Interview! Kaleel Sakakeeny, Founder, The Other Me Coaching

"You can't apply a one-size-fits-all for losing a pet or animal in your life. People shouldn't be ashamed of their feelings of grief when losing an animal."

Kaleel Sakakeeny is back with another great episode about dealing with the grief that can come from losing a pet. Check out his first visit with Community Cats Podcast in Episode 57! Kaleel started out his career as a journalist, but felt pulled to do something that felt more important to him. Soon, he became involved in animal communication. He also began practicing Reiki for animals, and eventually became certified in it. He found that people were suffering from the loss of animals and therapy just didn't seem to be able to handle the depth of loss they experienced. He became concerned that nobody was there for these people, and so he became a Certified Pet Loss and Bereavement Counselor. Kaleel discussed how pet grief can be different than other transitions we experience in life and how people are only now beginning to understand the animal/human bond. While we have customs and traditions around grief when a person dies, there is really nothing there for us to latch onto when a pet passes away, and many people can find that they are unequipped to deal with the loss. On average, when a pet dies, people tend to miss three to five days of work, and their productivity declines 18-22% over a three-month period. This is why specialized training is becoming more and more needed. People need to know that their grief and pain are authentic, and that they don't need to feel ashamed because it was "just an animal." Kaleel also talks about how children can have a particularly hard time with this, since a pet has more than likely been with them throughout a majority of their childhood. It can also be hard for senior citizens who may suddenly feel completely alone and unable to figure out how to move forward. Even losing a pet through divorce can be incredibly painful. For more information, please visit petgriefhelp.com.