The death of anyone you love is extremely difficult, but when it is your beloved pet, your animal companion, it can be devastating on a very different level. Pets love and adore us with unconditional acceptance, creating a unique bond that may not exist anywhere else in our lives. They live in a place in our hearts where we feel safe and vulnerable to their adoration and unconditional love.

They trust us to care for them. Pets depend on us to provide what they need, including the safety, love, and attention they want to get from us, and the love and joy they want to give to us. They are our best friends, silent confidants, the keeper of the secrets of our heart.

They play with us, tease us, and force us out of bed even on our worst days. They are a constant source of comfort, whether we are at our best and ripping through life, or at our worst, when life has imploded around our ears.

They give us unconditional love and help us feel better emotionally. Pets even contribute to our physical health and the benefits of having a pet are well documented. They lower our stress levels and our blood pressure.  Their presence can stimulate the hormones that make us feel better and heal faster. They make us play and laugh.

When a pet dies, it can leave a void in your heart — and in your life. The loss and the grief can be overwhelming, especially without our beloved pet there to help you get through it. The death of pets has consistently been at the top of the list of major traumas.

Some people will empathize the minute you tell them you’re grieving because your pet died. You can see it on their faces and in the way their voice changes when they respond to you — they understand your loss.

If you’ve experienced a loss of a pet, you likely know that others can’t seem to comprehend why you are so devastated. They might think (or say), “It’s just a dog,” or “It’s just a cat.” Some grieving pet owners feel misunderstood, invalidated, and judged for their grief— which only makes these feelings worse.

Grief is a process, and it is a journey that you need to move through. This journey is an active process of expressing your grief. It can be very harmful to your well-being if you try to fight it or ignore it. The pet death trauma relief program is designed to help you grieve actively and still be able to function in life.

Using the program will never make you forget your pet — you will always remember and feel that love — but your feelings won’t be so painful that you can’t function. You may need to use the program many times to get to that point. Remember: you should only use the program every three days.

Here are some things you can focus on while you are using the program:

• The sound of their bark, meow, chirps, squeaks, squeals, and the feel of petting and holding them.
• The circumstances of the pet’s death, especially if you feel anger or guilt over the way your pet died.
• Your pet’s suffering and having to choose to end their suffering and put them down.
• Difficulty with coming home to an empty house and the deafening silence in your home.
• The loss of their presence — when you open the door, snuggle on the couch, get in the car, or climb in bed at night.
• Putting their toys, dishes and collars away.
• Taking walks without them.
• Your fear of ever having another pet because you just don’t feel like you can go through this horrible loss again.

There are some great websites that help people understand and process the grief related to the loss of a pet. Please read more if you need to and focus on what triggers you. You can return to the program at any time and use it for those issues and any other issues that arise.

The goal here is to reduce your pain and actively mourn the loss of your pet while still being able to function in life. It is our sincere desire that you heal enough over time that you feel comfortable getting another pet. There are so many animals out there looking for a good home and loving pet owners are such a valuable resource. They need you.