Nobody Can Tell You How to Feel After Losing a Pet
House My Pet started with co-founder Summer, Sheena Evolutions beloved dog.
Dogs play a crucial part in our lives. When the four-legged best friend passes away, you would think about how to remember and honour their life. Summer was not just a dog to Sheena. Summer was her sanity, her happiness, her teacher, her therapist, her longest relationship, her only experience of maternal love, her constant companion and her best friend.
Summer gave Sheena first hand experience of the stress involved of finding care as she aged into her senior years and her health decreased. Summer covered all the fine details a nervous pet owner faces, when leaving your pet baby with someone new. Without Summer the House My Pet directory would of never been born she has provided invaluable information on all the necessities a pet directory should have.
Summer was a rescue dog. She proved that they have so much love to give and can fill your life with so much joy. That’s why Sheena wants to help more rescue dogs and (cats) in Summer’s memory and create a tribute for her whilst raising funds through the profits of www.housemypet.com to create a charity organisation called “The Summer Sunshine Foundation” For most of us, animals are part of our families; we love them dearly and would never hurt them. Most countries have strict laws against animal abuse and, since animals have no voice of their own, we fight for their rights every day. Our ultimate goal - and the personal motivation for our founder Sheena Evolution - is to use the profits from House My Pet to build animal shelters across the world, starting in the countries rated lowest for animal welfare.
It’s Sheena’s way of trying to keep summer’s memory alive and honouring her life by helping others by in a way that Summer would appreciate.
Nobody Can Tell You How to Feel After Losing a Pet
Don’t let people tell you how to feel
Not everyone has experienced a deep bond with a pet, which might lead some individuals in your life to make dismissive comments like “it was only a cat” or “just get a new dog.” But for people whose everyday routine is anchored to the care of a pet and those who rely on their pet as a source of unconditional love, the loss can be just as difficult—if not more—than the loss of a human.
Give yourself some space and self care
It’s important to take time out, and give yourself space to grieve. Be kind to yourself – whatever form that takes. Get plenty of rest, sleep, and fresh air, eat healthily, and talk or spend time with people who care for and understand you.
Be patient with yourself
Grief is a difficult experience. You might feel solid when you wake up one day, but by lunchtime, you're crying again. Emotional waves like these are normal; You've been through something awful, and it takes time to "feel normal." again. Don't stop yourself from having a good cry if you feel one coming on. Accept the feelings you have, rather than think you "should" feel a different way. Sometimes, others may expect you to "move on" before you’re ready. But take the time you need. Know that you can (and will) heal over time. Healing doesn’t mean you forget the pet who died. It doesn’t mean that you miss them less.
Get out of the house
Despite how hard it may be to get out of bed or want to do anything, you must push yourself to get up and go outside. This is beneficial because being outside and engaging in activities allows us to divert our attention from our loss, as opposed to sitting indoors and in bed, which causes us to direct our attention more directly towards our grief.
Search for meaning
When a pet dies, it’s natural to question the meaning and purpose of pets in your life. Coming to terms with these questions is another need you must meet during your grief journey. Know that it's the asking, not the finding of concrete answers, that is important.
Create a legacy
1) Decide what to do with your pet’s ashes. You can keep their ashes in a beautiful box or urn in your home, but you might also find peace in releasing the ashes in a place your pet loved (like their favorite park, a beach, or your backyard).
Carry them with you. You can add their ashes into a ring, bracelet or necklace or place a photo of your pet in your wallet, or make their picture your phone wallpaper.
2) Do something with all those photos on your phone. Think about printing out a few snapshots you love to frame and put around your home: seeing their loving face regularly might bring you a sense of peace and comfort or create a photo book.. You may decide to keep a memory box of things that remind you of your pet – precious photos of happy times, their collar or name tag, a piece of thier favourite chew toy or even a lock of their fur – or perhaps you prefer to cherish the memories of the times you’ve had together by creating a physical scrapbook filled with the same things. Whenever you miss them, you can open the book and remember all the years you got to spend with them or if you like art maybe paint your pet or have a pet portatit created to place on your wall as a feature.
3) Have a toy created in their likeness: This option isn’t for everyone, but if it speaks to you, you can create a custom stuffed animal to look like your cat or dog. This can be especially helpful if you want something soft to hug when you’re feeling sad.
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