Loving and Losing a Pet: A Psychologist and a Veterinarian Share Their Wisdom - Hardcover

Stern President Emeritus Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Michael; Cropper, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765701162 ISBN 13: 9780765701169

Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1998

Synopsis

Michael Stern, PhD, is a clinical psychologist practicing in New York and New Jersey. He is an adjunct associate professor at Teachers' College of Columbia University, and a clinical supervisor in a number of other academic institutes. He has worked and published in the field of the human-animal bond, is counseling bereaved pet owners, and is currently involved in assisting pet owners who are threatened with evictions and legal actions by their landlords. This activity grew out of frequently asked questions at book signing events, radio call-in shows, and television interviews, when it became clear that too many people are forced to part with their pets because of housing restrictions.

Stern's experience with various age groups serves as background to many of the chapters in Loving and Losing a Pet. In following the meaning that pet ownership has in different phases of life, one can gain a better appreciation of the bonds that develop. It also enhances one's understanding of the grief involved in losing a pet at any of these phases.

The book is based on real people with real pets. The many anecdotes that are offered as illustrations were taken from the professional experience of the book's coauthor, Susan Cropper, a veterinarian with a unique home visiting practice in northern New Jersey. Such an approach made it easier to address practical issues and concerns in a clear and specific manner, while all along preserving the authors' awe and appreciation of the wonderful bond between people and their pets.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Stern, PhD, is a clinical psychologist practicing in both New York and New Jersey. He is an adjunct associate professor at Teachers' College of Columbia University, a supervisor at Yeshiva University and at The Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, and a consultant to the New York City Police Department. Susan Cropper, DVM, has a house call veterinary practice.

Review

I wish people would read this book before they get an animal companion, because it helps put the relationship on the right track from the start. It is especially instructive for parents, therapists, and veterinarians as an invaluable guide for all who will eventually grieve the loss of their pets. The more we grieve, the more we have loved. This book enables us to embrace our grief. (Michael W. Fox, DSc, PhD, BVetMed, The Humane Society of the United States)

This book welcomes us, thoughtfully and kindly, into the world of people-pet relationships and makes us feel comfortably at home in it. In just the same way it shows us how to introduce a pet into the family and share a comfortable togetherness in which we and the pet can feel good. There is ample portrayal of the deep, rich satisfactions of these relationships and of all that they mean at different periods in our lives, and there is equal emphasis on the knowledge and responsibility necessary for consistent care and wise decision-making. The pains and stresses of aging, illness, and death―ours and the pet's―are also explored in a calm and helpful way. Loving and Losing a Pet is a must, not only for pet owners (prospective, new, and experienced) but for all professionals concerned with the well-being of people and animals. (Erna Furman, president, Association for Child Psychoanalysis, author of A Child's Parent Dies)

About this edition

• Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc.
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0765701162
• ISBN 13: 9780765701169
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 210