I was glad to see the previous reader found great solace in this book. I am glad I bought it because at the time it was the only book I could find as I dashed to the airport, and it was better to have something on this topic than nothing as I grieved the new loss of my dear Kitty. But I would not recommend this book highly -- and if you are on Amazon you have a lot of books available at your fingertips. This author is a psychologist and takes a distinctly psychological approach to the subject. I was seeking a more spiritual/emotional approach, particularly because my Kitty died very young and under mysterious circumstances. The psychologist author identifies the process of grief and frequently discusses what is appropriate or inappropriate. If that interests you, this book will be helpful. Personally, I was not at all interested in clinical definitions of inappropriate grief when I was feeling overwhelmed with my own. But everyone is different, so this book may be helpful to you; we each grieve in our own way. I at least was grateful to have a book/person to validate my grief, which so many people seemed to want to dismiss with the attitude "It's only an animal."

An author whose approach I found much more spiritual/emotional and comforting was James Van Praagh. There is one chapter devoted to pet loss in his book Healing Grief : Reclaiming Life After Any Loss. I was surprised to discover he is a medium, as I normally don't go in for psychic stuff. But the chapter on pet loss in not weird or New Age-ish. It is steeped in love, and the author writes with gentleness and sensitivity of the eternal souls of our beloved animals and the mutual bonds of love that endure beyond mortal death.

I found the book encouraging in that it gave me a feeling of not being the only one who ever suffered from the loss of a pet. I just do not know if I am ready to get over it yet as the book tells me to. I guess I was hoping for more - but it delivered what it promised, so I cannot complain.

I took this trusty volume off of my book shelf for the second time in three years this week. Its wisdom, advice, and understanding tone is a great comfort when the most innocent member of your family has made their final exit. Mimi, in my case, was only two years old, making this read extremely difficult, but extremely necessary. I thank the book for helping me understand that what I'm experiencing is natural and necessary in order to start the healing process. With information on the stages of grief, the emotions one experiences, and the consolation that the hurt will get better, Pet Loss has helped me once again say goodbye to a loving dog.