Caring For A Dying Animal

The time around an animal's transition can be a period of greater closeness for the animal and his person as well as a time of growth and transformation; for this reason working with people and their animals during this period is very rewarding.

When an animal is approaching his transition, communication is reassuring for both the animal and his person. Animals often have important matters they want to talk about with their people as they prepare to leave this world. These matters can involve their physical comfort, the effects of treatments and/or medications, eating issues, and important emotional and spiritual matters they want to share with their people before they leave.

Communicating with an animal assists people in understanding how to help their companion be comfortable at the end of his life and, along with flower essences, helps the transition to be as easy and peaceful as possible for everyone. Most importantly, communication helps the animal and the person to share their hearts with each other so that each can have comfort and a sense of completion as their time together in a physical form draws to an end.

"I'd always had a special bond with Kodi, and the prospect of our time together coming to an end was hard for us both to handle. Elizabeth's assistance helped us come to terms with the inevitable and to handle it with grace and dignity and love. I'll be forever grateful to Elizabeth for her invaluable assistance, and I know Kodi will be as well."

— Lisa M. Rook, Siberian Husky Rescue and Referral of California

"Veda’s passing ended up being a beautiful and uplifting event. How many people can say that about the death of a their closest friend? Elizabeth helped me understand what Veda was going through and what Veda wanted for me during this time. Veda’s last weeks were full of meaning and love and peace."

— Caroline Hermans, Palo Alto, California

Tributes

Click here for tributes and stories written by clients about their beloved companions.

Resources

Links

anaflora.com
The Anaflora site has an excellent and very moving section on grieving, the process of death, and what can be done to help a beloved companion approaching his transition, called Grieving the Loss of a Loved Animal (see especially the page, "When a Beloved Friend Dies or is Dying"). See also the article, The Care and Feeding of an Animal Soul. I highly recommend these resources for anyone who is facing the loss of a beloved companion or grieving the loss of an animal.

blessingthebridge.com
This site accompanies the book, Blessing the Bridge: What Animals Teach Us About Death, Dying, and the Beyond. The author, Rita Reynolds, has many beautiful stories and information from her experience providing end-of-life care to animals at her sanctuary in Virginia and to many other animals as well.

AnimalsandtheAfterlife.com
This site accompanies the beautiful and inspiring book, Animals and the Afterlife, by Kim Sheridan.

see the section called Grieving the Loss of a Loved Animal, especially the page "When a Beloved Friend Dies or is Dying," by Sharon Callahan at anaflora.com

Life After Death: The Burden of Proof, by Deepak Chopra, Harmony Books, New York, 2006.

Blessing the Bridge-What Animals Have To Teach Us About Death, by Rita Reynolds, New World Library, Novato, California, 2001.

Animals and the Afterlife, by Kim Sheridan, EnLighthouse Publishing, Escondido, California, 2003.

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, by Sogyal Rinpoche, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, New York, 2002.

On Death and Dying, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D., Simon & Schuster, New York, New York, 1969.

The Tunnel and the Light, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D., Marlow & Co., New York, New York, 1999.