About the Books
This is one of the hardest parts of loving an animal: saying goodbye. It’s an honor for
you to use these books to have a conversation with your child about their love and feelings
regarding the death of a beloved pet. Dr. Mary and Coleen have not only taken their
personal experiences of losing a pet into consideration for the dozens of activities in these books,
but they have also taken a peek into the child of today and how they would express
their grief by including technology ideas. Use these activities to
not only help your child and family in expressing the various
emotions felt with the loss of a pet family member but also
as a way to normalize every one of those emotions.
These books are the perfect resource to give
everyone permission to share their story
and memories.
About Dr. Mary and Coleen
When Coleen was younger, she always knew she wanted to do something with pets for her career. When Mico, the dog she adopted from a shelter after graduating from college, died in 2003, Coleen started a pet funeral home in her honor. She knew she wanted to help others who had broken hearts because of the love and death of their dog. She then went on to open additional pet funeral homes and wrote a book called Pet Parents: A Journey Through Unconditional Love & Grief. Coleen loves speaking
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Mary grew up wanting to be a marine biologist and went to the University of Miami to study everything about the ocean. But it wasn't until her dog Snow White died that she decided to turn her focus to dogs and cats and becoming a veterinarian. She went to the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine and after graduation, worked at a veterinary hospital in south Florida. In 2010 she joined Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice where she could focus on helping families with saying goodbye to their pets in their home.
and teaching classes for veterinarians and other pet care professionals on the grief felt when we lose our beloved pets. When she's not traveling around the world talking to people about pet loss, she's very active with the college from which she graduated, Fort Hays State University.
She cherishes supporting others through education and love.
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She co-wrote a textbook for veterinarians, speaks all around the world about caring for older pets and also wrote a book for people caring for geriatric dogs called It's Never Long Enough: A practical guide to caring for your geriatric dog. Mary has had to say goodbye to 5 dogs and finds comfort in helping others who loved and lost dogs as well.
What Readers Say:
This book is really fun! I liked making the planter with my dog's collar.
GRIFFIN,
Age 8
