PetFriends runs a toll-free pet-grief hotline. Their number is 1-800-404-PETS. They are a nonprofit, all volunteer organization that's been in existence since November 1995. Since that time they've provided free support, information and referrals to more than 800 callers from all over the country. Their volunteers are animal lovers, of course, but they've also been specially trained by a licensed clinical social worker and a veterinarian to help people who are mourning the loss--or anticipating the loss--of a pet through death or any other separation.
We also strongly recommend My Personal Pet Remberance Journal by Enid Samuel Traisman, M.S.W. as an excellent vehicle to help work through the grieving process by guiding you through the process of building your own journal of memories and feelings as they relate to the life and death of your companion animal. You actually write about your friend in the book to personalize it. The author is a professional grief counselor and is the author of several books for people who have suffered the death of a loved one. The book can be ordered (in quantites of less than 10) from the company below
Direct Book Services
PO Box 2778
Wenatchee, WA 98807
1-800-776-2665
dgetbook@cascade.net
For quantity orders the author can be contacted directly:
Enid Traisman, M.S.W. 3957 NE Couch St. Portland, OR 97232 1-503-234-2061
If you are in the Portland, Oregon area, the Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital provides free Pet Loss Support Groups four times a month. For a brochure and more information, call (503) 228-7282.
Here are some other books on pet loss:
When your Pet Dies. How to cope with your feelings by Jamie Quackenbush, M.S.W. and Denise Graveline. (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1985)
Coping with the Loss of a Pet by Christina M. Lemiux, Ph.D. (Wallace Clark Publishers, Reading PA, 1992)
Good-bye My Friend, Grieving the Loss of a Pet by Mary and Herb Montgomery (Montgomery Press, Minneapolis, MN, 1994)
Pet Loss: A Thoughtful Guide for Adults and Children by Herbert A. Nieburg and Arlene Fisher (Harper & Row, New York, 1982)
Animals as Teachers and Healers by Susan Chernak McElroy (Sage Press, Portland OR, 1996)