Pet Loss Hotlines & Support Groups (U.S. & Canada)

Updated

Losing a pet can hit as hard as losing a person. Whether your dog died suddenly, your cat was euthanized, or you are watching a decline you already know the end of, support exists that takes this seriously.

Most pet grief lines are run by volunteers or veterinary students, so hours shift with the academic calendar and shrink over the summer. If a line does not answer, try a 24/7 option rather than assuming nobody is there.

If you need help right now

If you feel unsafe, or you are thinking about harming yourself, use a crisis service first. Pet grief support can come afterward.

What is open right now

Nearly every pet grief line runs on weekday evenings, which is the opposite of when people need them. Two answer around the clock and one answers during business hours.

  • Any hour, any day: Pet Compassion Careline, 855-245-8214
  • Any hour, any day: Lap of Love, 855-933-5683
  • Weekday callback (ET): Univ. of Tennessee, 865-755-8839
  • Weekday evenings (ET): Tufts, 508-839-7966
  • Prefer typing to talking: a moderated chat room, further down this page

Pet loss hotlines in the United States

A pet loss hotline is staffed by trained volunteers, veterinary students, or licensed clinicians who specialize in animal grief. None replace licensed mental health care, and every one of them will tell you so.

Pet Compassion Careline — 24/7

The most reliably available option here, and the only one where a counselor picks up rather than a voicemail. Gateway describes it as a service for its partner clinics and their pet parents, so mention your clinic or crematory if asked.

  • Phone: 855-245-8214
  • Hours: 24 hours a day, every day
  • Staffed by: master's- and doctoral-level clinicians
  • Languages: English, Spanish, and French
  • Cost: free
  • Verified: August 2026 — Gateway Services

Lap of Love Support Center — 24/7

A veterinary hospice network whose support center answers every day of the year, holidays included. Useful when grief is tangled up with practical decisions about hospice, euthanasia timing, or aftercare.

  • Phone: 855-933-5683
  • Hours: 24 hours a day, every day
  • Also offers: free weekly virtual groups; paid one-on-one sessions
  • Cost: free to call
  • Verified: August 2026 — Lap of Love

University of Tennessee Veterinary Social Work Helpline

The only weekday-daytime option here, run by credentialed professionals rather than student volunteers. You leave a message rather than reaching someone instantly, but the callback is quick.

  • Phone: 865-755-8839
  • Hours: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET
  • Callbacks: within 24 hours on weekdays
  • Email: vetsocialwork@utk.edu
  • Staffed by: veterinary social work professionals
  • Free virtual group: open to anyone whose pet has died or is terminally ill
  • Note: their free one-to-one sessions are currently limited to Tennessee residents
  • Verified: August 2026 — UT Center for Veterinary Social Work

Tufts Pet Loss Support Helpline

Run by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. If you call outside staffed hours, leave a message — calls are returned at the next shift rather than disappearing.

  • Phone: 508-839-7966
  • Hours: Monday to Thursday, 6–9 p.m. ET
  • After hours: 24-hour voicemail, calls returned next shift
  • Verified: August 2026 — Tufts Cummings School

Cornell Pet Loss Support Hotline

Staffed by veterinary student volunteers trained by professional grief counselors. Cornell stopped publishing fixed hours because they change every semester, so the line itself is the only reliable schedule.

  • Phone: 607-218-7457
  • Hours: vary by semester; call to hear current hours
  • Note: you are prompted for a name and may simply say "anonymous"
  • Verified: August 2026 — Cornell University

Chicago Veterinary Medical Association Pet Loss Helpline

A voicemail line staffed by veterinarians and clinic staff who return calls in the evening. The same group runs a monthly Zoom grief meeting called Wings, open to people outside Illinois.

