How to cope with saying goodbye to a beloved animal

One of the hardest things to do is say goodbye when your beloved pet crosses the rainbow bridge.

I very recently faced a very difficult duty, just like many of my clients have. I had to help our 16 yr. old Labrador Fiji cross over the Rainbow Bridge. The range of emotions I experienced was heart-rending. Even if you have done this before for a pet, it never seems any easier.

I want to share some lessons I’ve learned personally, and that my work has allowed me to help others with as they experience the energetic/spiritual aspect of the process of death. There are empowering ways that allow you to begin to see it in a more healing light.

You have no doubt done everything you knew, or were advised to try and keep your pet alive and healthy. Reluctantly, there comes a moment when you realize it is in their best interests to let them go. Like us, they are spiritual beings inside a physical body that at some point just simply can’t function anymore even with medicine, surgery and all the love in the world. Getting past your instinctive wish to keep them alive forever, you begin to realize that the best thing you can do for them is to give them their bridge to freedom and release from their spent body. Yet you have something much more to give them that they need now: Being truly present with them as they cross over makes their transition easier. It can be a profound and loving experience if viewed in this new light.

Your beloved animal is so grateful to be free again, relieved to be able to run and play on the rainbow side. I know from experience— my own and with my clients—that you can trust that they are still around us if we can just open ourselves to their new presence. So often, they give us private signs of their new presence, and you may sense them around you in unexpected moments. Yes, they are with you!!!! 

When you go through the loss of a pet you can find yourself feeling guilty, confused, and riddled with the anxiety that goes along with trying to cope. So, how do you cope with the loss?

  • Allowing time to heal – It’s important to allow yourself grace and time to let go of their physical self and the guilt that can come along with the decision to let your pet go to the other side.

  • Knowing they are there with you – Even though they may not be seen many times you can hear or feel them as they brush past your leg or hear the tapping of their footsteps on the floor.

Don’t feel you must take this road alone. You have options that can help you through this journey of loss.

  • Meditation can help you release guilt and deal with the loss by helping you feel more connected with your pet.

  • Writing down your emotions can help you admit and deal with these emotions and begin to release the pain from your heart, mind, and spirit.

  • Getting help along the way by working with an Energy Medicine practitioner can help you get closure.

The most comforting part of this process is that your animal can help you from the other side, and they may even decide to come back in a new body to be with you again, especially if you have a strong contract or karmic connection to finish your experience together.

I love helping people connect both before and after the passing of their animal to help both the person and their animal to adjust. I encourage you to reach out to me, to help you acknowledge your animals as you see how they respond!!

It’s time to have grace with yourself.

Carolyn Osborn

Discover a Natural Well-Being and Oneness within the Body, Mind and Spirit, that awaits you and your animal.

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P.S. Animals are often our closest companions. We invite you to use something unique we have just published; this very practical tool to help you discover if your animal has a message for you, or needs help. Take our Quiz: How Well Do You Know Your Pet’s Alerts? it’s free. Learn more, and click to get it here.

Other resources for you:

Our newest program is featured right on our website homepage or in our sessions menu: Chiron Mirror Sessions • Tandem Energy Healing for You and Your Animal. It is designed to help you discover a natural well-being and oneness within the body, mind and spirit that awaits you and your animal— when you are guided to release unwanted behaviors and unconscious memories and patterns of suppressed vitality and difficult energy blocks that may trigger dis-ease or imbalances if left unattended.

See or learn more about our sessions and packages for people or animals here and view our equine and performance sessions or packages here.