Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet

Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glint on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight at night. Do not stand at my

When I begin to worry excessively, my dog, Chinook, can pull me out of my brooding and help put my problems in proper perspective. If I become too serious, he invites me to join in frolicking and play. Because animals have wants that are few and basic, they can teach us to slow down, simplify, and concentrate on the essentials.

tried to console her as best I could, but sometimes words are not enough. She asked to stay over that night so she wouldn’t be alone at her apartment. She lay down, ready to go to sleep, and what happened next amazed me. My dog, Grish, jumped in bed, laid his massive black Lab head down on her stomach, and stayed there all night. He has never done

There is not a beast on earth, nor fowl that flieth on two wings, but they are a people like unto you, and to God they shall return. — The Qur’an (Surah 6, Al. An’am, or The Cattle)

When we got home, it was almost dark. Our neighbor waited on the walk. “I’m sorry, I have bad news,” he said. “Your cat, the gray black one, is dead. I found him by the garage an hour ago.” “Thank you,” I said, “for letting us know.” We dug a hole in the flower bed, The lilac bushes overhead, Where this cat loved to lie in spring And roll in the di

She had trusted me and thereby had made me trustworthy.

The Jataka tales, for instance, tell of the Buddha’s previous incarnations in animal form, as antelope, monkey, elephant, dog, peacock, and many other creatures. Throughout these stories, the animals act as teachers and exemplars to the human characters, as in the fable of the unselfish stag that saves the life of a king who once hunted him. “I mys

Unfortunately, thousands of animals are killed every year in accidents, usually involving an automobile. When a pet dies needlessly and painfully or simply disappears without returning, it is especially hard to accept the loss. Premature death — whether from trauma, disease, or undetermined causes — upends the comforting advice of Ecclesiastes, for

For some people, the death of a pet may represent the greatest loss they have ever encountered.