  • Phone: 630-325-1600 (leave a message)
  • Callbacks: generally 7–9 p.m. CT
  • Wings Zoom group: first Wednesday monthly, 7:30–9 p.m.
  • To join Wings: email linda@drlindaharper.com by 6 p.m. that day
  • Verified: August 2026 — Chicago VMA

Moderated chat rooms when talking is too much

If your throat closes at the thought of speaking out loud, a pet grief chat room lets you type instead. Both options below are free and moderated by trained pet loss specialists.

Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (APLB)

Scheduled group chats led by trained Pet Loss Grief Specialists. A free account is required, so it is worth registering before the night you actually need it rather than during one.

  • Sunday: 2–4 p.m. ET and 8–10 p.m. ET
  • Monday and Tuesday: 8–10 p.m. ET
  • Thursday: 8–10 p.m. ET, second through fifth Thursdays
  • Saturday: 8–10 p.m. ET, first and third Saturdays
  • Anticipatory grief session: first Thursday monthly, 8–10 p.m. ET
  • Join: APLB chat room

When the chat room is closed, APLB directs people to its Facebook group instead. Its video support groups are paused as of this update.

PetLoss Partners chat room

Two scheduled chats a week, 90 minutes each, hosted by certified pet loss specialists. You can arrive late and stay as long as you need; first-time visitors complete a short form to enter.

  • Tuesday: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
  • Thursday: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
  • Length: 90 minutes, come and go freely
  • Join: PetLoss Partners

Online pet loss support groups

A recurring pet loss support group gives you the same faces week after week, which suits grief that has settled in rather than an acute first night.

Most run on Eastern-time evenings, which is hard if you work nights or live out west. The two led by licensed clinicians are marked, since that is often the deciding factor.

  • Lap of Love: free weekly virtual groups, plus paid individual sessions — schedule
  • Loved Veterinary Services: free weekly session led by a licensed veterinary social worker, afternoon and evening options — register
  • University of Tennessee: free monthly telehealth group, 6:15–7:30 p.m. ET, open to the community — details and registration
  • Michigan State University: free, second and fourth Thursday monthly, 6:30–7:30 p.m.; your pet need not have been an MSU patient — details
  • Human Animal Bond Trust: free, every Thursday 6:30–8 p.m. MT on Zoom, led by licensed therapists, no RSVP needed — details
  • Seattle Animal Shelter: free, Thursdays 5:30–7 p.m. PT by phone or Webex; email saspetloss@gmail.com to join — details

Support for specific kinds of loss

General grief lines handle sudden death and euthanasia well. Some losses come with complications those conversations are not built for, and dedicated communities exist for several of them.

Grief after behavioral euthanasia

Losing a pet to behavioral euthanasia carries a particular isolation, because the usual condolences do not fit and people often ask questions you cannot bear to answer. Losing Lulu is a screened community built specifically for this.

  • Losing Lulu: closely moderated community, membership screened — losinglulu.com
  • Important: it supports people after the decision and does not advise on pending ones
  • Summit archive: the 2026 sessions are available as a paid pass

Losing a service animal or working animal

When the animal was also your independence, your safety, or your working partner, the loss is practical as well as emotional. APLB maintains guidance written for this situation.

  • APLB: guidance and moderated chats that cover service-animal loss — aplb.org
  • Worth asking: the program that placed the animal may offer its own support

When a pet is missing rather than dead

Grief without a body and without an ending is sometimes called ambiguous loss, and it is genuinely harder to resolve than a death you witnessed. Most hotlines on this page will take these calls.

Tufts states explicitly that its helpline covers any separation from a pet, including animals who stray, are rehomed, or are surrendered because of housing, allergies, or money.

Guilt over cost and declined treatment

If you could not afford the surgery, the chemotherapy, or another month of care, the grief tends to arrive fused to shame. This is common enough that trained counselors expect it, and it is a legitimate reason to call any line here.

Pet loss support in Canada

Canada has fewer dedicated phone lines than the U.S., but strong regional programs and one of the best free grief libraries anywhere. Both 24/7 lines listed earlier also take Canadian calls.

