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DoveLewis Pet Loss Support
This program is designed to help people whose pets have passed away. It is in no way linked to our Lost & Found Pet Database.
24 Hour Message Line: 503.234.2061
Email: petloss@dovelewis.org
DONATE to the Pet Loss Support Program
The loss of a pet can be one of the most devastating experiences that an individual or family has to face. For many, this is a loss not only of a pet, but of a best friend. DoveLewis realizes that, in our society, each of us is expected to minimize our sorrow for our lost pet. However, feelings linger long after the loss, because our pets shared our lives, dreams, homes, and affections. And because they touched our lives so deeply, they are deserving of our grief.
Grieving for a beloved pet is a very natural, normal, and personal process. The manner and intensity of our reactions to this loss will be different for each person. Our reactions will depend on the circumstances surrounding the death, our depth of attachment to the pet, our personal experiences with grief, and our state of mind when the loss occurs.
Recognizing the need for pet owners to talk, reminisce, and share stories about their lost pets, DoveLewis offers Portland’s only Pet Loss Support Group, free of charge. Each group is led by Enid Samuel Traisman, M.S.W., C.T, C.F.S., who believes that the bond between pets and people represent some of the most important relationships in a person's life.
Free Pet Loss Support group sessions are held 5 times per month:
Drop-ins welcome. Bring a photo to share!
Pet Loss Support Group Schedule
Northwest Hospital -1945 NW Pettygrove St.
1st Thursday 12:00pm
2nd Thursday 9:00am
3rd Monday 7:00pm
3rd Thursday 7:00pm
Southeast Hospital - 10564 SE Washington/Plaza 205
3rd Wednesday 7:00pm
CLICK HERE for the 2008 Calendar Schedule for Pet Loss Support Group meetings and Memorial Art Workshops.
Children and the Death of a Pet
Children also need special consideration when a beloved pet dies. Many times, this is their first experience with feelings of loss, grief and bereavement. When a child experiences the death of a beloved pet, he or she may experience emotional reactions that can be painful and frightening. Helping children understand their feelings at this confusing time is crucial, since this first experience with death sets the tone for handling future losses.
Helping Children Work Through Grief
First, find a quiet place where you can talk without interruption. Tell the child simply that their pet has died and what caused the death.
Answer all questions truthfully in words they can understand. Inconsistent or incomplete answers may leave the child more unsettled than the truth itself.
Avoid euphemisms. Avoid terms like "gone away," "put to sleep," "passed on," and "lost." Instead, simple and accurate terms such as dead and stopped breathing, establishes that the body is no longer alive biologically.
Share your beliefs, hopes and faiths about the soul or spirit of pets.
Encourage the expression of feelings. Children will model their parents' behaviors. Try drawing, writing and talking together about the pet.
Children process thoughts and feelings by doing. Help guide your child and you will be giving him an important life tool—a model for how to say good–bye and a framework for dealing with death and other significant changes or losses in the future.
Memorializing
A funeral, memorial service, burial, or placement of the ashes encourages healthy closure to the loss process. There are many ways pet owners can memorialize their pets. For example, some collect their memories in photo albums, frame favorite pictures, or write poems or letters to their pets. Others record their feelings, thoughts and memories into a journal, while still others plant trees or flowers in their yards.
Memorial Art Workshops
Sponsored by Dignified Pet Services
One of the best ways to navigate your grief when you lose a pet is memorializing them through art. Research shows that art and healing come from the same source. In fact, it is now known that when a person is creating art or is healing, he or she emits the same brain wave patterns. Art and healing is so powerful that hospitals are incorporating art into patient care.
Here are some important facts about the healing elements of art.
- Participation in artistic activities can have measurable physiological results such as reducing stress, improving the immune system, and easing pain
- Creating art gives a voice and language to unknown emotions, feelings and behaviors
- Tapping into our creative energy can help a person feel more alive, gain inner wisdom, and stay more completely in the present moment
- Creating art uses the emotional and intuitive aspects of a person
Our Pet Loss Support Director, art therapist and certified grief counselor Enid Traisman, MSW facilitates a series of memorial art workshops. Each month offers a new opportunity to create something unique and take it home with you! This is a free community event. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION!
DoveLewis Memorial Items
The DoveLewis Memorial Tree was designed by Gunnar Adamovics and dedicated in 1988 by the Portland Veterinary Medical Association as a permanent site for memorializing beloved pets.
"In dedication to those we serve this gift shall be used to establish and promote public educational programs to reach out to those who need the comfort of a pet and to aid those who have lost a loved companion."
- Portland Veterinary Medical Association, 1988
You may purchase a leaf, dove or branch for this tree and have it inscribed in memory of your pet or the pet of another bereaved owner. Your pet will live on in memoriam and the donations collected from this tree are used towards new medical equipment and community service projects. The choices for the tree are:
- Silver-colored leaf $50 (maximum 30 letter inscription)
- Gold-colored leaf $100 (maximum 30 letter inscription)
- Dove $500 (maximum 100 letter inscription)
- Branch $1000 (maximum 500 letter inscription)
Pet Loss Journal
“My Personal Pet Remembrance Journal “ by Enid S. Traisman, MSW is available on line or by visiting DoveLewis.
The bond between pets and people represent some of the most important relationships in a person's life. Because they touched our lives so deeply, they are deserving of our grief when they pass on.
You may purchase My Personal Pet Remembrance Journal by Enid Traisman, M.S.W. for only $9.95.
Pick up a copy at DoveLewis' main facility located at 1945 NW Pettygrove Street in Portland.
If you prefer, one can be mailed to you or a friend, with a hand-written gift card, for an additional fee of $3.00 for postage and handling, for a total of $12.95. To purchase online, please complete the secure order form.
Sympathy Card
For $5.00 per card, DoveLewis will hand-sign and mail a sympathy card for you to a bereaved pet owner, stating that a donation has been made in their pet's name to DoveLewis.
 The inside left of the card reads: Beloved friends never leave us...they just run ahead to wait for us in a happier place. May beautiful memories be your strength in these difficult times.
The inside right reads: IN LOVING MEMORY OF _________________ a donation to the DoveLewis Pet Loss Support Program was made by ________________________. The back of the card lists the days and times the free Pet Loss Support groups meet.
To purchase online, please complete the secure order form.
About Pet Loss Support Program Director, Enid Samuel Traisman, M.S.W., C.T, C.F.S.
Enid received her B.A. Degree from the University of Kansas in 1980. In 1986 Enid completed her Masters in Social Work from Portland State University, specializing in Grief Counseling.
In 1989 Enid became an active member of ADEC, the Association for Death Education and Counseling. She is now a Certified Thanatologist and Compassion Fatigue Specialist.
Enid is the author of five published books. Four are for human loss published by the Centering Corporation in Omaha, Nebraska. Enid's fifth book is a Remembrance Journal especially designed for bereaved pet owners.
In October of 1986 Enid founded the DoveLewis Pet Loss Support Group. She wrote the pet loss brochure and facilitates the support groups four times each month. Enid is available for telephone support 7 days a week for people who have suffered the death of a pet or are anticipating the death of an aged or terminally ill pet.
Enid is a devoted mother to her human children Noah and Maya and to her menagerie of critter children who surround her with their buoyant spirits and unconditional love.
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Links
Dignified Pet Services
The Pet's Grief Support Page and Candle Ceremony
Lightning Strike Pet-Loss Support Page
Tufts' Pet Loss Support Hotline
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