Book Review: The Pet Professional’s Guide to Pet Loss

The author of The Pet Professional's Guide to Pet Loss: How to Prevent Burnout, Support Clients, and Manage the Business of Grief, Wendy Van de Poll, is a best-selling author and pet loss grief expert with a certification in “End of Live and Pet Grief Support Coach.” After having to deal with the loss of many pets and concealing others who had lost a pet, Wendy decided to create a helpful guide for professionals in the pet industry who deal with pet loss. If you have a friend who lost a loving pet, then you may have been put in a situation where you want to comfort your friend, but don’t know how to do so. At the same time, many who try to comfort their friend or client, are unaware that they too are experiencing grief. The death of a pet and the devastated friend or client is not a fun situation to be in and it is not uncommon to sympathize—take on the feelings of another—while you try to comfort that person. As a result, that grief can weigh on us and produce, what Wendy calls, “compassion fatigue” and “burnout.” In this way, it is not only important for a pet professional to understand how to best comfort others, but also how to take care of themselves throughout the process. Wendy describes her book as: “...your resource to gain a basic knowledge of—grief and loss, self-care, how to support your clients, and the business of grief.” Book Stats The was published on August 10, 2017 and has since garnered a positive rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars on Amazon with over 40 reviews. The book is 182 pages in length and is composed of three major sections: The Nature of Grief—Explains what grief is and the different types and stages of grief. Caring for Your Client and Yourself—A more personal section detailing how to deal with grief-stricken clients and take care of yourself. The Business of Grief—How to implement professional counseling and coaching tools and resources to help support your clients. The book then ends with a note on how to join forces and support each other in the difficult process of dealing with pet grief. Final Verdict With the numerous five-star reviews and Wendy’s background as a pet loss grief expert and best-selling author, it is safe to say that this is a book worth buying for any who deals with pet grief. Professionals can use this book as a guide to not only help others with their grief but to also safeguard against compassion fatigue and burnout. By clicking the image you will be taken to the sales page