OVC Pet Trust — Ontario Veterinary College

Self-serve rather than staffed, which makes it the thing to reach for at 3 a.m. when nothing is open and you want something steady to read or watch.

Winnipeg Humane Society Pet Loss Support Line

A rare staffed Canadian grief line, run by volunteers trained in loss and grief counselling. Leave your name, number, and the best time to reach you; messages are checked through the day.

BC Bereavement Helpline — PAWS for Pet Loss

Serving British Columbia, the PAWS for Pet Loss programme runs closed eight-week groups alongside a staffed grief helpline. The fixed-length format suits people who want structure rather than an open room.

  • Phone: 604-738-9950
  • Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT
  • Format: closed eight-week pet loss groups, run online province-wide
  • Also offers: one-to-one grief support and counselling referrals
  • Verified: August 2026 — BC Bereavement Helpline

Ayuda en español

Spanish-language pet grief support is thin, but two of the strongest options on this page serve Spanish speakers directly, and neither requires an interpreter.

  • Crisis, 24/7: marque 988 y oprima 2, o envíe AYUDA al 988
  • Pet grief, 24/7: Pet Compassion Careline, 855-245-8214, atiende en español
  • Mensajes de texto: envíe HOLA al 741741, Crisis Text Line atiende en español
  • Grupo de apoyo en español: "Siempre a tu Lado", grupo virtual mensual por Zoom, 60 minutos, sesiones gratis — Pet Loss Psychotherapy
  • Other languages: 988 adds phone interpreters in over 240 more languages, voice calls only

What to expect when you call or join a chat

Pet loss support is gentle and unhurried. You set the pace and share as much or as little as you want, without being pushed toward anything.

  • Simple opening questions: your pet's name, species, and what happened
  • Room for the hard parts: guilt, replaying the decision, the what-ifs
  • Physical symptoms count: sleep, appetite, panic, and numbness are all fair ground
  • Practical next steps: many volunteers help you plan the next 24 to 72 hours
  • A handoff if needed: in a crisis they will point you to 988 or 9-8-8

What to say when you do not know how to start

You do not need an opening line, but having one helps if you freeze. Any of these is enough.

Hi. I lost my pet and I am not doing well. I just need someone to listen.

My pet was euthanized and I keep replaying it. I feel guilty and I cannot sleep.

My pet died suddenly. I am in shock and I do not know what to do next.

My pet [name] is dying and I am falling apart before it has even happened.

That last one describes anticipatory grief, and it is a recognized reason to call. You do not have to wait until after the death to deserve support.

If everything is closed tonight

Late nights are the hardest stretch of early grief and the emptiest part of the hotline schedule. These do not depend on a volunteer roster.

  1. Call a 24/7 line: 855-245-8214 or 855-933-5683
  2. Leave a voicemail on a closed line — most return calls next shift
  3. Read or watch something from the OVC Pet Trust library
  4. Post in the APLB Facebook group, where people reply at all hours
  5. If you feel unsafe, call or text 988 in the U.S. or 9-8-8 in Canada

Helping children and teens after a pet dies

For many children this is a first encounter with death. Use plain words rather than euphemisms like "put to sleep," which children often take literally, and let them see that adults grieve too.

Choosing the right kind of help

The right resource depends less on which is best and more on what you can physically manage today.

  • You need someone this minute: a 24/7 line, or 988 and 9-8-8 if you feel unsafe
  • You are free during the workday: the University of Tennessee helpline
  • You want a real conversation in the evening: Tufts or Cornell
  • You cannot speak out loud: the APLB or PetLoss Partners chat rooms
  • You want the same people each week: a recurring virtual group
  • Your loss came with complications: the specific-loss section above
  • You want to sit with it alone first: the OVC Pet Trust guides and videos

When you are ready to memorialize your pet

There is no deadline. Many families keep ashes in the temporary container from the crematory for months and choose something permanent later, when it stops feeling like a decision made underwater.

Sources

Primary sources for the programs listed above.