I agree that pets are not as intelligent as humans, even though many pets are getting very smarter with more training.

Pets are sensitive to any changes in the household, and will soon notice that something is different when the other pet is gone.

I agree that pets can't see, think or feel the exact same way as humans, even though they exhibit certain tendencies that might indicate certain feelings as humans.

I agree with these and other facts about pets and humans.

But the truth also needs to be told.

"The pain of leaving those you grow to love is only the prelude to understanding yourself and others." -Shirley MacLaine

There comes a time in everyone's life where they experience a loss. Sometimes it's the loss of a person or an animal while other times its the loss of one's health, a dream, or a way of life. In all of these circumstances, one must grieve! Read on to get an introduction this process.

There are five stages of grief. When grieving, each stage will be experienced, but they may occur in a different order or for different lengths of time.

When my husband was first diagnosed with leukemia, I did not consider myself a caregiver. I was a mother and a wife. But the reality of constant care and daily hospital runs settled in like a cool fog, clouding my ability to see life beyond the next pillbox.

I was fortunate in that my in-laws and parents were able to help me through these challenging times, but there were so many others who also wanted to know, how can I help?

According to Webster's New World Dictionary grief is defined as "intense emotional suffering caused by loss, disaster, misfortune, etc.; acute sorrow; deep sadness." Mourning is the expression of grief.

One of the things we all dislike about psychologists is terms like "vulnerable to loss." Who, pray tell me, is not "vulnerable to loss"?

It is devastating to lose someone who made your world a better place. Or some thing that did, like a career, a special house, your left leg, the ability to have an erection, or your short-term memory.

Vulnerability in this case refers to something built up. Losing something important to us can weaken us for further ones. It takes tremendous resilience to weather some of the storms of life.

Strength in numbers

Sitting Shiva is the tradition of mourning in the Jewish religion. Gathering together as a community is at the core of sitting Shiva, just as it is at the core of many Jewish traditions. The strength and support of friends, family and neighbors, during sitting Shiva, plays a key role in helping the bereaved get through the process of grieving.

Funerals happen infrequently and any one person normally plans very, very few. This means that the person planning the funeral normally relies heavily on the advice of professionals, from doctors to funeral directors. When dealing with any professional, it pays to be informed.

In 1969, Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross published On Death and Dying and later went on to launch the Hospice movement in America. Even though her studies focused more on those who were dying than the caregivers that were left behind, her work has had enormous influence on the understanding of various stages of death and grief.

One of the worst things anyone said to me when I was a new widow was that she thought the second year was harder than the first.

I almost fainted on the spot. Here I was, plowing along with almost no sleep, feeling as tight as a watch spring, afraid I didn't have the strength to get through another week alone...and she says things were going to get worse instead of better after the first year? I just knew she had to be kidding!