Honoring Our Animals

Honoring Our Animals Beth Bigler, GC-C, PGSS-C
đŸŸPet Loss Grief Counselor đŸŸ
💔Support before & after your loss

Grief doesn’t move at the speed of the calendar.Some guardians describe feeling stopped inside one week, going over the ...
09/22/2026

Grief doesn’t move at the speed of the calendar.

Some guardians describe feeling stopped inside one week, going over the same handful of hours, while everything around them keeps advancing on schedule.

The stores are three months ahead. Everyone else has plans for October.

Being stuck like that isn’t a failure of effort, and it isn’t something you can decide your way out of.

Your mind is doing something with those hours, and part of what makes it exhausting is that it isn’t finished yet.

I’ve never met a grieving guardian who got unstuck by being told to move forward. What tends to help is having somewhere to actually put those hours, out loud, with someone who won’t rush you through them.

Does time feel weird for you right now?

Are you building an ofrenda for your beloved this year?Pet loss grief often feels supported through creating and doing a...
09/21/2026

Are you building an ofrenda for your beloved this year?

Pet loss grief often feels supported through creating and doing and an ofrenda gives you somewhere to put your hands and heart and spirit.

You find a photo you love, set out a small dish for water, pick up the treats they used to steal off the counter, light their way with marigolds, and by the time October 27 comes you’ve spent weeks tending to them the way you did when they were earthside.

In some Mexican communities and in a growing contemporary DĂ­a de los Mu***os tradition, October 27 is dedicated to animal companions who have died.

The ofrenda is built as a welcome. The photo, the light, the water, the food they loved, and other sacred objects are laid out so they can find their way to you.

These traditions come from Mexican families who have carried the wisdom of remembrance through generations, and we build with gratitude and respect for them. Practices vary by family and region, so there isn’t one correct way to do this.

Yours can be simple. One candle, one photo, one small object that still carries their presence and honors them. A windowsill counts and so does a shelf.

And if building anything at all is more than you have in you right now, that’s okay, too. Some years you tend to them by getting through the day.

The ofrendas in this carousel were built by members of our Honoring Our Animals community and shared with their permission.

The alebrije of my Zelda was designed by Shay Guerrero, and my Arnie and Zelda catrinas were handmade by AmĂ©rica Palacios, who works in personal details from your beloved’s own life. Both take commissions, so if you’d like something made to celebrate your own beloved, find them at Shay Guerrero-Alebrije Artist and La Casa Roja | catrinas Mexicanas de papel mache.

If you’d like some guidance on beginning, join me on Instagram Live for Día de los Mu***os and Halloween on Wednesday, September 30 at 9pm EST.

Who are you building yours for? 🧡

09/20/2026

Share the name of your beloved whose story you will never stop telling 🧡

09/19/2026

What has judgment looked like for you during pet loss grief?

09/18/2026

Are you making a mistake if you feel guilty after your pet transitioned?

No. Guilt reflects how much you loved them and how helpless you felt when love couldn’t stop what happened.

You replay everything. Timing, choices, silences, moments you didn’t know what was coming next. You think maybe if you’d done one thing differently, they’d still be here.

But your beloved never needed you to be perfect.

They needed you to be you. And you were.

As a pet loss grief counselor, I’ve heard every version of guilt. Underneath all of it is tender, desperate, devoted love.

Your beloved didn’t withhold love from you even when you were scared, unsure, or felt like you failed.

If they could speak right now, would they accuse you or offer softness? Would they list your regrets or remind you how deeply you showed up?

If you’re carrying guilt right now, tell me what your beloved would say to you. Let their love speak here.

Pet loss grief can reach into your routines, your relationships, your health and your sense of self, and a lot of what s...
09/18/2026

Pet loss grief can reach into your routines, your relationships, your health and your sense of self, and a lot of what shifts doesn't shift back.

You might laugh at different things or have less room for small talk, or feel closer to the friend who asked your beloved's name than the one who asked when you'd get another pet.

In new grief those changes can be disruptive and devastating, and it's okay to take the time you need to grieve the you who existed before.

With time, some grieving guardians also notice changes they'd keep, like more courage, more compassion or a clearer sense of what matters.

Their life changed yours, and the devastation of their death is carving new rivers, valleys and mountains too. Grief can change us in terrible and lovely ways, often at the same time.

Every feeling about how grief has changed you is welcome here.

đŸŒč Is there a rose change (for the better) or a thorn change (disruptive) you'd be willing to share?

09/18/2026

Grief for our beloveds comes in so many forms, and it doesn’t always mean a transition has occurred. Whether it’s a separation, a life change that creates distance, or the daily ache of watching them struggle with illness, your grief is valid, no matter the circumstance.

Maybe you had to rehome your beloved because of financial strain or housing or a relationship ending. Maybe your beloved has been missing for days or weeks or months, and that uncertainty and fear is real grief.

Or maybe it’s the heartache of being separated by deployment or travel, time taken away from your beloved. Maybe you’re grieving the connection you once had, changed by age or illness or a life that limits your time together.

Whatever form it takes, honor it. This kind of loss can feel just as deep and raw and hard to bear as any other, and it deserves the same compassion you’d offer a dear friend.

Grief isn’t reserved for final goodbyes. It shows up whenever the bond we have with our beloveds is altered in ways we didn’t choose.

So today, be gentle with what you’re carrying. Speak to yourself kindly, and let this grief be as real as it is. Your love transcends the circumstance, and your grief deserves support.

Have you grieved a beloved who’s still here with you? Tell me in the comments so we can hold this often unspoken loss together.

09/17/2026

What did your beloved help you do when they were earthside?

And what might they be able to help you do now, even in the depths of your grief?

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