This is for you
You don't have to be a client
The grief support resources on this page, the support group, the lending library, the connection to other resources, are open to anyone in the Nevada County community. You don't need to have used our cremation services. You don't need to have any connection to Goodbye at Home at all. If you're grieving a pet, you belong here.
For many people, a pet is a constant presence, a daily companion, a source of comfort, a fixture in the rhythms of ordinary life. When that presence is gone, the silence is profound. Pet loss grief can be isolating, and people sometimes feel pressure to move on faster than they're ready to. That experience is common, and it's unfair. The love you had for your pet was real, and so is the loss.
"The bond between a person and their pet is real. So is the grief when it's gone."
Pet Loss Support Group
Goodbye at Home hosts a free monthly pet loss support group, open to anyone in the community who is grieving a pet, regardless of whether you used our services, how long ago your loss was, or what kind of animal you lost.
The group is facilitated by Selene, who holds training in grief support facilitation through the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC). These gatherings are a space to be heard, to hear others, and to not feel alone in what you're carrying.
To protect the privacy and safety of participants, meeting details are shared privately. Reach out to get on the list, we'll send you the time, date, and location directly.
Helping children through pet loss
Losing a pet is often a child's first experience of death. Research in childhood grief consistently shows that children benefit most from honesty, inclusion, and the chance to see adults model healthy grieving, not from being shielded from the loss.
Children understand far more than we give them credit for, and exclusion from the grieving process tends to prolong and complicate their grief rather than protect them from it. Here's what the research supports:
Use honest language
Words like "passed away," "went to sleep," or "we lost them" can confuse young children and sometimes create fear around sleep or travel. "Died" and "death" are clearer and, despite how they feel to say, tend to be less frightening to children than vague language they can't make sense of.
Include them in the process
Children who are included in saying goodbye, who get to see, touch, or be near their pet, show better grief outcomes than those who are excluded. Letting a child place a flower, write a note, or simply be present gives them a way to participate rather than just absorb the loss.
Let them see you grieve
When children see adults cry, express sadness, or talk openly about missing a pet, it gives them permission to feel their own grief, and teaches them that grief is survivable. Suppressing emotion in front of children often signals that their feelings are also too big to be expressed.
Expect the unexpected
Children's grief doesn't follow adult patterns. A child may seem fine one hour and devastated the next, or may ask to play moments after crying. This is normal. Grief in children often comes in waves, sometimes interrupted by ordinary life, that's not a sign that they didn't care.
Create a ritual or memory
Research on childhood grief supports the use of simple rituals, a burial in the yard, planting a flower, drawing a picture, or making a memory box. Ritual gives children a concrete action in response to something that can feel overwhelming and formless.
Resources
What we offer
Monthly Support Group
Free, facilitated, open to everyone. Reach out for details, we share meeting info privately to protect participants.
Books on Pet Loss
Titles for adults and children, available to borrow. Ask when you reach out and we'll find something that fits where you are.
Helping Children Through Pet Loss
Pet loss is often a child's first experience of death. We can talk through how to approach those conversations, and point you to books written specifically for this.
Professional Referrals
Some people benefit from working with a grief counselor who specializes in pet loss. We can help point you toward resources if that feels right.