Resources

Part of this mission is to openly share supportive resources that help animal caregivers navigate their own unique needs. We believe in access to resources and elevating others around us who share the same mission.

If you are looking for supportive resources, this is a great place to start.

If you have suggestions of what could further this resource bank, please let us know and we will add it! 

We try to elevate Canadian voices first, to connect Compassionate Creatures clients to local resources.

If you are in need of urgent services or crisis support, please seek care; don't hesitate.

Aging & Ill Companion Animals

Anticipatory Grief

Anticipatory grief is the experience of hurting while they are still here. You see your relationship change before your eyes, you see their capabilities and health decline, and you know you will outlive them.

What is anticipatory grief and what does it look like?
Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement

Dealing with anticipatory pet grief
Goodbye Boy

Preparing for the loss of a pet [guide]
Grief before pet loss [videos]
Ontario Veterinary College: Pet Trust

Caregiver Burden

As caregivers to the animals that we share our lives with, it is well understood that caring for aging and declining animals weighs heavy and long. It’s important to understand that we are deeply impacted by caring for and seeing our companions decline in front of us.

When caring for a pets becomes too much
Dawnetta Woodruff

Coping while caring for pets with chronic illness
Lap of Love

Caring for Aging Pets

Care needs for aging animals can be species based, and sometimes even breed based.

Special considerations for senior dog care
VCA Animal Hospitals

Aging gracefully and supporting senior dogs
Elk Lake Veterinary Hospital

Special considerations for senior cat care
VCA Animal Hospitals

Care for aging cats
Bond Vet

Quality-of-Life Supports

On of the most difficult activities and realization is taking note of the changing health status of our companions. By not thinking about it, we fend of the inevitable, right? We wish this were true. Supporting the bond you have with your companion means holding awareness for the reality of their wellness. Here are some tools to consult, to help offer you some clarity on what to look for in addition to the veterinary care, as accessible to you.

Guidance on making difficult decisions
Ohio State University

Quality-of-life survey
Midtown Mobile Vet Hospice

Quality-of-life scale
Daily assessment
Lap of Love

End-of-Life Considerations [videos]
Ontario Veterinary College: Pet Trust

Pet & Companion Loss

Grief Understood

Grief is the emotional response to a significant loss or change, and is not specific to death. It is a the embodiment of the loss of our deepest connections. Through grief, many experience a range of emotions including and not limited to sadness, anger, guilt, and disbelief, in no particular order. The experience is unique to each of us. Grief is a normal response to coping with the changes of life and manifests for each of us in various ways.

“It’s Ok that You’re Not Ok” by Megan Devine
Website & Resources
Podcasts
Refuge in Grief

Surviving those awful first few days of grief 
Psychology Today

The myth of the grief timeline
What’s Your Grief

It’s fine to ignore the five stages of grief
The Ralph Site

Beyond Closure: Nancy Berns at TEDxDesMoines
YouTube

How to support someone through grief 
Crisis & Trauma Resource Institute

Coping with the loss of a pet [guide]
Ontario Veterinary College: Pet Trust

How pet loss grief counselling helped me say goodbye to my beloved dog
Morgan Mallette, Chatelaine

Grief through culture and communities of colour
Grief, Grace, & Growth Blog - Michele Whitney, PhD

Disenfranchised Grief

This type of grief is one that goes unacknowledged by those around us, creating a deeper and more isolated experience. Disenfranchisement occurs when someone expects us to feel less, heal quicker, and move on sooner and relates to experiences such as anticipatory grief and pet loss.

The hidden sorrow of experiencing pet bereavement
The Ralph Site

Pet loss as a disenfranchised grief
Grief Healing Blog

Grief after pet loss [videos]
Ontario Veterinary College: Pet Trust

Traumatic Loss

We might consider ourselves lucky if we experience loss after a full life of deeply mutual companionship. This is not always the case, and my heart is with you if your time together was cut short and stolen, whether you have been permanently separated through death or other circumstances. My hope is that some of these resources help you to navigate experiences of traumatic loss.

