In Loving Memory, Dealing With the Loss of a Pet

It’s really tough to help kids cope with the loss of a pet. Losing a pet in childhood is a type of sadness many children haven’t yet felt. It’s the first time many children experience grief.

 

I love being able to make a kid smile. Nothing warms my heart more than a smile breaking across cheeks that just a few seconds ago had tears rolling down them. 

 

On my drive home, I feel so fulfilled if I can look back at my day and remember being able to help turn someone’s day around or helping them cope with a hard situation. It’s those moments that make me love my job. 

 

The most recent “love my job” moment happened when a little girl was referred to me because she came into class in a state of shambles.  She confided in her teacher that her family pet had died that morning. She was visibly shaken.

 

I brought her into my office and told her she could sit anywhere she wanted. She crawled up into my big comfy chair, buried her face and let the tears pour out. I let her cry for a bit and get out all that she wanted to get out. I sat close by, but gave her the space she needed.

 

After a few minutes, she looked up at me and was ready to talk. We spoke for a little bit and when it felt appropriate, we moved to my desk and I gave her this memory book.

 

 

 

I told her that for now, I just wanted her to color the front cover of the book.

 

Coloring is so therapeutic, there’s a reason they made adult coloring books! I wanted her to
calm her mind and have a few minutes of silence to process and sit with her thoughts.

 

She took her time and colored precisely and methodically. She outlined the shapes and blended colors, I was impressed.

 

Once she finished the cover, she flipped through the workbook.

 

“Can I color the picture on this page?” She asked. 

 

“Of course! This is your memory book, when you are ready you can color any page you want.” I told her. 

 

I saw a sheepish little half smile come across her face as she grabbed the orange colored pencil and started coloring the cat.

 

She colored and answered the first two pages. Eventually, she started talking about her dog a little bit. This time, there were no tears.

 

 

I really enjoyed watching her make her beloved family pet’s memory come to life.

 

When she got to the end of the book, she drew a big heart because “Chui would want me to
feel his love.”

 

With that, she wrote a goodbye letter to Chui and let a few more tears fall.

I asked if I could look over her memory book. I picked a page that I knew had made her
really happy. We talked about her favorite memories again, I wanted her to go back to her
class on a happy note.

 

Before she went back to class, she said, “Can I have a book for my mom? I think it would really help out a lot.”