Coping with Pet Loss, August 26, 2018 - September 1, 2018

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

A Place in My Heart, When a Pet Dies, http://bit.ly/2wr0DJQ « BK Books

All Dogs Go To Heaven...Especially This One. Remembering Rudy The Wonder Dog, http://j.mp/2oj1jMY « Kelly Buckley

How to Talk to Your Veterinarian About End of Life Issues, http://j.mp/2wtNT5p « DogHealth.com

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below. If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Voices of Experience: Becoming Starlight

Aristotle taught that stars are made of a different matter than the four earthly elements ~ a quintessence ~ that also happens to be what the human psyche is made of. Which is why man’s spirit corresponds to the stars. Perhaps that’s not a very scientific view, but I do like the idea that there’s a little starlight in each of us.  ~ Lisa Kleypas

Soon after completing her graduate studies in psychology, Dr. Sharon Prentice longed to discover “the why’s” about her own intimate experience with death in the form of a Shared Death Experience (SDE), and that of others who had experienced something “weird, unbelievable, odd” at the time of the death of a loved one.  By sharing her own story, she hopes to replace fear with hope, and take away the vulnerability that is intrinsic in sharing these experiences: "When vulnerability morphs into strength, Starlight wins!" The following excerpt comes from her book, Becoming Starlight: A Shared Death Journey from Darkness to Light, and is reprinted here with her permission.

In Grief: Preparing for The Loss of a Pet

[Reviewed and updated December 2, 2025]

What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.  ~ Helen Keller 

A reader writes: I am a 44-year -old male with Sonny, an 8-year-old Golden Retriever who is spoiled rotten and so much a part of us. I really dread losing him. I mean really dread losing him. How do I stop worrying about losing him and just enjoy having him? I know you will think I am crazy for caring about a dog so much but I have very little in my life. I also want to know: Do you think dogs are with us in the afterlife? I do...

Caregiving and Hospice, April 10 - April 23, 2016

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream:

A Love Letter – “You Are The Light of Hospice,” http://j.mp/1P9oiAD « Hospice Times

Podcast: Using the Independent Death Doula in Healthcare, http://j.mp/1T3nQ6f « Hospice Times

Your anger towards doctors is misplaced, http://j.mp/214f65Z « Kevin MD

Coping with Pet Loss, May 31 - June 6, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Pet Loss: Do Pets Go To Heaven? http://j.mp/1FlqZY7 « Grief Healing Blog

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.
If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Pet Loss: Do Pets Go To Heaven?

Reviewed and updated September 9, 2025]

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.  ~ Will Rogers

A reader writes:  I have been grieving the loss of my cat for some time now, and the pain does not go away. I am still very sad and wondering what kind of help you can give me.  I keep thinking—did my Mittens go to heaven or not?  I had a very tight bond with this cat.  I miss her companionship every day and I miss her so much.

Coping with Pet Loss, December 7 - December 13, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Pope Francis Says There’s a Place for Pets in Paradise, http://j.mp/1wME1zR « TIME

Beautiful! On Losing a Dog,  http://j.mp/1Ghfdz2 « Marking Our Territory

"This Sweet Man Just Lost His Beloved Dog. What He Wrote Afterwards Completely Destroyed Me," http://j.mp/1AfGAr0 « Reshareworthy

Caregiving and Hospice, October 21 - October 27, 2012

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Ira Byock: Physician-Assisted Suicide Is Not Progressive, http://j.mp/Rp96RW « The Atlantic
  
  
• Lovely! How to Shoot a Photo to Remember - http://j.mp/TL0ovz « New York Times
  
  
• Great emotional health resources for hospice and palliative care http://bit.ly/RkpFAa from @VirtualHospice via @HospiceMayCourt
  
  
• Some caregiving tips for those caring for someone with multiple health issues, http://j.mp/SL1xVx via @CarrieSteckl
  
  
• New caregiving links to care, hospice, prescription reminders, Medicare news, http://j.mp/VtbRl3

Two Deposits in Heaven: Making Sense of Child Loss

Find the latest version of this post here:

Faith and Finding Meaning in the Aftermath of Child Loss

A reader writes: I think for me, right now, the worst part of my son’s death is not knowing exactly what happened. He died in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident, and we still don’t know the details or who was responsible for his death. Through the many trials of this life, I've become what others call a very strong person. I'm generally not someone who cries. In my life, my tears have usually been due to overwhelming frustration where I just couldn't take anymore. This is the second one of my children I've buried. Two deposits in Heaven! One of my other sons died many years ago at the age of 3 months from SIDS. I know the grieving process and I also know that this is very hard on the rest of my family. I have three grown children, all of whom still live at home. I felt I needed to find my support elsewhere because I know we all grieve differently. I have a strong belief system, so I know my sons are happy and in Heaven, but I'm still their mom and I miss them both so very much! I feel like I've been in a protective bubble and it is starting to deflate. I know a lot of things about grief but my knowing doesn't always help. The difference between the "head" and "heart" I suppose.  Read on here >>>