This week we’re having a conversation that might stretch how you think about pet loss, in the most compassionate way. I’m joined by artist, photographer, and animal chaplain Sophie Gamand, whose shelter work, including the viral project Pit Bull Flower Power, has helped thousands of people see rescue dogs with fresh eyes 🌸
We talk about honoring grief as sacred, practical ways to create ritual and meaning when a beloved animal dies, and how veterinary teams and shelter volunteers can hold space without burning out. This episode offers gentle, practical support for pet parents too, whether you’re helping someone you love through a loss, or you’re grieving your own companion animal.
This episode is designed to help you feel supported, seen, and a little more held while navigating the “disenfranchised grief” that is pet loss 🤍
KEY INSIGHTS:
✨ Why pet loss is often “disenfranchised grief,” and how naming it can help you feel less alone.
✨ How crying can be self-care, and why finding safe people to cry with matters.
✨ How “continued bonds” keep the relationship alive after death, and gentle ways to honor that connection.
✨ Why small rituals (altars, keepsakes, candles) can ground big feelings without needing perfect words.
✨ How everyday creativity—journaling, cooking, walking the old route—can give your love somewhere to go.
✨ Why “holding space” beats fixing, and how to support a grieving friend without minimizing their pain.
✨ How clinics can be grief-aware with simple cues (quiet signals, private exits, chaplain support, 24/7 hotlines).
✨ Why anticipatory grief hits vets and volunteers so hard, and how leaders can model healthy vulnerability.
✨ How meaning-making transforms sorrow into service, from support circles to Sophie’s ceramics as “grief holders.”
✨ Why it’s okay to ask for what you need at euthanasia—music, crystals, keepsakes, time—so goodbye feels true to you.
✨ And how community care (support groups, rituals of remembrance) helps us carry what cannot be fixed.
RESOURCES:
Sign up for Sophie’s newsletter on her website 🐶 👉 https://www.sophiegamand.com/newsletter-signup
Support Sophie’s work with shelter dogs 🐶 👉 https://www.patreon.com/SophieGamand
Purchase your own dog talisman lovingly crafted by Sophie 🐶 👉 https://www.sophiegamand.com/shop
FOLLOW:
Sophie Gamand’s website: https://www.sophiegamand.com/
Sophie Gamand on Instagram: @sophiegamand
Integrative Pet Wellness Center: https://integrativepet.com
Integrative Pet Wellness Center on Instagram: @integrativepet
Dr. Lily Chen on Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet
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