After every dog, cat, pet, leaves this time with us, he or she moves over to the Rainbow Bridge. To a big field with chew toys to chew, and catnip to roll in, and butterflies to chase. They just play all day long. That is their job. For they are waiting for us.

And as they wait, they do not suffer, they do not miss, they do not feel sad. That becomes our job for awhile. And we cry, and we miss, and we are sad. But that is because we forget. We forget that when out time comes there they will be waiting for us. And they have just been playing and laughing and they have been oh, so happy, but not nearly as happy as they will be when they see us coming towards them.

We will be together again and for always. And that is why we only say goodbye for now. There is no true goodbye for us. We are one and then there is no need for goodbyes. Maybe just a ‘see you later, we’ll miss you for awhile’. And that is why we just say ‘we will see you over the Rainbow Bridge’.

The death of our pet is always harder than we think it is going to be. But we can make this transition by taking care of ourselves during this time. We must remember that our pets are in a better place. And then, we must find closure. That is why pet urns tend to be so popular. As people move more often than before, they prefer to purchase pet urns instead of burying their pet in the backyard or even in a cemetery. This way we can always take them with us.

Pet urns are only one option for closure and saying goodbye, but they can help in that we honor our pet’s departure, giving him or her a final resting place, and we do not ever need to leave them behind. But most important of all is the opportunity for us to do something concrete and physical in terms of closure. Action is always helpful in moving forward from loss.

The need for ritual in our lives is important in that it gives us this opportunity to be o.k. in our hearts with change, with loss. Gives us a way to ‘place’ the pain in our lives.

Besides pet urns, there are many other ways we can use ritual to acheive this closure and say goodbye. If you visit Learn About Pet Loss there is a list of activities you can do to assist in getting over your loss.

You can also visit Pet Loss .com if you need to share your grief, need grief counseling, or for other sources that will help you with your loss.

I hope this can help you find some closure when the worst happens. Whatever you do, don’t beat yourself up. We take on the love and responsibility of pet ownership. We do the best we can. Losing a pet is never going to be easy. Treat yourself with love and kindness if you are dealing with pet loss.

Take care, 
Alexandra

This article may be reprinted by permission only.