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- About MN Pets (9)
- Children and families (10)
- End-of-life decisions (15)
- Enriching your relationship with your pet (4)
- Grieving the loss of a pet (24)
- Holidays (4)
- Memorializing a pet (11)
- Preparing for your pet's appointment (7)
- Quality of Life (10)
- Support (2)
- Uncategorized (1)
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Recent Articles
- What to Expect During the Euthanasia Appointment July 1, 2018
- Memorial Stone January 17, 2018
- Helping Children Cope with Pet Loss May 1, 2017
- Do We Always Recommend Euthanasia? March 6, 2017
- Hyperthyroid Disease in Cats March 2, 2017
- What life is like now February 28, 2017
Author Archives: Lisa Havelin, MA, MFA, LAMFT
‘Heart-work’ of the Holidays
The holidays inevitably call us to the ‘heart-work’ of our relationships. This is particularly so in the instance of relationships where our intimate other has died, including our beloved animal family members. Grief associated with the loss of an animal … Continue reading
Posted in Holidays
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MN Pets Grief Support Email Series
Losing a beloved companion can be the most painful thing we endure in life. Many people report that losing a dear animal friend is more difficult that losing their human friend or family member. It is absolutely true that losing … Continue reading
Posted in Grieving the loss of a pet, Support
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Ways People Grieve Part II – Families
Grieving Styles We all have our own unique way of expressing and working with grief – our own style. In Ways People Grieve Part I, I’ve described how “instrumental” grievers experience grief primarily through thinking and doing, and how “intuitive” … Continue reading
Ways People Grieve Part I – The Myth of Men and Grief
It is a common expression of concern for men to hear that “it’s important to express your feelings about this loss.” The prevailing conventional “wisdom” is that men do not necessarily grieve well… that they could be better at expressing … Continue reading
Making Arrangements… A Personal Choice
I recently spoke with a client who was interested in the details of what would happen to her pets’ body after a euthanasia appointment. We talked at length about those specifics, and after some conversation I realized that she may … Continue reading
Posted in Memorializing a pet
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A Good Cry
Built to cry… The grief that accompanies the loss of a beloved companion animal is profound and the pain of that loss can be felt emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Grief is a grueling physical experience and shedding tears is one … Continue reading
Posted in Grieving the loss of a pet
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Waiting for a Sign
The fact is we don’t know a whole lot about how animals communicate, but we certainly know that they do. It’s possible there is a lot more communication happening between us and our animals than we are sometimes aware of, … Continue reading
Posted in End-of-life decisions
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Quality of Life, Part I
Quality of life is a term we often hear when a pet is nearing the end of their life or experiencing an illness. There are several ways to assess quality of life but it is very important to remember that … Continue reading
Posted in End-of-life decisions
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Pain, Quality of Life – Part II
“I don’t think my pet is in pain.” We often hear pet owners grappling with the issue of pain for their pet. After completing your pet’s quality of life checklist, you may have found that while you were making a … Continue reading
Posted in End-of-life decisions
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Children and Pet Loss
The loss of a pet is often a child’s first experience with death and because it is painful, parents often wish to protect them from it. Not talking about it, however, can make the grief process even more difficult. Parents … Continue reading
Posted in Children and families, End-of-life decisions
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