What pets can teach us about healing, loss and moving forward.

Photo Credit: Charmaine Hammond, Team Toby

Guess who?

It's me Toby.

A dog with a blog.

Photo Credit Charmaine Hammond

Just like the T-shirt says.... we animals help you humans LIVE, LOVE and LEARN!

Dealing with the loss of a pet is tough...

Mom talked to grief expert Marybeth Haines on our PAWSitive Radio Show. 

Marybeth Haines empowers people to make choices that promote action, personal growth and healing.

As a grief consultant and educator, Marybeth’s specialized focus is providing support in pet bereavement. She holds the strong belief that pets can teach people many things about life and so can the grief associated with their death. The pain of such a loss can be debilitating for many people. However, people can recover and Marybeth’s passion is helping them move beyond loss. Her work focuses on practical and supportive strategies for coping during this difficult time. 

She wrote a book!

She talks about the 7 Effective Tools for healing through the loss of a pet:

  -    Recognition

-        Permission

-        Learning

-        Personal Empowerment

-        Receiving Guidance

-        Taking Action

-        Gifts of Many

You can listen to her and mom talking here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/teamtoby/2014/09/10/the-power-of-pets-and-dealing-with-loss-at-work-and-at-home

 

Her fave quote is “Pets come into our lives to bring us many gifts. It is when we open our eyes fully, that we can then truly see the magic that each gift brings."

Getting through grief.... the loss of a family pet

It's me Toby!

Yup, a dog with a blog!

I once heard that animals don't live as long as humans cuz the work we have to do on the planet (being man's best friend, changing the world with luv and unconditionally accepting people) is important work...but work that takes a lot of our energy. So... we are here for a while and make a difference....then we gather over the rainbow bridge to play.

Dealing with the loss of a pet is difficult.

For many children, the first loss they deal with is their pet.

Experiences are like footprints in our future....

How you handle it helps shape how kids deal with loss in their future.

Mom and her radio guest Margot talk about this on PAWsitive Radio. 

Here's a few tips to help your family cope with an aging pet, or pet loss...

1) Journal or write a letter to your dog
2) Talk about it
3) Allow yourself to feel and experience grief
4) Surround yourself with a support system
5) Children can draw pictures of their pet

Listen to the conversation....Mom and Margo talk about more tips on PAWsitive Radio -

We would love you to share your tips on coping with grief.  Please feel free to comment on this blog, or on our Facebook Page (make sure you "like" us too) 

Check out my books....

This book teaches children about kindness, acceptance and respect, and how to prevent bullying.   You can find out more here and check out what other parents, teachers and kids had to say about the book.