PET CHAPLAIN LEARNING SERIES
Book Details
Each book in the Pet Chaplain Learning Series stands alone, so you can read the volumes that are most appealing to you. Yet the books also work in a series that provides a robust education in the human-animal bond, coping strategies for managing grief, the unique challenges of losing an animal companion, animals and spirituality, and many other topics.
The first three books in the series address concerns that are common among pet keepers, and the final book in the series, Veterinary Chaplaincy, is the first-ever textbook in this new field of spiritual care. For the richest learning experience, we recommend reading all the books in the order listed below.
The Pet Chaplain Spiritual Journey
The first three books in the Pet Chaplain Learning Series comprise what we call the Pet Chaplain Spiritual Journey—a path of learning and self discovery that will help you better understand your authentic identity as a pet keeper and animal lover. Each book includes thought-provoking discussion questions that will invite you to explore your beliefs about animals, spirituality, death and grief, and many other key topics. Each book also includes an installment of the Sacred Story Project, which will invite you to craft a story about an animal who changed your life. These resources make these books especially well-suited to book study groups, and we encourage you to share your journey of learning and spiritual growth with others who share your passion.
Have you ever had a pet who changed your life? Are you a better person because of a special animal? If you answered yes to these questions, you’re not alone. An estimated seven out of ten American families keep pets, and many say their animals teach them important life lessons and change their lives for the better.
This book explores the powerful role animals play in our lives. In ten intimate stories of pet keeping and loss, you’ll meet some aspiring veterinary professionals and the heart animals who sparked their interest in their work. They’re all “sacred stories”—narratives that reveal who we are and what we value.
If you’re a pet keeper, these stories provide insight into the motivations of the professionals you trust to care for your animals. And if you’re a veterinary professional or you work or volunteer in animal rescue, these stories will deepen your understanding of your calling to your work.
Heart Animals will also invite you to reflect on your own sacred story about the animals who’ve changed your life. As the first volume in learning series, this book sets the stage for a spiritual journey in which you’ll explore your relationship with animals and the natural world through reading, writing, self-reflection, and storytelling. At the conclusion of your journey, you’ll have a clear understanding of your values and beliefs about animals and be inspired to envision ways to lead a life in relationship with animals that’s in harmony with your spiritual values.
Research shows that the loss of an animal companion can be more painful than the loss of a human family member. Yet little is known about this experience. This book explores this phenomenon and offers tips and strategies for navigating the lifelong journey of grief and healing we undertake after losing a cherished pet.
Most books about pet loss focus on the short-term challenges of grief. Always in My Heart takes the long view, providing rare insight into the challenges and personal transformation many people experience in the months and years after saying goodbye to a special pet. You’ll discover:
- Intimate stories about pets that reveal the lessons others have learned when traveling this road.
- A frank discussion of death and the overwhelming feelings of helplessness, guilt, anger, and sorrow that often follow in its wake.
- Creative ways to cope with your grief, including activities that will help you make meaning of your loss and honor your pet’s memory.
- An opportunity to reflect on the lessons you’ve learned from your animals and how you might incorporate these lessons into your life.
- An exploration of the enduring quality of the human-animal bond.
- A vision for how the love you continue to feel for your lost pets can be a positive force in your life.
Whether you’re contemplating the imminent loss of a pet, grieving for an animal you’ve recently lost, or revisiting a loss that occurred years ago, Always in My Heart will help you reconnect with your joyful memories and tap into the life-affirming wisdom that emerges in the fullness of time.
If you’ve ever grieved for a pet, you’ve probably heard people say, “Why are you so upset? It’s just an animal.” Comments like this are hurtful, especially when you’re heartbroken for the loss of an animal you consider to be your soulmate.
People who say things like this may be insensitive, but their perspective also reflects the world in which we live. Although millions of Americans consider their pets to be valued members of their families, as a society we continue to minimize the grief people experience for the loss of their animal companions. In fact, research shows that most people who’ve lost a pet grieve alone because they worry that others will dismiss their feelings or accuse them of being overly emotional.
