Vaughan was devastated after the March incident and had trouble handling her grief until she attended a couple of sessions of the pet loss support group offered by the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley. Nearly four years ago, when she was working in Massachusetts, Ronen learned about the pet loss support group movement that started in this country in the mid-80s. She already knew what it was like to sink into sorrow over the death of a beloved animal. A girlfriend hiking with me finally said, 'Stop it. It was just a dog.''' Like many of the people she now helps, Ronen had to bury her feelings because friends or family didn't understand such bereavement is no different than grieving for a person.
Grievers feel the same shock and denial, anger and guilt, sorrow and depression.
When Ronen and her husband moved west last year, she assumed all humane societies had support groups and sought a job in the field. To her surprise, she said, after checking from San Francisco to Santa Clara County, she couldn't find such a group. It pained her to see pet owners alone and in tears after bring their ill or aging companions to shelters to be put to sleep. It really was comforting. Vaughn found the experience very emotional.