Grieving over a pet

Kim Carvalho, DVM Veterinarian, shares advice for parents on how to help their children transition and grieve after the death of a family pet
Loss Of A Pet - How To Help Kids With Death Of A Family Pet
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Grieving over a pet

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Dealing with euthanasia or death of a family pet is a really difficult topic. Preparing your children ahead of time for this process – if possible – is probably the most important thing that you can do as a parent to help them transition. Sometimes we don’t always know when a pet is going to die, but if we do, and we can have our veterinarian talk to the whole family that the dog is in pain or the cat is suffering and that we’re going to help them out of this pain and suffering, children will understand better and help let go. Grieving is a natural process and so you may need to have photos; you may need to snip a little hair off of the animal; you may need to do a little burial – something to help your children with the process. Parents should look out for changes in appetite, sleep habits – if these things are really affected, you should seek the advice of a grief counselor to help.
ALL PARENTS, Family Life, Family Pets

Kim Carvalho, DVM Veterinarian, shares advice for parents on how to help their children transition and grieve after the death of a family pet

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Kim Carvalho, DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. Kimberly Carvalho attended the University of California at Davis for her undergraduate studies, then went on to graduate from Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1992. She completed a small animal medicine and surgical internship at California Animal Hospital in 1993 and went on to become a partner at Brentwood Animal Hospital in West Los Angeles. Dr. Carvalho became a Board-Certified Diplomat of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in 2002 and is a Clinical Associate Professor at Western University's College of Veterinary Medicine in Pomona, California.

Dr. Carvalho has served on the Medical Advisory Board of PetDrx Corporation, is currently serving as a member of the Medical Advisory Board of Veterinary Centers of America (VCA corporation), and donates a lot of her time and resources to the Friends of Animals Foundation. She also currently serves on the board of The John Thomas Dye School Parent's Association.

Dr. Carvalho is a native of Hawaii and resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. When not working in the office or at her children's schools, she enjoys the outdoors, traveling and golfing.

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Transcription: 
Dealing with euthanasia or death of a family pet is a really difficult topic. Preparing your children ahead of time for this process – if possible – is probably the most important thing that you can do as a parent to help them transition. Sometimes we don’t always know when a pet is going to die, but if we do, and we can have our veterinarian talk to the whole family that the dog is in pain or the cat is suffering and that we’re going to help them out of this pain and suffering, children will understand better and help let go. Grieving is a natural process and so you may need to have photos; you may need to snip a little hair off of the animal; you may need to do a little burial – something to help your children with the process. Parents should look out for changes in appetite, sleep habits – if these things are really affected, you should seek the advice of a grief counselor to help.
ALL PARENTS, Family Life, Family Pets