Dealing with the Loss Of a Pet
Letters To The Bridge
The loss of a pet often creates a feeling of shock, despair, devastation, and a feeling of "what if's", and a wishing we had said and done so many things we had perhaps planned to say and do, and thought we had time to, but for whatever reason, never got around to.
The stages of grief can also naturally lead to us feeling as though we did not say and do things that we actually did, or that we did not do them enough, or well enough. The death of a pet often makes us long for the chance to tell our pets one last time the thoughts in our heads, that circulate and reverberate, sometimes seemingly endlessly.
This is a place to write those thoughts, to tell our pets the things we would say if we could just send them a letter to the Bridge, if we could write to animals in heaven.
Frederick, Thomas and Voyin (Voyin now at Rainbow Bridge)
As I am writing this, my paralysed rescue dog, Voyin, died suddenly and unexpectedly, 4 days ago. He was rescued from the war in Ukraine, and I waited an entire year for him to get to me, after the borders were shut down. He lived with us happily for the past three years, and I expected him to live here happily with us for many more. Given his background, it seems particularly cruel that he was taken from us so soon.
One minute he was jumping around playing with his brother Red on my bed, happily barking and howling excitedly, the next they both went back to sleep under my duvet, as they always did every morning, and when I went to lift the duvet up to carry him downstairs, just a little while later, I found him gasping his last breath, and dying, inexplicably, and out of nowhere.
As he spent at least half of his time, under various pillows, under duvets, inside his den bed with his brother Red, it still feels like he is somewhere in the house, fast asleep, and will come scooting along at any moment. Except I know he won't, because sadly I watched him die with my own eyes. I repeatedly tried to save him with CPR with my own hands, and my own tears fell onto him when absolutely none of it worked.
Now, between the tears, and the anger, are all the things I wish I'd said to him, and could say to him, as I know are also in so many other people's heads about their own beloved pets.
This is a place for those coping with grief and loss to allow those thoughts to escape, to be freed, and to be released. For grieving pet owners to stop them spinning and reverberating, a place for us to let them go.
Letters To The Bridge
This is a place to write all those thoughts we long to tell our pets still. The things we would say if we could just send them a letter to the Bridge.
What would we tell them, what would we ask, what does our heart most want them to know.
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If reading this has brought up something you’re carrying, you don’t have to sit with it alone.
A quiet safe place to connect, share and reflect, whenever you feel ready:
