Pet loss support resources: who to call, what to read, where to go
The quickest route to support after a pet dies is a free pet loss helpline, and there are several in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. If you want company over time, a support group fits better; if grief feels stuck, a counselor does. More than half of bereaved owners in one large survey, 56.7%[1], couldn't find the support they needed, so here's the map.
By the Pet Loss Grief Support Resources editorial team · Updated September 24, 2026 · 6 min read · Sources
- Free helplines listed by country
- What each type of support is actually for
- Crisis numbers for the worst nights
The short answer
Where should you start if you need support today?
Start with how urgent the feeling is, not with the type of service. If you just need to say your pet's name to someone who won't flinch, a pet loss helpline is built for exactly that, and most are free. If you want people around you for the next few weeks, look for a support group. If you've been carrying guilt or numbness for months and it isn't shifting, a counselor who takes animal loss seriously is the right door.
Most people end up using two or three of these at different times. A helpline call on a bad Sunday, a book on the nightstand, a group once a month. None of them is a test you have to pass. You can try one, decide it isn't for you and try another without explaining yourself.
Someone to talk to
Which free pet loss helplines can you call?
Pet loss helplines have a longer history than most people realize. The first one opened at the University of California, Davis, in 1989[2], and veterinary schools and animal charities have run them ever since. Volunteers are usually trained by grief counselors, and they're there to listen, not to judge whether your loss was big enough to call about.
| Country | Service | How to reach it | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | Cornell University Pet Loss Support Hotline | 607-218-7457 | Free; answered by veterinary students trained by grief counselors |
| US | Tufts University Pet Loss Support Helpline | 508-839-7966 | Free; volunteer evenings Monday to Thursday, with voicemail |
| US | Lap of Love pet loss support | (855) 933-5683 | Some free groups and some paid sessions with pet loss coaches |
| UK | Blue Cross Pet Bereavement Support Service | Phone, email or webchat via Blue Cross | Free and confidential, open every day of the year |
| Australia | Griefline | 1300 845 745 | General grief line that includes pet loss; weekday hours |
| Australia and NZ | Pets and People Pet Loss Support Line | AU 1300 431 450, NZ 0800 114 421 | Free to call; counsellors it refers you to set their own fees |
Cornell's Pet Loss Support Hotline is Free[3] to call, and so is the Tufts Pet Loss Support Helpline[4]. In Australia, Griefline's pet loss page lists a helpline that covers the death of an animal[5]. In the UK, Blue Cross answers 365 days a year[6]. Hours at university lines follow the academic calendar and change often, so check the current schedule before you ring. If nobody picks up, leaving a voicemail with your first name and your pet's name is enough; someone will usually call back.
On your own terms
What if you'd rather read or listen than talk to anyone?
Plenty of people grieve privately and do better with a book than a conversation. Pet loss books tend to fall into three groups: short, gentle books you can read in an evening; workbooks with prompts for writing about your pet; and more clinical books by counselors who explain why this grief can be so disorienting. A local library will often order one in if you ask.
Veterinary schools and animal charities also publish free reading online, from short leaflets on euthanasia guilt to guidance for parents. Grief podcasts and recorded talks are another quiet option, especially on the commute or on the walk you used to take together. If you'd like help sorting through formats, our article on reading, listening, groups and clinical care compares them side by side.
- For the first week: something short. Long books are hard to follow when you're not sleeping.
- For guilt: material written by veterinary teams, who see end-of-life decisions every day, and our own article on guilt after putting a pet to sleep.
- For children: picture books that use plain words like "died" rather than "went to sleep".
- For the long haul: a journal or workbook you can pick up and put down.
Company, any hour
How do you choose a safe online pet loss community?
Online groups are open at 3 a.m., which is when grief often hits hardest. Some are run by veterinary hospices or charities with trained moderators; others are informal social media groups of a few thousand people posting photos and memories. Both can help, but the moderated ones are gentler when you're fragile.
- Look for clear posting rules and moderators who actually remove cruel or sales-driven comments.
- Be wary of groups that push memorial products, psychics or paid courses in every thread.
- Notice how you feel after an hour there. Comforted is good. Worse, and more anxious, is a sign to step away.
- Keep personal details out of public posts, especially your address and the vet you used.
If you'd prefer to meet people face to face, or on a video call with a facilitator, our guide to finding pet loss support groups explains the difference between peer-run and professionally led groups, and what a first meeting feels like.
When free isn't enough
When is it worth paying for pet loss counseling?
Most pet grief softens with time, rituals and people who understand. Counseling earns its cost when it doesn't: when months have passed and the pain is sharpening rather than easing, when guilt about euthanasia is running your days, or when this loss has reopened an older one. A 2026 UK study found that 7.5%[7] of people bereaved of a pet met the criteria for prolonged grief disorder, so this isn't rare or dramatic.
about 80[8]
Private sessions vary widely in cost; one Calgary practice charges CA$220/hour[9] for pet-loss counselling. Before paying, check whether your employer has an employee assistance program, which often covers a few free sessions. Our guide to professional grief counseling for pet loss covers which professionals to look for and what to ask. Not sure whether you need it yet? The private grief check-in takes two minutes and sends us nothing.
Free tool
Pet loss grief check-in
A private, two-minute check-in on how you're coping, with ideas that match where you are.
It's not just you
Why is good pet grief support so hard to find?
