If you’ve ever loved and lost a pet, you know how heartbreaking it can be. When we lose our human companions, it is expected that we grieve long and deeply. But when we lose our animal companions, we sometimes feel it’s indulgent or selfish to take a day off from work, or to express our sadness openly. Some of us tend to disguise our sorrow over the loss of a beloved animal because it seems out of step with the way we have been taught to love; that is, to love in a hierarchical way by putting the love of humans above the love of all other creatures.
Regardless of what we think we know about love, our hearts have their own agenda. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, who devoted her life to the study of death and dying, said: “The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered.”
If she were alive to ask, would Dr.Kübler-Ross assure us that it is natural and sacred to grieve the loss of our beloved animal companions as deeply, or more deeply, as we do the loss of our human companions? Of course she would.
Little pet chapels offer intimate “reach-in” spaces which are purposefully created to serve those who have experienced a beyond human connection with another creature’s soul. (Yes, all animals have souls.) In an unobtrusive and gentle way, the chapels nurture bereavement and encourage small actions that are soothing to the soul.
Each little pet chapel is supplied with journals, colored markers, pens, post-it notes, and other supplies. People may write a pet’s name on a note and post it on one of the chapel’s inner walls, craft a story in a journal, draw a picture, leave a photo or another token of memory, or make any small gesture of honor and remembrance that feels right to them. Ritual and ceremony are ancient actions that help us ground ourselves and find meaning in our lives.
Beloved Companions NC honors and supports the human/animal bond during times of transition. Like a mile-long table, everyone is welcome.
By adding your beloved’s story or name to a little pet chapel, your truest words are released to become someone’s good medicine. Thank you for sharing your heart with others.
Love is love. Love is all. Love is long. Love is infinity.
YouTube Video
Lynn Byrd on her Beloved Companions The Little Pet Chapel Project
Lynn’s WFDD radio story: Gratitude for an Unlikely Teacher
Little Pet Chapels 