The loss of a pet can be devastating. This new website by the Ontario Vet College aims to help

Pets are often seen as a  member of the family and the grief when they die can be difficult to deal with. But a new online resource from the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College aims to support people through that journey.

Sarah Bernardi said the loss of her 10-year-old cat Lily was "devastating."

"It was devastating to lose her. Interestingly enough, I was even surprised by my own grief response and the time it took,” said Bernardi, who is a social worker at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) and Health Sciences Centre.

“A lot of people will say to me that it's hard to put their stuff away after. And that's actually something I had trouble with too.”

Bernardi is involved with the free online Pet Loss Support Resource Centre run by the OVC.

The resource landing page helps pet owners navigate the grief of their beloved pet by offering articles, contact information for professionals, links and videos.

'The life circle goes on'

The landing page guides people through many resources including conversations with professionals in veterinary medicine along with readings people can download.

It also includes a documentary series called Always Near Me, which features Emily Mallett of Orangeville and her daughter Sydney who talk about losing their dog Bella to cancer in their video called Sydney’s Best Friend.

Sydney, who is now 11 years old, aided the veterinarian when Bella was put down in the family home.

“But getting to be the assistant, which I was so excited to do, I just hated what I was doing because it was losing Bella,” Sydney explains in the video.

“But after I basically found out like, oh, this is also part of the job. You can't save every animal. The life circle goes on.”

Sydney was six when Bella died. Her mom Emily says both child and adult grief are very worthy of attention.

“I feel like society is not set up for us to grieve our departed animals in the way that we need to grieve them. There are no funerals. There's no obituaries or celebrations of life,” Emily said.

“There's no bereavement leave from work, which is an area that I strongly feel needs to change.”

Emily Mallett says the pet loss resource wasn’t available when Bella died, but the resources on the website reaffirm the grief they felt.

She and her daughter take an annual memorial walk at a conservation space in Orangeville on the anniversary of Bella's death.

Disenfranchised grief

Bernardi agrees that the grief associated with losing an animal companion can be intense and often socially invalidated.

“We spend a lot of time with our pets in ways that are maybe different from how we spend them with other people in our lives. You know, they're with us every single day,” said Bernardi.

“Pet loss sometimes falls under something called a disenfranchised grief, which means it's not always socially validated or understood.”

Bernardi says that leaves many people feeling isolated or ashamed to speak about their loss.

LISTEN | OVC's Sarah Bernardi on new pet loss online resource: