Losing a pet is never easy, but the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph is hoping to help with the grieving process. The school has created a new online hub that blends personal stories with expert insights on navigating loss. It’s something Sydney Coxworthy and her mother Emily Mallett wish they had when they lost their dog Bella to cancer. “I always called Bella my big sister,” Coxworthy said. In a video produced by the OVC Pet Trust, Mallett described the difficulty she experienced when she learned of the diagnosis. “Telling [Sydney] was one of the worst experiences of my life,” Mallett recalled. They could tell Bella was ready to go when they saw how she walked through the snow. The family’s time with their dog went even quicker than they expected. “We were told we could possibly get two to four months with her, and we had 21 days,” Mallett said, her voice cracking. “Her loss was beyond devastating. There are not really any words that can describe it. I often say when people ask how it felt that it was like a suffocating grief.” It was Coxworthy’s first experience with death. Even for adults, it can be tough to navigate. “Suddenly, when they’re not with us anymore, that’s a huge adjustment,” Sarah Bernardi, a social worker with the OVC and Health Sciences Centre, said. It’s something she understands, given grief for pets is not always socially validated. “Sometimes a lot of people hear things like, ‘Well, it’s just a dog. Can you get another one?’” Bernardi explained. “I think there’s a gap in North America when it comes to people seeking support.” That’s why, thanks to the OVC Pet Trust at the University of Guelph, a new online hub has launched to help people of all ages, including veterinary professionals, deal with the loss of a beloved pet. “We had a very generous gift from a donor who lost their own companion animal and was seeking a space for themselves,” Bernardi said. With those funds, the school expanded its online resources, adding pet loss support guides, a library of wide-ranging expert interviews and a documentary series featuring families like Coxworthy’s. “Basically, I found out … you can’t save every animal. The life circle goes on,” Coxworthy shared in one of the documentaries. For Bernardi, the online grief support centre helps people feel as if they aren’t alone, while getting tips to navigate their loss a little better. “We never found anything like this when we were going through this process,” said Mallett, who is also involved in animal advocacy and has written children’s books about the loss of pets. Now their beloved Bella is able to live on by helping other grieving families.