Grieving behavioural euthanasia
Losing Lulu

Traumatic loss
Society for Psychotherapy

Supporting Another Pet

It’s true that if we share our homes with multiple companion animals, our living companions will also experience their own version of this loss: less competition for valued spaces, fading smells, empty spaces, changing routines. They might appear distance, dulled, or absent. They might also ask for more attention and affection. They too deserve care and support when the household changes.

Do companion animals grieve?
The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center

Pets mourn the loss of other pets too
Pique Magazine Online

Helping your pet cope with grief and loss of another pet
Lap of Love

Radio conversation with Dr. Kate Mornement and Kate Hunt (skip to 26m 35s)
ABC Melbourne Radio

Supporting Kids

Children are uniquely impacted by companion animal loss, as this may be their first experience with death of a profound being within their life, and the finality if the experience can be incomprehensible. They also see the hurt and grief that adults care, and may not be able to make deep sense of it.

Helping children with pet loss [videos]
Helping children with the loss of a pet [guide]
Ontario Veterinary College: Pet Trust

Helping kids cope when a pet dies
Kids Health

Grief resources for kids experiencing pet loss
Lap of Love

Organizations Supporting Companion Loss

Compassionate Creatures is not the only support within this work - there are so many others!
Here is a start:

Pet Loss Support Resource Centre
Ontario Veterinary College: Pet Trust

Various support options and resources for animal guardians
Association of Pet Loss and Bereavement

Various support options and resources for animal guardians
Pet Loss Community

Resources and pet loss support hub
Love, Baxter

Social Media & Lived Experiences

There are so many great social media accounts that provide comfort and awareness on the reality of pet loss and navigating grief. In addition to what Compassionate Creatures shares on Facebook and Instagram, here are a few other options:

Always Near Me: Navigating Pet Loss [videos]
Ontario Veterinary College: Pet Trust

Facebook

Instagram

More Resources & Reading

Pet loss & bereavement support
Toronto Humane Society

Download any of the items below by clicking the button

Navigating with Pet Loss
Reading List: Grief & Loss of a Pet
Coping with Pet Loss
Even more resources!

Memorial Ideas & Thoughts

Memorializing your loss is about you and your needs, not anyone else’s expectations of what memorial means. It should be an event, experience, or journey that is unique to you and the bond you shared with your companion.

Reflecting on aftercare and memorialization [guide] 
Memorialization [videos]
Ontario Veterinary College: Pet Trust

Activity-based

  • Plan a celebration of life party, to share stories and their best moments including video and photos

  • Plant a tree, bush, or flower in their honour (indoor or outdoor)

  • Visit their favourite park, have a picnic, and share memories

  • Spread some ashes in a meaningful location

  • Build a bench in their honour, for your yard

  • Create a memory box of photos, written memories, and their favourite things

  • Create a printed picture book

  • Create a memory jar

  • Create a shadow box that includes their favourite toy(s), collar, a picture of them, etc.

  • Create a digital memory album, with input and pictures from all family members

  • Create a holiday ornament that includes their ashes or fur and a picture, inside a clear plastic holiday ball

Personal and in-home

  • stained glass/sun catchers

  • blankets/pillows

  • portraits

  • embroidered sweaters or wearable items

  • felted minatures

  • candles

  • key chains

  • oven mitts

  • mugs

  • plant pots

Inspired by Etsy

Outdoors

  • rock engravings

  • wind chimes

  • metal silhouettes

  • lanterns

Artistry-based

Pet memorial portraits
Jinsei Arts

Crafted keepsakes
Sunshine Paws

Glass art memorials
Eternal Flame

For Fur & Ashes

Ash-encased glass memorial
Fireweed Glass Studio

Ashes to diamonds and jewelry
Ever Dear

Hand-crafted items
Golden Coyote Jewelry

Preservation

Customized pet memorials
Pet Aftercare Toronto

Memorial taxidermy
Metempsychosis Taxidermy

Pet memorials
Pretty Dead Taxidermy

At a Distance

Request a tree to be planted
A Living Tribute

Make a charitable donation to a meaningful animal-based charity of your choosing

Supporting Animal Care Professionals