We could not reflect on 2020 without bringing some love and light to the subject of loss. Although at Paws into Grace we deal specifically with pet loss, it is a loss that does not stand alone. Nothing lives in separation. All is connected and it is this connectivity that we wish to address and nourish.
Pet loss is a specific loss and for that reason it does require specialized care and attention. It is a loss that goes directly to the heart, the core of a pet parent and it can take us to a new place of beingness, more specifically – a new way of living in the world without our beloved animal. For nothing in life is the same after – not the way we look at a flower or take a walk, or slip into our evening slippers or make tea. Everything is without them and because of that we can feel empty inside. Healing becomes a moment-to-moment process. Each day shows us how strong we actually are and how fragile life can be. We rebuild from the inside out.
“After the loss of my Juno, I felt like a deboned person. I had to get used to being in this world without him doing what he had done so selflessly for twelve years. But something magical happened – the others stepped in and stepped up and, although it was not Juno, I began to feel supported again; I began to feel whole.”
Because a pet loss is sometimes noticeable — we are on a walk by ourselves or our cat is no longer digging up the neighbor’s garden, we find ourselves talking to others about our feelings and they become validated just by the very act of their listening presence. The loss of our animal friend becomes the new starting point, a catalyst for this new stage of being in the world, and it is this place behind the grief where we meet our new selves.
If you have lost a pet in 2020, our heart goes out to yours. It meets you where you are at. It asks nothing of you. It sits with you and it abides through all the stages of grief and then some. It recognizes your pain and loss as ours. We honor the life of your beloved animal friend by continuing our mission of a peaceful and graceful transition for all animals in their time of need and continued care of the humans who love them.
