I just had to put my dog down three weeks ago, and I'm still having a tough time dealing with it. I searched amazon and read multiple reviews on this book and many others. This was the first book I read, I thought it was only okay. There were a lot of great activities in each chapter, e.g., why you picked out your pet, what were things he/she did that you learned from. You'd have to think back and write about the great things you remembered about your pet, it actually lead me to go off from that activity and just write about my dog's whole life story, I felt that was much better than me just naming a few things that made him a great dog. I noticed that due to some of the chapters and activities not being very helpful, I skipped a lot, e.g., knowing if you should give up your dog for a move and how to deal with it, pros and cons for putting your pet down, what method you should pick for your pet's body after they are gone, what to tell your children after your pet is gone, activities to help your children remember your pet, . None of this pertained to me, I wasn't moving and my dog was already dead, I already chose to have my dog euthanized, already had him cremated, and I don't have children.
Another disappointment to the book was that it was made in 2002, I thought that would be no big deal, but it was. At the end of the book there is a huge list of helpful websites for pet grief support, pet memorials, and another list of helpful pet grief loss books. I noticed that most of the books seemed to be outdated from the 1980's, which I doubt will be very helpful with so many new and updated books out there to read, and most of the websites I went to didn't exist anymore. ( I had a much better time just doing a google search on my own trying to find pet memorial and pet grief loss websites)
Overall it was an okay book, with some helpful tips. It gave me some closure in the fact that it gave a list of reasons in knowing if it's the right time to put your pet down- that seemed to be the only helpful tip I recieved, the rest, I was already doing. I just felt the book probably would have been more helpful if it was read prior to my dog's death, because most of the book seemed to be written in a way as if your pet still existed, and some of the activities were written as if your pet was still alive.
This book really doesn't seem to help so much with the grief of losing a beloved family member as I thought it would have. I have plenty of other books on my list to read, so I'm still looking for a book that provides me some more comfort and closure after losing my furry friend. Two that I'm in the process of reading right now are, "How to ROAR", and "Animals in Spirit: Our faithful companions' transition to the afterlife"(both are great, I would recommend them over this book)
Very Helpful
My husband and I both read this book about 3 months losing our 13 year old Westie. Had we known about it, we would have read it earlier. It was very helpful in that it made us realize that other people go through the same things and have similar feelings. The quizzes were beneficial as well. I would recommend this book to anyone who is trying to make the decision to euthanize a beloved pet or has just lost one.
Like a good friend in a very difficult time
Like some others who have reviewed this book, we recently lost a dear pet --16-year-old Greenland Husky Nuna. She had to be put down on Christmas Eve when she lost her balance and kept going down while trying to walk.
She had such a zest for life, and we still miss her every day. This book has been helpful in so many ways, including bonding and quality of life and just saying goodbye. Our vet told us a week before Christmas not to feel guilt when the time came. That was very difficult to do, once it happened, and the book carries on from the vet's advice.
It explains how guilt emerges ---and traces back to when we were children. There are strategies for eliminating (or at least reducing) guilt. We can phase out guilt and understand that this does not mean we do not care.
There is also information on other parts of the pet-human relationship that can result in pain or separation ---moving, moving to another country,and for the elderly, having to move to a place where dogs and cats are not allowed.
I can only read so much of the book at a time. Then I look at a picture of Nuna on the wall and just miss such a good friend. But thanks so much for the book. I hope it helps when that time comes. Stay well --you and your pets.
Earl
deep in grief
After my beloved pet hedgehog died, I was deep in grief. I didn't know how to live for a time. I got this book to help me but it concentrates mostly on dogs, or parrots and does not even mention rodents or other "pets". It didn't help me much at all and I was committed for a few months to an asylum to work as a gardener until I fell in love with a pet squirrel named "Mayla".
well written and easily understood
As a professional counselor, I find the contents accurate. As a person who's lost many animal companions (3 in the last year), I find the author's voice compassionate and supportive. Excellent work.
