Search Results for: Grief Support

Are you coping with the loss of a pet? Saying goodbye is never easy. Many people suffer when they lose a pet and find it hard to move forward alone in the grieving process. The Ottawa Humane Society offers on-going grief guidance to the community through Pet Loss Support Groups.

Group meetings are held virtually.

All pet loss support groups are facilitated by experienced volunteer facilitators. Facilitators provide information on a variety of subjects related to grief and through guest lectures and informal discussions, sharing stories, working alongside participants to provide compassionate support and in-depth coping strategies for anyone dealing with the loss of a pet.

Participants must be over the age of 16. Participants are not required to prepare anything in advance, but may wish to share photos of their pet and other memorial items.

Upcoming Meetings:

You must register for this virtual meeting to ensure that you receive the Zoom link in advance of the session.

For more information, email programs@ottawahumane.ca or call (613) 725-3166, ext. 298.

This program is available to the public free of charge, donations to the OHS are welcome. 

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I think we vastly under appreciate the impact of the loss of a pet. Too often, we tell people, through our words or actions, that they should just get over it (They can’t get over it!) or to get a new pet (They don’t want a new pet, they want that pet!) or in some other way diminish the person’s feelings of loss and grief.

Too often this leads to the person who has lost a pet to suffer in silence because they feel silly or embarrassed by what they are feeling. That’s not OK. The grief is real and we need to treat it as real. If we care, we have to feel and express that losing a pet counts as something worthy of grief.

Men, I think experience this more acutely, as we do with any problem that can be positively affected by sharing feelings. Few men will admit‎ it, but many probably shared more feelings with that old dog they do with their partner.

Don’t let anyone tell you to put it in the past. You don’t have to say, “I loved that cat.” You love that cat. Period. Your time together may have been in the past but your feelings are right here in the present.

Because this is such a profound issue, as a part of our five-year strategic plan, the OHS has partnered with the Pet Loss Support Group to double the local resources for those grieving the loss of a beloved pet. A second group will be launched Mondays once a month beginning on September 26, right here at the OHS.

The group is free and light refreshments will be available. If you are experiencing the unresolved loss of a pet, please join us.

Bruce Roney
Executive Director