I have been following Andrew Sullivan’s poignant posts as he dealt with the loss of his beloved beagle Dusty. His grief will resonate with all of us who have had to say, what I call the long goodbye. Andrew implements so beautifully one of the best coping strategies for a profound loss….he writes about it. I encourage clients to write about the happy times, and the worst of all times; to write about the last day, and when they’re ready, to write about the death of their pets. Memory is the best immortality. Please check out the link from his blog putting Dusty to sleep. Andrew’s courage in sharing Dusty’s last day and last meal, and last moments speaks to our primal connection to each other; to our humanity. We feel the grief as it is ours too. We can all grieve with him. The love of these animals connects us to our highest selves, our humanity. All we have is love. Love is all there is.