I know it sounds pretty grim…
Greg Baldwin: Grief Columnist.
But it’s actually quite the opposite. Following the passing of my golden retriever, Jenny, in October 2022, I started attending weekly support groups that were organized by PetCloud, a sole proprietorship that specializes in navigating pet loss. I attended the Sunday support group every week for a year, which greatly aided in my recovery from losing Jenny. I also enrolled in a couple courses delivered by PetCloud’s founder that are designed to acknowledge anger, sadness, and guilt in an effort to release pain. Truthfully, I have no idea where I’d be now if I hadn’t found PetCloud.
When the founder put out a request to solicit volunteers for newsletter contributions, I expressed my interest in writing a column.
And thus, Furever Fido was born.
The term “fido” is actually the recall word that Jenny and her successor, Jodie, have both been trained to respond to on command. The idea is that when they hear the word, they drop everything and come. The difference between the recall word and a simple “come” command is that recall is an emergency word of sorts, designed to be used only in those sticky situations where you really need the dog to just stop whatever they’re doing and come back to you. So, Furever Fido just sounded like a perfect fit.
The PetCloud newsletter, named the Pet News Network, is going to include exclusive content designed to help those who are struggling with the loss of their pets, provide insight, offer a calendar of company events, and also deliver entertainment. I mean, yeah, it’s a newsletter about pet loss and grief, but we also want our readers to laugh and smile.
I have become truly passionate about healing from pet loss, and that’s why I’m so excited to have this opportunity. It’s effortless to write about this topic, and I feel like my experience can serve as a beacon of hope for others who are going through the same thing.
Losing Jenny was horrible. Absolutely horrible, not to mention unexpected. Having the courage to seek help and give myself time and grace to heal is something that I am very proud of. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary.
I’m not going to share the article here, but it is available upon request.