Partly because people don't look, and partly because they're made to feel they shouldn't. In the RSPCA's survey of more than 4,000 bereaved owners, 57.1%[10] felt they had to hide their grief and only 13.4%[11] felt fully understood by others. When the people around you treat it as a small thing, searching for a helpline can feel like an overreaction. It isn't.
56.7%[1]
56.7% of bereaved pet owners in the RSPCA survey could not find the support they needed.
57.1%[10]
57.1% felt they had to hide their grief after a pet died, and 57.8% perceive stigma around pet loss.
13.4%[11]
Only 13.4% of bereaved pet owners felt fully understood by others.
Scale that gap up and it's large. Applying the UK shortfall to American pet households, by our estimate roughly 850,000 bereaved US households a year may not find the support they need[12]. That's a rough figure, but it explains why a quiet search at midnight so often turns up nothing useful.
Which kind of support have you tried since your loss?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Narrowing it down
How can we help you pick the right kind of support?
If you'd like someone to do the searching, send us a short note about where you live and what's hardest right now, whether that's evenings alone, a child with questions or guilt about timing. We'll email a short list of groups, lines and counselors that fit. We're an independent guide, not a clinic, so we never provide therapy ourselves.
You can also browse support by area, read how each option works on our support services page, or see how we research before you trust any list, including ours. The live poll results show which kinds of support other grieving owners reached for first.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
Which kind of support have you tried since your loss?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What helped you most in the first weeks?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What was the hardest part of losing your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Questions people ask
Is there a free number I can call about my pet dying?
Yes. In the US, Cornell and Tufts run free pet loss lines staffed by trained students and volunteers. In the UK, Blue Cross runs a free bereavement service every day of the year. In Australia and New Zealand, Pets and People runs a free-to-call line. Check hours before calling, as university lines change with the term.
Can I call a pet loss helpline weeks or months after my pet died?
Yes. There's no time limit on calling. Many people ring for the first time around an anniversary, when a second pet becomes ill, or when a friend says something careless. Volunteers hear from people at every stage, including years later, and won't ask you to justify why you're calling now.
What's the difference between a pet loss helpline and a crisis line?
A pet loss helpline is for talking through grief with someone who understands animal loss. A crisis line, such as 988 in the US and Canada or Samaritans in the UK and Ireland, is for when you feel unsafe or are thinking about ending your life. If you're at that point, call the crisis line first; they support grief of every kind.
Are online pet loss groups as useful as meeting in person?
For many people they are, especially if you live rurally, work odd hours or find face-to-face meetings too exposing. Moderated groups run by hospices or charities tend to be kinder than open social media groups. If you want a structured conversation with a facilitator, a video-call group combines the two.
Does my employer's assistance program cover pet grief?
Often, yes. Employee assistance programs usually cover bereavement in general and don't exclude animal loss, though it's worth asking. They typically offer a small number of free, confidential counseling sessions by phone or video. Your HR team or benefits handbook will have the number, and your manager doesn't need to know you've called.
Do you recommend specific counselors or groups?
We don't endorse any single service. If you ask through the form, we'll email options that match your area and what you're facing, with notes on cost and format, and you decide whether to contact any of them. We're not paid to steer you toward a particular counselor.
Keep reading
Sources and our estimates
- [1] 56.7% of bereaved pet owners in the RSPCA survey could not find the support they needed. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
- [2] The first pet loss support hotline was set up in 1989 at the University of California, Davis, according to Cornell. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, 2026.
- [3] Cornell's free Pet Loss Support Hotline (607-218-7457) is staffed by veterinary students trained by professional grief counselors. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, 2026.
- [4] Tufts University's Pet Loss Support Helpline (508-839-7966) is free and volunteer-staffed, 6–9 pm ET Monday to Thursday, with 24-hour voicemail. Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, 2026.
- [5] Griefline, an Australian grief support service that covers pet loss, lists its helpline as 1300 845 745, open weekdays 10am–8pm AEST/AEDT. Griefline – Losing a pet, 2026.
- [6] Blue Cross's Pet Bereavement Support Service in the UK is a free, confidential phone and email helpline open 365 days a year. Wikipedia – Blue Cross (animal charity), 2026.
- [7] 7.5% of UK adults whose bereavement was the death of a pet met criteria for prolonged grief disorder (PGD). Hyland et al., 'No pets allowed: Evidence that prolonged grief disorder can occur following the death of a pet', PLOS ONE (2026), 2026.
- [8] About 80 qualified, accredited pet bereavement counselling therapists were in private practice in the UK (Sadgrove, 2021, cited in a 2024 peer-reviewed study). Coping with Animal Companion Loss: A Thematic Analysis of Pet Bereavement Counselling (PMC11017691), 2021.
- [9] A Calgary psychology practice charges CA$220 per 60-minute pet-loss counselling session, which Alberta Health Care does not cover. Trio Psychology – Pet Loss Counselling (Calgary), 2026.
- [10] 57.1% felt they had to hide their grief after a pet died, and 57.8% perceive stigma around pet loss. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
- [11] Only 13.4% of bereaved pet owners felt fully understood by others. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
- [12] Roughly 850,000 bereaved U.S. pet households a year may not find the grief support they need. Our estimate: 1.5M pet cremations x 56.7% couldn't find support. How we calculate.
Get pet loss support options near you
Tell us what you need and where you are. We'll reply by email with clear options and prices so you can decide in your own time.