It goes without saying that dealing with the death of a loved one is something that is never easy. This is something that is the same whether or not is a human in your life or that of a pet.

Dealing with the loss of your cat, dog or any other family pet that you have been loving for years is something that can be very difficult to take. This can be especially true because there is not usually a public way for you to share the pain with others.

Society has never been known to offer ways for pet owners to deal with the grief of losing a pet. However, sharing your grief can be an excellent way for you to be able to ease the pain. This is why some people are looking into different ways that they can grieve such a loss while putting together a pet memorial ceremony or service.

Recently, there was a large scale pet memorial service conducted in Bridgeville at Melrose Cemetery for over 40 pet owners. This was a way for them to gather, share in the beautiful setting and celebrate each of the pets that they had who have passed on.

The service was filled with picture displays, written tributes and even a dove release to symbolize the letting go that has been taking place for each pet owner. This was just one of the many beautiful gatherings to be held across the United States to fully honor National Pet Memorial day. This is something that has been celebrated each year in September on the second Sunday. The event was established over 40 years ago through the International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Crematories to help recognize the very important role being played by pets in people’s lives.

The recent ceremony had marked 12 years in a row that there has been a memorial service for pets held in Bridgeville. The speakers that were present included Mike Pensentadler, a veterinarian from Pleasant Valley Veterinary Hospital located in McMurray, PA. He talked about the difficulty of making major decisions, including euthanasia. Elizabeth Babcock was also there, a licensed clinical social worker, discussing how people navigate through the grieving process.

Acknowledging that this is a process that takes time is something very crucial, however, this is something that should not be time-consuming. You never need to make the death of your pet something that is more important than the life that they lived and the role that they played in your life. You have to be able to remember all of the good times. Grief is basically the price of admission for being able to enjoy a loving relationship.

The event was opened up to anyone who had been dealing with the grief associated with the loss of their pet. This si a way to give people a much-needed ritual to help out with alleviating all of the heartbreak, while also serving as a nice place for pet owners to share in their pain and not worrying about the fear of being scorned at all. This is basically a nice, safe place for people to be able to cry with friends and family members who may be feeling the same loss as you are.

During the ceremony, more than a couple of the attendees were starting to tear up, especially during all of the heartwarming short stories and other musings were shared about the pets that once lived. There were also a great number of tears shed during the dove release and candle-lighting ceremony where “Fly” by Celine Dion was played over the loudspeakers. This is meant as a way to represent the owner’s release of the spirits of deceased pets.

You know that you love your pet and the loss and grief is real. It is important that you are able to share in this grief with others and understand all of the feelings that are washing over you. Only then will you have the ability to move on and understand that it is normal for the loss to take up a major part of your thoughts and feelings for quite some time after your pet has passed on.