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

Like anyone else who has suffered a blow, people whose animals have died are vulnerable. One follow-up study of individuals who were mourning the loss of a companion animal found that in the weeks immediately after the death, more than 90 percent of the owners experienced some disruption of their sleep habits or had difficulty eating — both symptom

She had trusted me and thereby had made me trustworthy.

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.

Among women, he found, the saddest events usually concerned the death of a grandparent or another close relative. For young men, rather curiously, the saddest memories typically involved the death of a dog. He says he was never able to fully probe that response to account for the gender difference. What was striking was that when asked to recall th

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)

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

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

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 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