The Parted Paw

The Parted Paw Compassionate, credentialed support for pet parents & pet care professionals navigating pet loss, grief, and end-of-life care.

Long weekends have a way of bringing back memories of the days that felt a little longer, the adventures that became sto...
09/07/2026

Long weekends have a way of bringing back memories of the days that felt a little longer, the adventures that became stories, and the time spent together that never felt quite long enough.

For pet parents grieving a beloved pet, these weekends can bring a beautiful mix of remembering and missing. The walks, the car rides, the trails, the cottage weekends, the familiar places and little traditions that belonged to both of you.

May the memories be filled with adventure, laughter, light and, most of all, love 🤍
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Did you know there are many different types of grief associated with bereavement, which, at its root, means to be torn a...
09/06/2026

Did you know there are many different types of grief associated with bereavement, which, at its root, means to be torn apart by loss of life?

While terms such as anticipatory grief, disenfranchised grief, cumulative grief and complicated grief are widely recognized within grief and bereavement, they apply to the loss of life of a beloved pet as well.

Grief from pet loss isn’t separate from the language and understanding of bereavement simply because the relationship crosses species.

Knowing the different types of grief, speaking about them and understanding how they may be present in your own experience provides important context for your grieving trajectory. It gives language to what you are experiencing and helps you begin to integrate what your grief means as you learn to live with your loss and find happiness in your life once again 🤍
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09/04/2026

Pet loss and grief come with so many questions, and often those questions surface at a time when everything already feels unfamiliar. Understanding what you are experiencing, why certain parts of grief feel the way they do, and knowing that your experience is valid can bring some clarity to something incredibly personal.

There are so many reasons to reach out for support, and so many questions pet parents have as they navigate life before, during, and after the loss of a beloved pet. Some are about grief itself, some are about the emotions that accompany loss, and others come from trying to understand an experience that is rarely talked about openly enough.

Here are four questions, and the start to a Q&A Series about pet loss and grief that come up often, with a little more context around each one 🤍
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A grief burst is a sudden and often unexpected wave of grief that can arrive long after a beloved pet has passed. A fami...
09/03/2026

A grief burst is a sudden and often unexpected wave of grief that can arrive long after a beloved pet has passed. A familiar song, a photograph, walking past their favourite spot, reaching for them without thinking, or simply remembering something you shared can bring their absence immediately and powerfully into the present.

These moments are also a reflection of the relationship that continues to live within you. Your pet is being remembered, missed and loved, all at once. Giving yourself a moment to connect with what has surfaced can help you move through the intensity of the moment with connection, compassion, understanding and presence 🤍
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Grief from pet loss is often an intersection of emotional, relational, practical and existential losses that are often o...
09/02/2026

Grief from pet loss is often an intersection of emotional, relational, practical and existential losses that are often occurring simultaneously.

Grief may be the language used to describe the whole, but within it, guilt over a decision made at end of life, the abrupt loss of a caregiving role, the absence of routines that once structured an entire day, questions of identity and purpose, fear or distress connected to how a pet passed, isolation from others, and the painful scrutiny of what could have been done differently live.

There is also anticipatory grief that begins long before the loss itself, as well as disenfranchised grief that occurs when the significance of the relationship and the resulting loss are not fully recognized by the world around it.

Each of these experiences has its own influence on how grief from bereavement is experienced.

These are not simply different expressions of sadness. They are distinct dimensions of loss, each with its own origin, meaning and impact.

Using grief as the collective term is important. Allowing the word to become the entirety of the explanation is where nuance is lost.

Looking more closely at what exists within grief gives definition to experiences that otherwise become grouped together, allowing for a more precise understanding of what a pet parent is experiencing, what within the loss they are grieving, and the support that speaks specifically to it 🤍
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Bereavement speaks to the experience of being separated from someone through loss of life. Grief is the response that fo...
09/01/2026

Bereavement speaks to the experience of being separated from someone through loss of life. Grief is the response that follows.

Neither definition establishes a distinction based on species, nor does either determine that one loss must result in greater grief than another.

And yet, when the life lost is that of a beloved pet, that distinction is often imposed socially.

Pet parents may be grieving a relationship of enormous significance while encountering less acknowledgement, fewer supports and an expectation that their grief will somehow be less because their loss was a pet.

This is where the language of grief and the lived experience of pet loss become misaligned. It is also where disenfranchised grief so often enters the experience.

This post addresses the disconnect, and why understanding the language of grief from bereavement is an important part of understanding the experience and grief that follows having to say goodbye 🤍
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08/31/2026

An important part of grief is acknowledging that grief is now a part of your life.

It may sound simple, but that recognition is significant. Grief often exists long before there is an ability to fully acknowledge what it means to live with the loss of someone so important to you.

Acknowledging your grief allows you to begin grieving, and over time, to grow your life around the grief that is now a part of you.

There is still happiness. There are new experiences, connection, love and a life that continues to grow. Love and loss learn to coexist, while your understanding of grief continues to evolve alongside you.

And in time; grief starts to become a part of your life, and no longer occupies the entirety of it 🤍
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Pet loss grief is often compared to other forms of loss, as though grief needs to be measured against something else to ...
08/30/2026

Pet loss grief is often compared to other forms of loss, as though grief needs to be measured against something else to be understood or validated.

For some pet parents, the loss of a beloved pet will be the most difficult loss they have ever experienced. The relationship, the bond and the life shared together are uniquely their own, and so is the grief that follows.

There is no hierarchy in the grief that occurs from bereavement 💙
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08/28/2026

From our friends Vet TeQ whose vision is to become the universal tool for managing pet health from infant to senior, supporting both pet owner and professionals in their approaches to the common goal of healthier, happier pets!

Remembering:The good times, the funny times, the don’t eat THAT times, the leave it, Leave IT, oh for crying out loud LE...
08/28/2026

Remembering:
The good times, the funny times, the don’t eat THAT times, the leave it, Leave IT, oh for crying out loud LEAVE IT times.

Remembering:
The furry hugs times, the cheering up times, the welcome home times.

Remembering all these times, and so many more.

Thank you for making this life better.
~Anonymous

Today, on Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, we honour all our beloved pets who have crossed over, as each and every one is loved, cherished, and remembered, always and forever. 🌈💙🐾
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