CHARLOTTE – At Passionate Paws Animal Hospital we focus on helping pet parents through every stage of their fur baby’s life and supporting them even after their fur baby has crossed the rainbow bridge. Our monthly virtual pet grief group meetings are dedicated to exactly that: helping pet parents with grief and loss. We recently partnered with Erica Messer, owner and founder of Wolfie’s Wish, an award-winning organization committed to providing simple healing practices for those suffering from pet loss. We will soon be selling her cards at our animal hospital locations and featuring their wisdom on our Pet Grief Group Facebook page. Over the next three weeks, we will be diving into Erica’s own experience with loss, as well as how she overcame and transformed her pain into a resource that could help others.
Dr. Bonilla: Can you describe your experience with pet loss?
Messer: When my beloved “heart” cat Wolfgang, a.k.a. “Wolfie”, fell out of my apartment and died on the way to the emergency vet, I really needed help coping with the shock, trauma and overwhelming grief of his loss. The lack of pet loss products and resources available to me became quickly apparent. Sure, there were plenty of books, but choosing one in a crisis-situation was not possible; I found myself stressing over which one to read, wondering if I would have to read the whole thing to “feel better,” and worrying that, even if I did, it wouldn’t help me heal. I needed to find something to guide me through the tragic loss and suffering in a simpler way.
Dr. Bonilla: If books weren’t the answer, where did you turn next for support?
Messer: I eventually reached out to a pet loss counselor. She told me that I wasn’t crazy—that the feelings I was experiencing were normal. It was then that I knew I wanted to do something to help others in my position.
We will be featuring part 2 of our interview with Erica Messer in next week’s Passionate Pet Care article.
Passionate Paws Animal Hospital is a proud member of the Union County Chamber of Commerce.
