndagrieving a pet. Author Millie bowler.

The Pain of Losing a Beloved Companion Animal

By Dr. DAVID CLIFF

I

t’s amazing how animals touch our lives in all sorts of ways. They stimulate our compassion and our sense of awe. We view them in fascination in terms of how they have evolved and their form and function.

When it comes to pets, their personalities emerge and mix with behavioural traits common to each pet species and we develop a unique relationship with them that connects with us.

They become

Pets connect with us in a quintessentially fundamental way. They are who they are, giving of their all from the nature of the beast that they are.

Pets don’t have agendas, they meaningful, don’t have sophisticated they become individual, they cognitive plans from which they become something we can seek to achieve advantage over attach to. Their care the rest of us. requirements and their inability to function in the Our pets simply want to be with manmade environments we us, develop relationships with offer them, places a premium us, attachments of their own to upon us to act with us and display an unusual mix compassion, to act outside of of loyalty, adaptive behaviour, ourselves in a giving, less or simple dependency that calls egocentric way. us to compassion.

finiteness of a pet’s life and there is often less functional dependency on a pet than with other humans, nonetheless when the time comes to say goodbye, the vacuum left instead is great.

Pets are massively important in families where children can learn the value of care, can understand attaching to a pet and discovering the nature of love when family relationships are just a given that one has been born to. Pets are not born to a family; they are accepted into a family.

dogs can actually connect to people with psychological or neurological disorders. If we open ourselves up to our pets, the gifts they give us are enormous, reciprocal but typically always more finite than the relationships we have with our own species.

When it is time to say goodbye, this is often a conscionable act where an active decision is made on behalf of a loved companion to end suffering, though it terminates the relationship.

We know with human bereavement, that the support of phone calls and other gestures seem to end a couple of weeks after the funeral, as people lose the loss from their “foreground awareness” and go back to their lives leaving those more intimately connected with the deceased to have to adjust in increasing levels of isolation.

Given this happens with our own species, there is often a perception that when a pet ends its life this is something of a lesser status and impact. This is simply not true.

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Many people feel less able to deal with their emotions and express their sense of loss over For our older population, a pet because of a perception by where sadly many old people others that important though it is, “it’s just an animal”. This cannot speak to a familiar implies some sort of ultimate person for up to six weeks at a increased value over human life stretch, pets become constant next to a pet’s life when companions, a source frankly the heart that of meaning, company This nal act of love often re ects the attaches knows little and a way to give and very quality and nature of the difference and doesn’t receive love. relationship itself, but it is nonetheless discriminate between Pets also connect species in the sense of very painful. with us at a very loss that ensues. primal level. We have seen many situations Whilst for most there in an where animals such as cats or understanding of the ultimate

To ignore the impact of their loss is to not only devalue the value of our companions but also to lose connection with our own fundamental emotional and psychological processes that underpin who we are as emotional sentient beings, quite apart from the deleterious impact on our mental health.

It is important for all of us to acknowledge the impact of the loss of a loved pet both for ourselves and in our friends, family and our business and work associates when it occurs to them. We also need to be sensitive to the grief of any other animal companions may have in the household also, and remember they often need an owner’s presence and attention at these times.

sad days that follow the ending of a unique relationship.

animal lest they simply “rebound” by trying to fill the vacuum that the loss of a loved It is therefore very important to pet has created, by something acknowledge the impact of a as shallow as a trip to the pet pet in your life and its loss. The shop, only to have to adjust to grieving process is not species the differences and the reality specific and people do need of a uniquely new relationship that must ensue, rather than a substitution for the old.

It is no accident that services have evolved to offer support for pet bereavement.

time, do need to reflect and talk, do need to celebrate the impact of the life that one’s pet has brought, the years of joy and pleasure, the companionship, the fun, the meaning and the investment of hard work and patience that can often go with an animal companion in one’s life.

In an increasingly isolated, secular society with more single person households than ever before, one’s pets offer the live in companionship that we often do not have with our own species.

Dr David Cliff is MD of Gedanken, a company specialising in coaching-based Just as with the loss of humans, support and personal development. we need a grieving process to It occurs to me that the effect appropriate psychological intensity of our grief is an wellbeing. We should not inverse reflection of the short-change this process with magnitude of attachment and our animal companions; meaning that a loved one has friends and family need to talk impacted on our lives. about the reality of this. Even Again, this is not species people who are not “pet dependant and we need to be oriented” need an appreciation sensitive to people’s loss and to that the loss is real, tangible, actualise and celebrate the palpable and raw for a long wonderful times that have been time. given by a pet as a People need time to reflect counterbalance to some of the before taking on another

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