Goodbye, my friend

When pets die, their owners often find that friends, family, and even psychologists do not understand their grief. This book will affirm: your feelings are natural. It will also help you better understand the bond that forms between humans and animals and provide tools to ease the grieving process.

The author of the book, psychologist Lori Green, has been working on the topic of pet loss for over 20 years and co-founded the Program for Helping Owners Mourning Their Pets. She believes that the grief of losing a pet is just as profound as mourning the death of a loved one. 

What you will find in the book:

Chapter 1. Creating Connections
You will learn how relationships between humans and animals began, what attachment is, how it arises, and its benefits.
 

Chapter 2. Attachment: From Traditional to Unique
This chapter introduces you to tools that will help you recognize and assess your attachment to your companion animal. The depth of this attachment will explain why losing your pet hurts so much.

 
Chapter 3. Farewell
This chapter discusses what grief is, offers tools to help cope with it, and describes the stages of the grieving process in relation to the death of a pet.

 
Chapter 4. Suffocating Guilt
If you have lost a companion animal, guilt may become the dominant feeling at every stage of the grieving process. The destructive power of guilt is often underestimated. This chapter is about this emotion. You will confront it head-on, understand it, and learn how to cope with it.

Chapter 5. Quality of Life at Death's Door
This chapter addresses the issues of caring for severely and/or terminally ill animals. It will help you understand whether you can provide your friend with palliative care and what it will require.

Chapter 6. The Last Choice
When palliative care is impossible or has become so, there may come a time when you have to consider euthanasia as a way to help your pet leave this world with dignity. In the sixth chapter, we will discuss this difficult topic in detail and provide you with the information needed to make the best decision for you and your beloved pet.

Chapter 7. Awful Memories, Terrible Thoughts
This chapter discusses how to cope with the death of a pet if we were involved in it or had to witness the violent death of our animal without the ability to prevent it. We will also consider situations where a companion animal was not just a beloved pet but performed specific functions in our lives and helped us become more independent. 

 
Chapter 8. Mom, where did Druzhok go?
For many children, the loss of a pet is an extremely painful experience. This chapter will tell you how to help children cope with the grief of losing a beloved pet. The relationship between children and animals differs from the relationships animals have with adults, and thus the grieving process will be different. The information in this chapter will give you the opportunity to help your child or any other child cope with the death of a special friend.

Chapter 9. The Power of Circumstances
This chapter will delve into a situation that no one wants to find themselves in, but which occurs more often than we'd like. We will discuss what to do if your life circumstances change and you are forced to give up your animal. If you find yourself in such an unpleasant position, the information on how to proceed and the feelings of sadness and grief that always accompany those who must part with a beloved friend may be helpful.

Chapter 10. Kindness of Strangers
If you have ever experienced grief about anything, you probably know that it is easier to endure if you have the support of friends and/or family who can share your pain. However, often when losing a pet, we suddenly find that friends and family do not provide the comfort we hoped for. In this chapter, we will discuss how to gain support from loved ones and even strangers and how to find the comfort that we so desperately need during the grieving process.