Pet Loss: Deciding on After-Death Care for A Cherished Pet

Source

[Reviewed and updated August 11, 2019]

A reader writes: I lost my sweet cat just this week, and I'm so confused as to what I should do! My vet is holding his body right now in a freezer. I have an appointment to have him cremated on Tuesday and I will witness it to make certain that it is his remains that I get back, but in the last few days I have heard that it is not good to destroy the body if possible, because when the body/spirit is renewed it should be intact. If there is a place or way that we see each other again, I don't want to ruin the chances of it happening by doing the wrong thing. Please help me, I'm afraid and don't know what to do. If you can respond before Tuesday afternoon I would be very appreciative - if not, that's okay too - I just thought I would try. Thank you.

Caregiving and Hospice, March 22 - March 28, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

What Is Palliative Care, Anyway? http://j.mp/1bEpq0p « HuffPost Healthy Living

A doctor discovers an important question patients should be asked,  http://j.mp/18WZBaa « The Washington Post

As Patients Face Death, Doctors Push Straight Talk on Care, http://j.mp/19MQD0b « ABC News

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 22 - March 28, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Grief Support Groups: Positives and Pitfalls, http://j.mp/1ydv7qB « What's Your Grief?

What I Wish More People Understood About Losing A Child, http://j.mp/1xifKlI « MindBodyGreen

So beautiful! Bearing Witness, http://j.mp/1BLWFnh « The New York Times Opinionator

Religion and Spirituality in Grief

Source

[Reviewed and updated July 7, 2024]

Talk to me about the truth of religion and I'll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I'll listen submissively. But don't come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don't understand. ~ C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

A reader writes: I believe in God. I believe my husband is in heaven and I intend to be there with him one day. I couldn't go on if I thought we would never be together again. So I do have some faith. But right now, the whole 'pray and trust in God' thing kind of makes me want to run the other way. I guess you could say that I'm a bit angry with God right now. He has taken away my Love from me.

Caregiving and Hospice, March 15 - March 21, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Atul Gawande And Charles Munger On Why More Health Care Isn't Better,  http://j.mp/1FKUZRv « Forbes

Outstanding video! Barbara Karnes, RN presents Gone from My Sight, https://youtu.be/PPx-qpos57g « YouTube

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.
If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 15 - March 21, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

When Life Doesn’t Go to Plan, http://j.mp/1C0FSjU « Alive in Memory

How To Bury Your Parents, http://j.mp/1MQBpFq « Adequate Man

Love is forever. Post-death and Grief, http://j.mp/1DCRgG0 « Widow's Voice

Coping with Pet Loss, March 15 - March 21, 2015

Best selection from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Heartwarming! What Our Dogs Teach Us About Aging, http://j.mp/1baJ7MY « AARP The Magazine

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.
If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Voices of Experience: For Those Whose Grief Is Relatively New

Source

By Harry Proudfoot

While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates.  ~ Samuel Johnson

Jane died 15 days before Christmas in 2010. We buried her a week before Christmas. That first Christmas was nightmarish. I spent it with my father outside Seattle. He'd lost my mother to Alzheimer's 10 months before. It was our first Christmas for both of us without our other halves.

My father had a stroke this past August. He was brain dead before my plane took off and body dead before it landed.

Caregiving and Hospice, March 8 - March 14, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Wise words: Before I Go: A Stanford neurosurgeon’s parting wisdom about life and time, http://j.mp/1Bhjcbo « The Washington Post

If only they knew what hospice could do, http://j.mp/1FlE1c2 « PetoskeyNews.com

5 Qualities of Caregiving Excellence, http://j.mp/18H1APl « Alzheimer's Reading Room

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 8 - March 14, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Helping a Grandparent Who Is Grieving, http://j.mp/1b9P7p6 « Alan D. Wolfelt

Easier than what?: A mother looks at life without, http://j.mp/1AnF99m « Writing the Heartache Blog

Taking Death to Parties - Why Mentioning a Loved One Who Has Recently Passed Away Matters, http://j.mp/1CcPICz « Ezine Articles

Loss of a Dream: When A Baby Isn't Perfect

[Reviewed and updated March 11, 2020]

Hope is not a dream but a way of making dreams become reality. ~ James Womack

A reader writes: Apparently there is a syndrome in which a year or two after a parent learns that their baby/child has a severe disability, that parent, often the mother, has a sort of crisis and behaves out of character. This has recently happened to my wife. Over a year ago, our daughter (then 8 months) was diagnosed as being 98% deaf. Can you help identify the syndrome's name, if indeed it has one? 

Caregiving and Hospice, March 1 - March 7, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

6 Things I've Learned About Life by Working With Hospice, http://j.mp/1Bcyt1X « HuffPost Impact

Why hospice care might benefit your loved one sooner than you think, http://j.mp/1MdrOX3 « PBS Newshour

7 Reasons to Embrace Hospice Care, http://j.mp/1A3PwPv « Anne Elizabeth Denny

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 1 - March 7, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Nightmares and Bad Dreams in Grief, http://j.mp/JMoQwV « Grief Healing Blog

Why I Can Be Open to Hope, http://j.mp/1EOsBNI « Open to Hope

The First Year of Grief: Help for the Journey, ebook by Grief Counselor Marty Tousley, http://ow.ly/JMFjm « Healing eBooks

Coping with Pet Loss, March 1 - March 7, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

‘Lap of Love’ offers pets animal hospice, in-home euthanasia, http://j.mp/1BcyGSx « Knoxville News Sentinel

A Heartfelt Goodbye, http://j.mp/18mtDn7 « HuffPost Women

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.
If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Voices of Experience: On Dating A Girl Without A Mother

by Jenna Rose Lowthert

The death of a mother is the first sorrow wept without her.  ~ Author unknown

Jenna Rose Lowthert is a 25-year-old who lost her 48-year-old mother to stage four lung cancer on May 27th, 2013. In the year following her mother's death, Jenna found her passion for writing, and was inspired to write her book, Life Goes On..? She is on Facebook and blogs at Just Jenna Rose. Writing as a motherless daughter, she shares below her thoughts on what it's like to date a girl without a mother:

She’ll be a different kind of girl. She has experienced loss and knows what it feels like to be left, even if it was unintentionally. Every day her heart will be hurting, even if she doesn’t show it. Comfort her.

Caregiving and Hospice, February 22 - February 28, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

The cancer metamorphosis is different for each patient, http://j.mp/1DZEL5P « Kevin MD

"I Have Cancer": 48 Things to Do When you Hear Those Words, http://j.mp/1C4std4 « Stan Goldberg, PhD

Compassion and Cancer: Part III-Putting “Meat” on Compassionate Behaviors, http://j.mp/1zlPvoZ « Stan Goldberg, PhD

Understanding and Managing Grief, February 22 - February 28, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Weekly Tip: Using Social Media as a Touching Memorial, http://j.mp/1wxeoDz « Seven Ponds Blog

The Eternal Challenge of the Suicide Widow, http://j.mp/1GAfDCn « Widow's Voice

Infertility: navigating your 'disenchanted' « http://j.mp/1zN0ZD7 « HeraldTimesOnline.com

Coping with Pet Loss, February 22 - February 28, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

At-home Hospice Care for Pets, http://j.mp/1EUleCl « Niagra Frontier Publications

Increasing Longevity Of Pets' Lives Has Some Owners Seeking Animal Hospice Care, http://j.mp/1GxkRyM « New Hampshire Public Radio

I’m Not Ready to Move On, http://j.mp/1B8WPKf « Alive in Memory