A new phone service in the College of Veterinary Medicine is helping people cope with the death of a beloved pet. The pet loss support hotline is a toll-free phone service providing counseling for persons grieving the loss of a pet or companion animal, such as a horse. The support hotline is the first in Iowa and one of the few in the United States. For a lot of people, pets are members of the family.
Many people are very close to their animals.
The hotline is staffed by trained volunteers 6-9 p.m. daily September through April, and Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from May through August. At other times, a caller may leave a message. Calls are returned as soon as possible, Will said. Counselors, most of whom are veterinary medicine students, also will provide information on topics such as euthanasia.