What Cloud Is My Pet In?
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I liked meeting and learning about my friends’ pets. The funny thing was each of us said that we loved our pet and thought they were the best pet ever! Sally was tired when we got home from school. She laid down and went right to sleep. I told her school was hard work. A few weeks later, Mrs. Click said that she had sone sad news to share. She said, “Amy won’t be a school today because her rabbit, Bailey, died last night.” Mrs. Click explained that Amy was very sad about Bailey. She said that when an animal dies, it means they are no longer living. They don’t breathe, eat, play or poop anymore. Thinking about Bailey made me feel sad for Amy. I raised my hand and asked, “What happens when a pet dies?” Mrs Click said, “They go across the Rainbow Bride into heaven.” I asked, “Will she ever get to see Bailey again?” “No, because heaven is fair away, it is up in the clouds”, Mrs. Click explained. “Can Amy get another rabbit?” I asked and my teacher said, “Yes, she can, if and when she and her family feel ready to.” Mrs. Click realized that her students hadn’t experienced death before. She wrote the words “FEELINGS” and “CARING” on the board. Our class talked about feelings. Everyone has feelings: happy, funny, love, sad, mad, scared, lonely, and lots of different feelings! We each have our own feeling about people in our family, our friends, school, and our pets, too. We also discussed caring and different ways we could show Amy that cared about her and Bailey. We decided making cards for Amy would show her how much we cared for her.
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About the Book
Pet loss is often a child’s first experience with death and grief. The child may have had their beloved pet for their entire life. It’s hard for the adults who love the child, to know how to support them when they are grieving the loss of their pet, companion, and playmate. You are often grieving the loss of the pet as well. This book is a story of a classroom of children (turtles) who all bring their pets to school for show and tell. As the school year goes on, two of the students experience the loss of their beloved pets. Their teacher, Mrs. Click, realizes the children have not experienced death previously and decides to teach the children about the feelings that accompany pet (or other) loss, as well as how to show caring to someone who is experiencing loss and grief. Numerous questions are included throughout the story portion of the book to offer a way to share memories and stories about the pet together. This is an important part of healthy grieving. Additionally, the book provides guidance for the adults in the child’s life, on how to address the grief and pet loss, as well as activities and ways to honor and memorialize their pet. These activities allow the adult(s) and child/children to feel their grief together, and in time, through the sacred sharing of grief, they will begin to heal together as well.
About the Author
Kim Vesey retired after nearly 40 years of hospice work. She is a certified hospice nurse and is certified in Thanatology (the study of death and grief). In addition to her professional work, she was widowed at the age of 45, when her husband Les, died of colon cancer in 2006. He was only 49 years-old. Their 29 year-old-daughter, Sarah, died from complications of an asthma attack, in 2017. Sarah was survived by her son Warren, who was three-years-old at the time of his mother’s death. Kim’s beloved Yorkie named Sally, died in 2022 at the age of 14. Kim’s professional and personal experiences with death, grief, and healing, in addition to her strong faith, uniquely qualifies her to write the What Cloud series of books for grieving children. She is also a professional national speaker on the topics of end of life, death, and grief, with a focus on children’s grief. Kim is blessed with her adult son Patrick, her resilient grandson Warren,, and many other family and friends who bring joy, hope, and peace, to her life.