Anticipatory Counseling

The diagnosis is a gut punch.

You know your beloved’s time is ending. Soon.

These are your final days. It’s devastating.

This is your family. You’ve been through everything together. You can’t imagine saying goodbye.

You can’t imagine having to euthanize your best friend. You can’t bear the thought of your beloved suffering in pain.

Friends and family mean well…

“All animals die. This is how it goes.”

“Just put the dog down now – it won’t get any easier.”

“Find a new animal to adopt so you’ll have one in the house before this one dies.”

“Why waste any money on treatment when you know she’s going to die anyway?”

But they don’t know how to give you the space to process and cope in a meaningful way.

To give your animal companion a beautiful end-of-life experience…

You need support to navigate the difficult decisions and complex emotions that come with giving you and your pet the ultimate gift: a good death.

You want the remaining time with your animal to be meaningful and enjoyable. You want to give a goodbye that is not filled with terror and hysteria.

You want to make the best decisions possible for your animal’s treatment, quality of life, and final moments.

You want a solid understanding and plan for euthanasia and aftercare in advance. You don’t want to be stuck making unexpected decisions when the time comes.

You want to understand and process the myriad conflicting feelings and questions that arise, and you need strategies for coping with them.

And during this overwhelming process, you need to know how to take care of yourself while still honoring your animal.

This is a lot to keep track of for both you and your animal. That’s where I come in.

Anticipatory counseling will get you there.

We will identify your goals and create a plan that focuses on the peace, comfort, and support of your animal.

We will explore tools and strategies to help you cope with the stress of your role as a caregiver and an end-of-life decision-maker.

We will process anger, disorientation, shock, disbelief, and other complicated emotions, and you will have a safe space to vent your frustrations and be validated.

I will have your back. I will support and nurture you through the peaks and valleys of this experience. And if it comforts you, I can be present for your animal’s final moments.

I know firsthand the power of this work…

… because I completed extensive anticipatory loss counseling before the death of my beloved soulmate cat, Arnie.

Because of this, I not only was able to give Arnie an amazing death, but I was empowered to work through my grief while finding joy, hope, and possibility throughout Arnie’s end-of-life care.

It really helped me to reduce guilt, remorse, and regret after his final breath.

Helping you step up when your pet needs you most…

My clients who invest in this journey have a much easier adjustment to this loss because they have the space to grieve and the comfort of knowing they did all they could to prepare.

As devastating as this moment is, the opportunity you have to guide your animal with dignity, serenity, and empowerment in their final chapter is tremendous.

You will be able to look at yourself in the mirror after our work together and know you did everything you could to make the remaining time outstanding for both of you.

Despite the pain of the loss, you will be proud that you knew what to do and did it well.

Your animal companion deserves a peaceful and loving end-of-life experience.

You deserve to know you did everything you could to show up for your beloved.

Let me give you the support and strength you need to say goodbye. Call me today and let’s talk about how I can help: (310) 703-3990.