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 has partnered with Bereavement Support & Education – Ottawa to offer on-going grief counselling to our community.

Due to the ongoing public health crisis, group meetings will be held virtually each month and are facilitated by a certified grief educator

Grief educators provide information on a variety of subjects related to pet loss through guest lectures and informal discussions, working alongside participants to provide compassionate support and in-depth coping strategies for anyone dealing with the loss of a pet.

This program is available to the public free of charge, donations to the OHS are welcome. Participants are not required to bring anything, but may wish to share photos of their pet and other memorial items.

It is important to register for this virtual meeting to allow us to send you the meeting information in advance of the session.

You can sign up by contacting our supervisor: programs via email at programs@ottawahumane.ca or call 613-725-3166, ext. 298.

Participants must be over the age of 16.

Meetings will run on the following dates:

• Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

For more information about other Pet Loss Support Group locations, please visit www.ottawapetloss.com/meetings.

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