Pet Loss Grief Counselor and Animal Hospice Care Provider Certificate

Earn a Certificate in Pet Loss Companioning and Animal Hospice Care. This Certificate consists of a 8 segments in Pet Loss Companioning and a 9 lesson course in Animal Hospice care and the end of life care and process. Taught by the two pioneers and experts in each of these fields.

The Pet Loss Grief Counselor and Animal Hospice Care Provider Certificate requires the completion of two courses –

Animal Hospice: Geriatric and Special Needs Care for Animals-Spirits in Transition™

Pet Loss Companioning

Pet Loss Companioning – As more and more people are acknowledging that their pets are more than just animals and that they are members of the family, they are demanding the same types of services that we would want and expect of our human family members.  While Pet Parents did all they could for their furry children during life, they also want to make sure that the same can be said in death.  Furthermore, they will feel comforted in knowing that, most of all, their feelings of grief are validated.  As Pet Care Professionals, while it’s our responsibility to help pet parents with the loss of their pet, it’s also an area that many people are uncomfortable with.  In the eight Pet Loss Companioning webinars, many different aspects of death and grief are explored as the attendees learn the intricacies of one of life’s inevitable events.

The Faculty members teaching the Pet Loss Companioning courses are Coleen Ellis and Joe Dwyer.  In 1998, a chance encounter with a pet parent facing the death of her pet was a defining moment for Coleen. It was the beginning of her vision of how to best meet the needs of pet parents in their desire to mourn, memorialize and pay tribute to their beloved pets when they die. In 2004, Coleen opened the Pet Angel Memorial Center, Inc.®, the nation’s first stand-alone pet’s-only funeral home. ” In 2009, Coleen founded Two Hearts Pet Loss Center, to guide people who wish to provide meaningful pet death care services in their communities, as well to be an educational resource in the pet grief discipline. Most recently, she received the first Death and Grief Studies Certification specializing in Pet Loss Companioning by Dr. Alan Wolfelt as well as releasing her first book, Pet Parents: A Journey Through Unconditional Love and Grief. She is also Certified in Thanatology. Joe Dwyer is a certified dog trainer, with a passion for animal rights.  He has rescued two dogs from shelters that live with him and his family in New Jersey.  Most recently, he trained one of the rescued dogs, Shelby, to be a certified therapy dog.  He recently published “Shelby’s Grace”, outlining the Pit Bull’s journey of love and compassion. Joe authored a second book in January 2011. “The Dog ate my Homework” is about accountability from a dog’s view, also the brand of Joe’s presentation series. In March 2011, Joe graduated from Emerson Theological Institute as a certified Animal Chaplain.  He was also ordained a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church in June 2002. Joe and his wife Geralynn live in New Jersey with their two children, Joe and Jenna and of course their four canine kids, Rommel, Greta, Spartacus, and Shelby. Recently Joe was the adoptee parent of Daniel the Beagle, who miraculously survived the gas chamber at a shelter.

The Animal Hospice Course (SPIRITS in Transition™). Supporting a dying animal is an art that can be learned, and benefits greatly from preparing ahead of time, before the actual hospice situation arises.  Being there for our animal as it completes this life cycle can be one of the most challenging, and at the same time most rewarding undertakings we may ever experience. While we are not opposed to euthanasia, we feel there is great value inherent to the natural dying process. However, many are not familiar with that process and how to best support an animal going through it. 10 webinars.

The Faculty teaching the Animal Hospice course is Ella Bittel. Ella is a Holistic Veterinarian Born in Germany. Ella followed her childhood desire to “help animals” by becoming a veterinarian. Now living and working in Arizona and California, Ella has specialized in holistic modalities for over 20 years, among them veterinary acupuncture and chiropractic, cranio-sacral work, homeopathy, TTOUCH and energy medicine techniques adapted from Donna Eden, including work on the animals aura and chakras. When Ella’s dog companion of 17 years, Momo, reached the end of her life, it became clear to Ella that none of her expansive training in traditional nor complementary veterinary care had included any information on how to support an animal dying naturally. This reflects how strongly the trend in modern societies is to keep the topic of death and dying out of our awareness, leaving us helpless and unprepared once the situation occurs that one of our loved ones concludes their physical existence. For an animal family member, this very commonly results in euthanasia being employed to end its life. Ella has been a speaker at various professional conferences and published articles on the topic of animal hospice care. She graduated from veterinary school in Hanover, Germany in 1994. Ella is on the board of directors of the IAAHPC (International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care) and on the advisory board for the NHFP (Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets). Certified with AVCA (American Veterinary Chiropractic Association) 1998, with IVAS (International Veterinary Acupuncture Society) 1999. Member of AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), AHVMA (American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association), AAVA (American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture). VBMA (Veterinary Botanical Medical Association), IVAPM (International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management).

Who will benefit from this Diploma: Those that will benefit from this series are those professionals who want to become more comfortable in dealing with families who have had a loss of a beloved pet and more knowledgeable about a terminally ill or geriatric pet with special end of life needs.  The professional with this diploma will be able to knowledgeably guide the human partner in the palliative care of their beloved pet while taking care of their own grief and needs at this special time in the life cycle.

Accreditation: Since there are no formal Accrediting agencies in the United States or Canada for Pet Loss and Animal Hospice specialists, we have done our best to make sure that our courses are approved by the top organizations both Nationally and Internationally. As such, all of our courses are approved by the IAABC, NADOI and the CCPDT for Continuing Education Credits and Educational Events. Some schools claim they are approved by their State, but this is only as a business offering educational products, NOT true accreditation.  ONLY a University has the ability to offer true accreditation.

Total Cost: $570

Payment plan available on request. 

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