Pet Loss Resources

Talking to Children:

• Teaching Kids How to Say Goodbye to Their Pets by Veterinarians.com
   

National Hotlines:

• Grief Recovery Hotline - (800) 445-4808
   

State Hotlines:

• Colorado: Argus Institute for Families and Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital - 970-297-1242
  Call and leave a message and a counselor will return your call.
   
• Illinois: Chicago Veterinary Medical Association - (630) 325-1600
  Leave message, calls will be returned between 7-9 pm CST; long-distance calls will be returned collect.
   
• Illinois: University of Illinois CARE - (877) 394-2273 (toll-free); (217) 244-2273 (local)
  Voice mail messages will be returned.
   
• Iowa: Johnson County Humane Society - 319-338-3357
  EMail at jchs@johnsoncountyhumane.org
   
• Massachusetts: Tufts University veterinary school - (508) 839-7966
  Calls from outside Massachusetts will be returned at no charge.
   
• New Jersey: - PetFriends (800) 404-PETS, Outside of NJ Dial (856) 234-4688.
  Phones answered 24 hours a day.
   
• New Jersey: Monmouth County SPCA - (732) 542-0040
  SPCA will return calls at no charge to the public.
   
• New York: Cornell University - (607) 253-3932
  Messages will be returned
   
• Ohio: The Ohio State University Companion Animal Listening Line - (614) 292-1823
  Voice-mail messages will be returned. (Most hotline volunteers are veterinary students, therefore hours are dependant on volunteer availability and may be more limited during summer months.)
   
• Texas: SPCA of Texas, Dallas - (214) 461-5131
  All calls are returned within 24 hours.
   
• Washington: Washington State University, Pullman - (866) 266-8635 or (509) 335-5704
  E-mail support at plhl@vetmed.wsu.edu

International Hotlines:

• Canada: Pet Loss Support Hotline, Teaching Hospital, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph 519-824-4120 x53694
  An answering service is available outside regular hotline hours.
   
• Great Britain: Society for Companion Animal Studies - 0800 096 6606 (UK only including northern Ireland).
  All calls are free and confidential from a landline. If calling from a mobile phone, some phone networks may charge. Support is provided by trained volunteers.

Reference Books:

• Coping with Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet by Moira Anderson
  Coping with Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet celebrates more than 20 years in print with a newly updated, expanded 3rd Edition
   
• Pet loss: A Thoughtful Guide for Adults and Children by Herbert Nieberg, Ph.D. New York, Harper & Row 1996
   
• Loving and Losing a Pet: A Psychologist and a Veterinarian Share Their Wisdom by Michael Stern and Susan Cropper Northvale, NJ Jason Aronson, Inc. 1998
   
• The Loss of a Pet by Wallace Sife, Ph.D. rev. ed. NY Howell Book House 1998
   
• Good Grief: Finding Peace After Pet Loss by Sid Korpi, Healy House Books 2009

Organizations:

• Animal Love and Loss Network (ALLN)
  The Animal Love And Loss Network seeks to bring together those who are mourning the injury, illness or loss of an animal companion. Weekly online forums to discuss your loss with others.
   
• A Garden of Rest
  A beautiful website offering a Pet Grief Forum, eSympathy cards and pet grief poems and stories.
   
• American Veterinary Medical Association's Pet Loss Page
   
• The American Veterinary Association
  A listing of further resources in the Pet Care section
   
• The Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (APLB; PO Box 106, Brooklyn, NY 11230 (718) 382-0690
   
• Animal communicator Frances W. Greenspan speaks to your pets here and to those who have passed on to the other side. Find out what they want to communicate to you, resolve unanswered questions, behavioral issues.