Angel Paw Prints

forward written for author, Laurel Hunt-Peel, who wrote the book, Angel Paw Prints, an anthology of pet memorials.

By Dr. Alice Villalobos
Director, VCA Coast Animal Hospital and Cancer Center
Hermosa Beach and Woodland Hills, California

Because I see pets with the big "C" and cancer kills over 50% of senior pets, I touch the deepest departure wounds a person has when a beloved pet passes on. When I touch a wound, I try to heal it. This book helps heal the pain and loss when a pet dies.

In today's world, we don't lose young pets to common contagious diseases or accidents. They get old on us and they are valued more and more with their seniority in the home! We can do so much more to help our pets today with modern diagnostic testing, high tech therapy equipment and more specific, effective medications. My goal is to keep the loved one alive, to preserve the life and quality of life of the family pet so the love bond can be freely flowing for a full pet life span. A person or family suffers when they let the vet euthanize a terminally ill pet. A pet's death is a traumatic experience that wounds the heart forever as it leaves an open wound that leaks heart felt pain years later just by thinking about it. Ask any one who loved and lost.

My job tangles me into the deepest threads of a person's emotional fibers at the first visit. I need to prepare my clients to go into the battle against cancer while getting them set up emotionally for the saddest of all days.

I found that often, the time that my clients needed me most was after the pet had passed away and they were alone with the grief. Words to encourage them to express their grief and focus on the joy moments and rich feelings which the relationship brought were a big help and deeply appreciated. The sympathy cards we sent promptly let them know that we too shared in the loss. It also helped for the grieving persons to know that we gave a donation in honor of their pet's memory to help the world be a better place for animals. We encouraged people to jump in and love again and grab a new bond and a new life line to enjoy another pet love and not let the gap be a gaping hole for long. Sometimes we could get a grief stricken person to take home a homeless kitten so they could just enjoy the freshness of it's curiosity and playfulness.

Although each person handles grief in their own way, it helps to connect with others who have shared the sadness of losing a dear pet, in order to began the healing process.

The power of this book is that it get folks to grieve. People often deny themselves this very important process because they are afraid of looking foolish. This book shows that other people, even scholars, have felt so deeply wounded at their loss that they were moved to express their grief by writing about it. Stories and poems on these pages are so poignant that anyone who has lost a pet, especially recently, will be moved to tears, in spite of themselves.

This book is a sweet well for one's tears.
It is gently therapeutic for the grieving reader who will be endeared to it and want to share it with others.

When somebody you care about loses their dog or cat, it can be very difficult for others to express condolences. Sending flowers looks odd, mumbling "sorry about your pet" sounds inadequate, yet you want to do something to comfort your friend. To share Angel Paw Prints is a thoughtful and touching way to reach out to a feeling friend in grief. It is better than a card, more enduring than a phone call or a visit and it tells others it's okay to feel sad when a pet is forever lost in the net of time and space without us.