The day that changed everything.

Monday, 27th February 2023, was the hardest day of my life.

It was the day I had to say goodbye to Tilly, my 13-and-a-half-year-old Yorkshire Terrier.

Tilly wasn’t “just a dog.” She 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 soul I ever knew.

After three surgeries and a long fight with cancer, we had to make the most heartbreaking decision to let her go.

Just writing this hurts so much and brings back so many painful memories.

The weeks after.

After losing Tilly, I was completely broken. For six weeks, I could barely function and was in a daze.

I spent my days in my dressing gown, holding onto a soft toy just to feel some kind of comfort.

I wasn’t just sad. I felt lost, empty, and completely devastated.

Life moves on, but grief doesn’t.

Eight months later, I was living abroad. On the outside, everything looked fine.

I was working again. The sun was shining. Life seemed “back on track.”

But inside, it was a different story. I was still carrying so much grief. 

One afternoon, sitting on the bus on my way to a climbing gym (one of my passions and ‘tools’ that saved me during my pet loss journey), a grief wave hit me out of nowhere.

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.

In that moment, I realised something that changed everything. 

I was grieving alone, and I didn’t know what to do with the pain I was feeling.

Maybe you’ve felt that too.

What I needed didn’t exist.

I was lucky to have family and friends I could talk to, but they didn’t really ‘get it’. 

Not because they didn’t care, but because they hadn’t experienced this kind of loss.

I wanted so badly to feel connected to other grieving pet parents and share my feelings in a safe space. 

I wanted to feel seen, heard, and understood. I needed to know that I wasn’t the only person feeling this way.

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 might make me feel a little less alone, even if only for a few moments.

What I needed was simple:

• a community of people who got it

• a space where I didn’t have to explain

• a place where my grief felt normal and was accepted without judgement 

So I did what many of us do. I searched. I opened Meetup. I looked online.

But there was nothing. 

No safe, small, supportive space for grieving pet parents to come together and share their grief.

I was disappointed, and I really didn’t have the emotional capacity for another setback.

Which brings me to you.

Sitting there on that bus, heartbroken and tears streaming down my face, I made a promise to myself:

I’d do whatever I could to help other grieving pet parents feel less alone on their pet loss journey.

I didn’t have a grand plan of building a community that would one day support grieving pet parents across the UK.

In that moment, I just wanted to help at least one person feel less alone in their grief.

And so, the Pet Loss Support Group was born.

Inspired by Tilly, I chose to turn my pain into purpose.

Why this community was created.

Since 2023, the community has supported more than 100 grieving pet parents across the UK through peer-led online support sessions and in-person meetups.

With support from The National Lottery Community Fund, we’re helping make pet loss support more accessible.

What began with my own grief has grown into a compassionate and kind community built on connection, understanding, and shared experience.

It was created so that no one has to go through this kind of grief alone.

It’s a gentle space where grieving pet parents can talk openly about their loss, feel understood, and connect with others who truly get it.

A place where you can:

• share your story 

• listen quietly

• cry if you need to

• remember your pet

• be met with compassion, not judgement

You don’t have to explain why it hurts so much here. We ‘get it’ and we’re here for you.

From one story to many.

What started from my own pain has become something much bigger.

A space where people come together from different places, different stories, but with one shared experience: loving and losing a beloved pet.

Since losing Tilly, I’ve slowly found ways to carry my grief and navigate life without her, while still loving and missing her every day.

This community is dedicated to Tilly, the love of my life. 

And it’s here for you if you’re hurting or simply missing your pet in ways others just don’t get. 

If you’re grieving your precious pet right now, I hope this community helps you feel a little less alone in what can be one of the most painful and isolating experiences of our lives.

That’s why this safe space exists.

With love,
Sonia 💛 (and Tilly 🌈)

Take a gentle first step.

If you’d like support from people who truly understand pet loss grief, you’re warmly welcome to join one of our online support sessions.