Facing the death of a beloved cat is heart-breaking, and Two Hearts Pet Loss Center is trying to help us in that journey. It was launched by Coleen Ellis in 2009, who previously founded Pet Angel Memorial Center in 2004 due to the personal experience and death of her beloved pet Mico.
Coleen saw a growing need for formalized pet loss and grief help, so she launched the virtual center to be a mentor and coach to pet professionals providing dignified death care services to their community. And Coleen knows what she is talking about – she’s the recipient of the United States’ first Death & Grief Studies with a Specialization in Pet Loss Companion Certificate from the Center of Loss (centerforloss.com).
“I am bringing much-needed education forums to the veterinary Industry, so that they too can more peacefully and skillfully guide their pet parents who are experiencing the death of the beloved furry friends,” she says.
The Two Hearts Pet loss Center offers learning opportunities, such as the three-day Pet Loss & Grief Companioning Certification program. Clinics and their staff can share other online courses, check out printed resources or connect with other end-of-life professionals on social sites.
“I am also looking for other ways to bring grieving pet parents together with a very active online pet loss support group,” she says, with her forum Your Companion.
For those who go to Two Hearts Pet Loss Center, Coleen says, “They will find a safe place. A place that gives them permission to honor the journey they shared with a beloved animal. The permission to grieve, to mourn, to memorialize and to remember the life they shared with a precious pet.”
I asked Coleen for some tips for those of us suffering the loss of our beloved furry friend. She advises:
Whenever you are is exactly where you should be.
When you love, you grieve. Honor that journey you shared together.
“And, when I hear from a family that is on their final walk with heir beloved pet,”she adds, “the advise I give to them is to step back a minute and put into effect the 6-Month Goal. The 6-Month Goal is what should you do now with your special pet that you will look back on 6 months from now and be able to say, ‘The end was perfect.’ What will you do o create a truly memorable end-of-life walk and journey that honors you and the cat you have loved so deeply?”
Going forward, Coleen continues to increase the learning opportunities with end-of-life professionals plus speak nationally and internationally on pet loss. She’ll launch a Facebook page for those who have attended the Pet Loss & Grief Companioning Certification classes and will also be working on a follow up to her first book, Pet Parents: A Journey Through Unconditional Love and Grief. More a twoheartspelosscenter.com. -Melissa