325: Hosting Pet Loss Memorial Events with Coleen Ellis

How do you host a pet loss memorial service? Living in a 'death avoidance' society, many are uncomfortable with the idea of facing death and the passing of a pet. As pet sitters, we can position ourselves as leaders in the community of hurting people who have lost their pets. We can create safe spaces for them to grieve and find others to support them in their mourning work. Coleen Ellis, founder of the Two Hearts Pet Loss Center, joins the show to share what it takes to put on an effective pet loss memorial service. She gives details on elements you can include, and ones to avoid.

Main topics

• What should we call it?
• Why are they needed?
• Typical structure
• Growing the community
• Things to avoid

Main takeaway: Hosting a pet loss memorial events helps people in your community understand that the grief we have is the price we have for love, and that there is support for them.

About our guest:

For Coleen, her foray into helping grieving pet lovers started in 1998 with a chance encounter with a pet parent facing the death of her beloved pet. It was the beginning of a vision of how to best meet the needs of pet parents in their desire to mourn, memorialize and pay tribute to their beloved pets when they die. In 2004, the experience of the death of Mico guided her in starting the nation's first stand-alone pet funeral home. Soon, publications such as Kates-Boylston's Pet Loss Insider deemed her the "most well known pet funeral director" and a true "pet loss pioneer." Two Hearts Pet Loss Center was founded in 2009 to guide people who wished to do the same in providing meaningful pet death care services in their communities. Two Hearts was also started to aid in being an educational resource in the pet grief discipline. In 2009, she received the first Death and Grief Studies Certification specializing in Pet Loss Companioning by Dr. Alan Wolfelt as well as releasing her first book, Pet Parents: A Journey Through Unconditional Love and Grief. She is also Certified in Thanatology and is a Certified Pet Loss Professional. By 2014, Coleen was ready to take her vision to a new level. Joining Nick Padlo as managing partner and Chief Marketing Officer, they formed an acquisition company whose mission was to standardize and raise the service levels of the pet loss industry. The Pet Loss Center strives to be the nation's premier pet loss service, elevating the experiential component of pet loss and grief care across the country. In 2019, she shifted her position with The Pet Loss Center to an Advisory/Consultant role in order to focus more fully on Two Hearts and those demanding education, mentoring, and coaching in the pet death care space. Coleen is an internationally sought-after speaker on the topics of pet loss and grief. Through her delivery style, pet care professionals learn a variety of techniques immediately applicable to implement on how to companion families in their grief journey. Furthermore, her talks to pet parents give them the permission they need to not only grieve but mourn the loss of their beloved pet. Coleen is the founder and past co-chair of the Pet Loss Professionals Alliance and past president of the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care, where she currently serves as an advisor. She is a native of Kansas where she graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. She currently sits on the Board of Trustees for Fort Hays State University, and is a recipient of the 2018 Alumni Achievement Award, the college's highest recognition for graduates. Dallas, TX, is where Coleen and her husband, Chris Burke, reside. They share their home with their four-legged kids, Crisco and Rudy.

Links:

https://twoheartspetlosscenter.com/mico-harry-ellie-story

https://www.petangelmemorialcenter.com

https://www.petsitterconfessional.com/episodes/110-pet-loss-and-grieving-with-coleen-ellis

https://iaahpc.org

Her book for kids on dogs and cats

poooli machine: https://www.poooliprint.com

Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/d/collin1453

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