All tagged grief

471: Supporting Our Clients Through Anticipatory Grief with Erica Messer

471: Supporting Our Clients Through Anticipatory Grief with Erica Messer

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What is anticipatory grief and how can we help our client through it? In the complex landscape of pet care, we face the delicate issue of anticipatory grief among pet owners—a pre-loss mourning filled with anxiety and sorrow. Erica Messer, founder of Wolfie’s Wish, discusses the critical need for pet care providers to offer support and practical resources to our clients. She advocates for early conversations about end-of-life decisions, emphasizing the importance of self-care for both owners and ourselves. She reminds us that in addressing anticipatory grief, our actions resonate more profoundly than words, fostering a supportive community for both pets and their owners.

424: Navigating the Unexpected Death of a Client’s Pet

424: Navigating the Unexpected Death of a Client’s Pet

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How do you deal with the sudden death of a client’s pet? As pet business owners, we will have client’s pets that pass away. We do our best to plan and prepare, but what about an unexpected death? We find ourselves reeling and wondering if we could have done more. We have to continue running our business, while looking for ways to find space and time to recover. On this episode, we walk through the implications at the personal, staffing, and business levels.

422: A Pet Loss Memorial Service For You

422: A Pet Loss Memorial Service For You

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Do you give yourself time to grieve when a client’s pet,  or your own pet, passes away? As busy business owners, we rarely take time to ourselves, and often use our business to bury the emotions and feelings. Clients do the same, and often need prompting and encouragement to mourn their pet. Today, we reflect on our recent pet loss memorial events and what we included. We also invite you to participate in a memorial service just for you.

341: Making Wolfie's Wish with Erica Messer

341: Making Wolfie's Wish with Erica Messer

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What inspires you to try new things? The loss of pet is an earth shattering moment in the life of a pet owner. Erica Messer, owner of Wolfie’s Wish, took the tragedy and turned it into her inspiration to help others. Erica started a product line to help pet parents grieve the loss of their pet. Erica breaks down how she dove into product development, found a manufacturer, and works on her marketing. She also shares how she makes the most out of trade shows and is focused on building a community of resources for everyone.

325: Hosting Pet Loss Memorial Events with Coleen Ellis

325: Hosting Pet Loss Memorial Events with Coleen Ellis

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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.

320: Considerations for Hosting an Event

320: Considerations for Hosting an Event

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We recently put on a pet loss memorial service in one of our service areas and learned a lot! This was the first event we have ever hosted so we were a little nervous. We share how we planned the event and what the main goal of it was. We also talked through how we plan to improve it next time, and give some things to think about if you were planning an event of your own.

316: Dealing with Grief as a Business Owner

316: Dealing with Grief as a Business Owner

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How do you deal with grief as a business owner? We don’t always have the luxury of being able to not show up for the work. We have to find healthy ways of working through the grief process and giving ourselves permission to take guilt free time away. We walk through six things to consider when walking through grief as a business owner. Then, Natasha O’Banion answers, “What does it mean to be efficient in my business?”

110- Pet Loss and Grieving with Coleen Ellis

110- Pet Loss and Grieving with Coleen Ellis

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Processing the loss of any pet is difficult. Processing the loss of a clients pet can add complications and uncertainty of how to handle it on both a professional and personal level. Coleen Ellis, Founder of Two Heart Pet Loss Center, joins us to help break down our role as pet care providers, how to care for ourselves while grieving, and help everyone in the mourning work.

085- Death of a Client's Pet

085- Death of a Client's Pet

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Today we are going to discuss dealing with the death of a client’s pet. It’s not a fun topic but something that, if you are in this business long enough, you have to deal with. First we want to say that we are not experts in pet loss and bereavement. We are going to interview an expert in that in the coming months. Today we just wanted to share the experiences we’ve been through, what we’ve learned, and what has helped us. Over the 9 years we have been pet sitting, we have had several clients pets pass away, and it never really gets easier. Plus, on this week’s “Ask a Pet Biz Coach” segment with Natasha O’Banion, she answers the question, “How should I be using social media?”