‘We need to talk about pet death, too,’ offers animal chaplain on National Pet Day

Sacred Sendoffs

NEW YORK — On National Pet Day, animal advocates recommend spending more time celebrating the joy pets can bring to human homes and the wellness benefits of living with animals. Many also bring attention to the animals who are living in shelters and encourage people to adopt them rather than purchase pets from breeders.

Now, animal chaplain Sarah Bowen goes one step further, asking us to honor animals who have passed on and those who may die soon. “Acknowledging that someday our beloved furry family members will pass on is often avoided, as if speaking about it will cause the event to happen,” offers Bowen. “This refusal to speak about death can leave us unprepared for making the best decisions for a pet’s health at the end of their life with us. It can also make grieving much more difficult.”

With sixty-seven percent of U.S. households now containing animals (fifty-seven percent of homes worldwide), grief over animal loss is a common occurrence that can be devastating. One report suggests that 93 percent of people who experience pet loss have disruption in their lives, such as trouble sleeping or losing appetite. Over 50 percent reduced their social activities, and 45 percent had job-related difficulties. Other studies have documented people’s loss of motivation, increased stress, anxiety, worry, and depression.


Bowen asserts that talking about loss before it happens can help people make more thoughtful decisions about end-of-life medical procedures and help them cope better with loss. “Research tells us that talking about a pet’s death and social support are both essential to the grieving process,” she notes.

Her new book Sacred Sendoffs: An Animal Chaplain’s Advice For Surviving Animal Loss, Making Life Meaningful, & Healing The Planet (Monkfish Book Publishing Company, April 12, 2022) offers a three-part plan for processing grief as well as suggestions for creating memorials for beloved pets. She also explores how animals grieve, and tackles tough topics such as the human biases which can lead to animal exploitation.

In addition, she suggests ways of acknowledging the challenges facing the free-living wildlife around us, reflecting, “It’s estimated over 1 million animals lose their lives on roads each day in the United States alone. Many of these are preventable deaths if we’d only drive a little slower and a lot more mindfully.”

Sacred Sendoffs hits bookstores on Tuesday, April 12.

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Praise for Sacred Sendoffs:

“If there is one book you choose to read about how to enjoy and improve your relationships with animals and fully appreciate who they truly are, this is the one.” ― MARC BEKOFF, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals and other books; professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder

“An ardent invitation to multispecies mourning for our more-than-human companions, from our beloved pets, to the deer on the side of the road, to the rapidly increasing extinction of species on our shared planet” — CODY J. SANDERS, Chaplain at Harvard University & Advisor in the Office of Religious, Spiritual, & Ethical Life, MIT

About Sarah A. Bowen:
Sarah A. Bowen is an animal chaplain and a co-founder of Compassion Consortium, the first interfaith, interspiritual, and interspecies community for people who care about and advocate for animals and the planet. She also companions animals through death, creates sacred memorial rituals, counsels humans grieving animal loss, and advocates for exploited and endangered species in both religious and secular contexts. She has presented on animal death and interspecies spirituality in a wide range of venues, including United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week, Parliament of the World’s Religions, Compassion Arts Festival, Pace E Bene’s Campaign Nonviolence Action Week, The Spiritual Forum, and numerous podcasts. She is a columnist on animal/human relationships for Spirituality & Health magazine, and her work has appeared in Parabola, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Elephant Journal, and on a wide range of podcasts including the conservation podcast All Creatures.


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Contact:
Rev. Sarah Bowen
Sacred Sendoffs
845-407-4046
[email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Religion News Service or Religion News Foundation.

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