Book Review: The Pet Professional's Guide to Pet Loss

The author of The Pet Professional's Guide to Pet Loss: How to Prevent Burnout, Support Clients, and Manage the Business of Grief, Wendy Van de Poll, is a best-selling author and pet loss grief expert with a certification in “End of Live and Pet Grief Support Coach.”

After having to deal with the loss of many pets and concealing others who had lost a pet, Wendy decided to create a helpful guide for professionals in the pet industry who deal with pet loss.

If you have a friend who lost a loving pet, then you may have been put in a situation where you want to comfort your friend, but don’t know how to do so.

At the same time, many who try to comfort their friend or client, are unaware that they too are experiencing grief. The death of a pet and the devastated friend or client is not a fun situation to be in and it is not uncommon to sympathize—take on the feelings of another—while you try to comfort that person.

As a result, that grief can weigh on us and produce, what Wendy calls, “compassion fatigue” and “burnout.”

In this way, it is not only important for a pet professional to understand how to best comfort others, but also how to take care of themselves throughout the process. 

Wendy describes her book as: “...your resource to gain a basic knowledge of—grief and loss, self-care, how to support your clients, and the business of grief.”

Book Stats

The was published on August 10, 2017 and has since garnered a positive rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars on Amazon with over 40 reviews. 

The book is 182 pages in length and is composed of three major sections:

• The Nature of Grief—Explains what grief is and the different types and stages of grief.
• Caring for Your Client and Yourself—A more personal section detailing how to deal with grief-stricken clients and take care of yourself.
• link The Business of Grief—How to implement professional counseling and coaching tools and resources to help support your clients.

The book then ends with a note on how to join forces and support each other in the difficult process of dealing with pet grief.

What People are Saying

Having five-star reviews with the exception of one four-star review, Wendy’s book has seen a tremendous amount of support. 

The owner of Healthy Pets NH, April Begosh, gave the book a five-star review. In her review titled “Grief is Not a Sprint, but Rather a Marathon,” she explained:

I am just as excited and pleased with this book as I have been with all of the other books in Wendy's Pet Loss Grief series. Many times in both my professional life as a massage therapist and reiki practitioner for people and pets as well as in my personal life I have found myself supporting people through a variety of grief experiences. The final two topics of this book, Eight Building Blocks of Support for Pet Loss Grief Coaching and Following Up with Compassion and Resources, were the most valuable to me. I have always felt that supporting someone through grief was not a sprint, but rather a marathon. Wendy validated this feeling and provided some extremely useful information and guidelines as to what type of support is appropriate and how well placed follow up can continue to support a grieving person as they make the transition to their "new normal." While this book was written specifically for pet professionals and about pet loss, I believe that anyone experiencing or supporting someone through grief of any kind will find this book valuable.

Other reviewers have similar comments; however, there was one reviewer who left a four-star review. Tara Schnetz, in her review titled “A good book for approaching pet loss,” mentioned: “There are things in this book I disagree with slightly from a religious view point, but the author knows her stuff.”

On a more positive note, she went on to say: “I would encourage you to read this book if you deal with any kind of pet loss on a consistent basis because it will prove extremely helpful. The book covers myths, the power of honesty, the fact that grief can change, the importance of listening and really much more.”

Final Verdict

With the numerous five-star reviews and Wendy’s background as a pet loss grief expert and best-selling author, it is safe to say that this is a book worth buying for any who deals with pet grief. Professionals can use this book as a guide to not only help others with their grief but to also safeguard against compassion fatigue and burnout.