Just an Animal offers a critical perspective on this phenomenon. Digging deep into the historical record, it explores the ideological foundations of a false narrative about animals that distorts reality and fails to reflect the powerful bonds millions of people share with their animal companions. It also chronicles how this outdated, “just an animal” perspective is shifting as pet enthusiasts, animal healers and protectors, animal scientists, and spiritual leaders tell a new story about our fellow creatures that celebrates their remarkable intelligence, exquisite emotional sensitivity, and simple wisdom.
If you’ve ever struggled to find sympathetic support after losing a cherished pet, this book will give you a fresh perspective on your experience and a deeper understanding of the social forces that have shaped your grief journey. You’ll realize that you’re not alone—that countless “normal” people just like you grieve intensely for their animal companions and that such grief is a fitting response to the loss of an important relationship.
Introducing the First-Ever Textbook in Veterinary Chaplaincy
If you’re interested in the practice of veterinary chaplaincy, the fourth book in the series offers an in-depth education in this new field of spiritual care. Written for a lay audience, the book is intended to make the practice of spiritual care for pet loss more accessible to everyday people.
- If you’re new to caregiving, this book will give you a basic understanding of human spirituality and what interfaith care is all about. You’ll feel more confident supporting your animal-loving friends and family.
- If you work in the animal care industry, this book will improve your ability to listen deeply to your human clients, respond with greater sensitivity to their needs, and find creative ways to honor their grief and memorialize their animals.
- If you already work in a professional caregiving role, this book will raise your awareness of the unique challenge of losing a beloved pet and empower you to bring your caregiving skills to the pet-keeping community with confidence.
For the best learning experience, we recommend beginning your studies with the first three books in the series. Veterinary Chaplaincy builds on key topics explored in those volumes with a focus on practice. The first three books will also encourage you to explore your own losses and your beliefs about animals and spirituality. Such inner work is essential to anyone in a caregiving role. Beliefs about animals vary greatly in our society, and the series as a whole will prepare you to respond with empathy to people who feel as you do about animals and with sympathy and tolerance to those who do not.
Like the other books in the series, Veterinary Chaplaincy includes an installment of the Sacred Story Project, inviting you to clarify your calling to spiritual caregiving for pet loss and envision your future path.
Our animal companions bring love and joy to our lives, and losing them can be heartbreaking. Yet many of us struggle to find the emotional and spiritual support we need when we lose a pet. Veterinary chaplaincy is a response to this abiding need, and this book is the first-ever textbook in this emerging field of interfaith spiritual care.
Based on the scholarship and hands-on experience of Pet Chaplain founder and chaplaincy educator Rob Gierka, EdD, this groundbreaking book offers a foundational education in the guiding principles of interfaith veterinary chaplaincy and practical tools you can use to support pet keepers in clinical and community settings. It’s a valuable resource and a call to action for anyone interested in this work, including professional caregivers, people who work or volunteer in the animal care and services industry, and everyday people who wish to provide spiritually inclusive comfort and support to their family and friends.
Key Topics
- An exploration of six key competencies for veterinary chaplaincy.
- An overview of the guiding principles of interfaith spiritual care.
- A detailed analysis of how people make meaning in life, which is the special purview of spiritual care.
- An overview of teachings and beliefs about animals in five of the world’s mainstream religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. We also review the core beliefs of alternative spiritual traditions, from earth-focused practices such as Wicca to humanism and atheism.
- Best practices for spiritual care, including guidelines for engaging in pastoral conversations with people in emotional and spiritual crisis.
- A discussion of those situations that are unique to the pet keeping world that you may find emotionally and ethically challenging.
- Tips for creating memorials, rituals, prayers, and reflections that honor animal lives.
- A review of opportunities for practice in a variety of settings where animals and people interact, from veterinary clinics and rescue organizations to community settings such as homeless encampments.
- Guidelines for working with special groups, such as children, senior citizens, and people with service and emotional support animals.
- And much, much more!