At some point in every person's life, facing personal loss is inevitable. Losing a parent, child, sibling, other family member or friend can bring about a most profound change in someone's world, turning it upside down. This loss can create a turbulence in a person's life that is difficult to withstand at best, and at worst, may be so deeply devastating that recovery may require in-depth counseling or medical intervention.

For many people, the loss of a beloved pet can be very deeply painful. Those who have lost a dear furry friend during their lifetimes can understand the unique type of emotional, often times physical pain that one must endure as the grieving process begins. For some, losing their cherished friend can bring about an anguish that many cannot even begin to comprehend, and for the bereft individual, sometimes this very personal situation can create an unintended isolation from human contact due to a lack of understanding of both parties involved.

There may be times when the mourner cannot contain his or her emotional pain, and when someone who has never before experienced the loss of a pet does not have an understanding of what this person is going through, they may seem insensitive to the griever's needs, and may respond in such a way that the grieving person associates with lack of caring, and he or she may disassociate from that person, unintentionally severing a meaningful relationship.

This is a very critical time for those who have lost a pet, and it is so important for them to know that there are indeed people out there who are sensitive to their unique feelings and needs. Beth is one of those people, for she herself has lost several beloved pets in her lifetime. She understands the genuine and deep feelings of loss and grief that one goes through. She has opened her heart to those who need someone to talk to and gently helps to ease them through their grief. Her gentle and compassionate style will  create an atmosphere of comfort and trust, and those going through that pain will know that they are loved and understood.

If you are a person who is in need of someone to talk to about your pain surrounding the loss of your pet - whether you are in the process of making the difficult decision to euthanize, whether the loss is new, or especially if you are still profoundly missing a pet that died long ago and you find yourself unable move on with your life - please contact Beth at 480-748-3021 or via e-mail at

beth@InSpiritLifeCoaching.com to schedule a special session.

Beth is a Certified Pet Bereavement Counselor and received her specialized training from the Association of Pet Loss and Bereavement, of which she is a member. Visit their web site at www.aplb.org.

"... For if the dog be well remembered, if sometimes she leaps through your dreams actual as in life, eyes kindling, laughing, begging, it matters not where that dog sleeps. On a hill where the wind is unrebuked and the trees are roaring, or beside a stream she knew in puppyhood, or somewhere in the flatness of a pastureland where most exhilarating cattle graze. It is one to a dog, and all one to you, and nothing is gained and nothing lost - if memory lives. But there is one best place to bury a dog. If you bury her in this spot, she will come to you when you call - come to you over the grim, dim frontiers of death, and down the well-remembered path and to your side again. And though you may call a dozen living dogs to heel, they shall not growl at her nor resent her coming, for she belongs there. People may scoff at you, who see no lightest blade of grass bent by her footfall, who hear no whimper, people who have never really had a dog. Smile at them, for you shall know something that is hidden from them. The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of her master."

- Author unknown