Why The Pet Loss Support Group Was Created
TURNING PAIN INTO PURPOSE
Monday 27th February 2023 was the hardest and saddest day of my life. A day I’ll never forget!
It was the day we had to let Tilly, our 13-and-a-half-year-old Yorkshire Terrier go. Tilly was my baby, my angel, and the love of my life. She taught me the meaning of love - how to receive love and how to give love. She was the bravest girl I ever knew.
She proved this time and time again, especially after undergoing three surgeries for her cancer. Unfortunately, this horrible disease got the better of her and we had to make the hardest decision of our lives and let Tilly cross the Rainbow Bridge in February 2023. Just writing this hurts me so much and brings back so many painful memories.
After we lost Tilly, I spent the next six weeks in a daze and was unable to work. I spent my days in my dressing gown, holding onto a soft doggy toy, trying to find any small sort of comfort I could.
I was completely heartbroken.
Fast-forward eight months, and I was living abroad. On the outside, my life ‘looked’ great. The sun was shining and I was working with clients again, running my own business, but on the inside, it was a different story. I was in a whole world of pain!
One afternoon, I finished work early to go climbing, one of my passions and things that saved me during my pet loss journey. I was sitting on the bus to the climbing gym and from nowhere a grief wave just hit me like a truck. Uncontrollable tears started streaming down my face and I couldn’t stop crying. I missed my girl so much. I just didn’t know what to do with the intense pain I was feeling.
I felt lost, and I was grieving alone in a foreign country.
Yes, I was lucky enough to have family and friends I could talk to on the phone and WhatsApp, but the truth was, they didn’t really ‘get it’ because they weren’t experiencing what I was. I wanted so badly to feel connected to other grieving pet parents and share my feelings in a safe space. I was craving to feel seen and heard and to have my feelings acknowledged and validated.
I felt like I was going to explode.
At that moment, all I craved was to speak to someone who could truly understand my pain and make me feel connected.
I knew that ‘talking’ to someone wouldn’t take away the pain or bring back my girl, but I knew (or maybe just wished) it would make me feel a little bit better, even if it was just for a few moments.
I opened up the Meetup app on my phone in the hope that I would find a group where I could talk to other grieving pet parents who were going through the same thing I was. I searched and searched, but I couldn’t find anything.
I was disappointed, and it was another blow that I didn’t have the emotional capacity for.
After the grief wave finally subsided, I took a moment and reminded myself of Tilly’s brave cancer battle. I was determined not to let my baby down. I wanted to make Tilly proud of me, just like she had always made me so proud.
So, at that moment on the bus, with my face covered in tears and a broken heart, I made a promise to myself. I would do whatever I could to help other grieving pet parents feel less alone and in such pain on their pet loss journey.
I wanted to create a safe space for bereaved and heartbroken humans to share their feelings and be heard without judgement.
And so, the Pet Loss Support Group was born. Inspired by angel, Tilly, I chose to turn my pain into purpose.
This group is dedicated to Tilly, the love of my life, and to all the pet parents out there who are grieving the loss of their beloved pets - you’re NOT alone!
With love,
Sonia 💛 (and Tilly 🌈) - Founder
