Marianne with Tippy (l) and Daisy
Occupation: Behavioral specialist consultant/mobile therapist.Making a difference: Sharon’s idea to lead a pet bereavement group started taking shape in the fall of 2010. Originally, the project was inspired by a graduation requirement for earning her master’s degree in community counseling from Alvernia University.She had been doing volunteer work with a local hospice for about three years and specializing in bereavement work with families.”I had all this knowledge and experience in bereavement both on a personal level and as a volunteer,” Sharon explained, adding that losing her son in 2005 was a motivation to continue her education in counseling.Also, Sharon recently had lost her beagle when she started the project. She wanted to choose a meaningful topic and make a statement about her graduate work.”It came about as a place for me to be able to use my talents and give back,” she said. “One of the reasons I formed the group is because when people lose a pet, we as a society don’t place the value that a pet owner might place on the loss. We don’t necessarily recognize the value that people place on their pet relationships.”Sharon held the first meeting in the community room at the Wyomissing Public Library in February. Since then, the group has been meeting every first and second Monday of the month.Participants often bring pet photographs to the meetings and share stories. Sharon leads icebreaker games to make everyone more comfortable and helps counsel people on how to process what they are going through. She also is available to answer questions about the grieving process and how to explain a loss to other family members or young children.The meetings are free and open to anyone who recently has lost any breed of pet. Sharon said most attendees have lost a cat or dog and come for two to three months, although participants are welcome to return until they feel ready to move on.”If somebody leaves feeling just a tiny bit better and leaves with something that will help them cope, then that’s fine,’ Sharon explained. “We cry, we laugh.”Sharon said pets not only provide companionship but also give purpose to life, especially for elderly people who can have a difficult time getting over the death of a pet. She is considering doing a workshop to focus on how parents can explain the loss of a pet to children, a project she hopes to get under way next year.”I think it’s important,” she said. “I see while working with people in hospice how people deal with emotions when they lose a human who is close to them.”In addition, Sharon has continued to volunteer at a local hospice as her schedule allows.Rewards: “Being able to watch the people who do come back have a sense of closure and being able to see that progression in them and knowing that they are now at a place where they’ve been able to say a peaceful goodbye and hopefully be at a place where they are able to greet a new friend,” she said. “It helps the cycle.”Advice to others: “I think that if everyone could just do something for one hour a month, think about what all those hours would add up to,” she said. “Whatever it is that pulls you, just go there for a minute.”Recommended by: Tina Evangelista-Eppenstein, animal advocate.
Article compiled by Jill Sheetz, Reading Eagle