Hollywood Feed University Presents Online Course on The Healing Journey: Helping Children Understand & Process Pet Loss
March 26, 2024
Hollywood Feed University Presents Online Course on The Healing Journey: Helping Children Understand & Process Pet Loss
Hollywood Feed recently hosted a free virtual class, entitled “The Healing Journey: Helping Children Understand & Process Pet Loss” taught by Certified Pet Loss Professional, Coleen Ellis. This course was part of Hollywood Feed’s free pet wellness education resource known as Hollywood Feed University.
In this part three of a three-part series on pet loss and grief, Ellis walked viewers through the different ways you can support children in their grief journey and how to create a safe space for them to mourn. She taught that when we honor death, we honor life. Doing active mourning work can be very beneficial. Some examples of active mourning work are creating a stepping stone with your pet’s image on it, planting flowers, doing a bubble release or creating a tribute table. Other items discussed were important questions to ask your child to help them heal, helping children express their emotions and fears, memorial services, funerals and ceremonies and the power of saying goodbye . Lastly, she talked about giving your heart time to heal before thinking about getting a new pet.
During the course, she held a live, interactive Q&A session with attendees and addressed the questions asked by viewers.
A recording of each class may be viewed on the Hollywood Feed University website at: https://hfu.hollywoodfeed.com/live-event-page/the-healing-journey-helping-children-understand-process-pet-loss/
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: A chance encounter with a pet parent facing the death of her pet was a defining moment for Coleen in 1998. It was the beginning of her vision of how to best meet the needs of pet parents in their desire to mourn, memorialize and pay tribute to their beloved pets when they die. In 2003, the experience of the death of her dog, Mico, guided her in starting the nation’s first stand-alone pet’s-only funeral home, Pet Angel Memorial Center. Soon, publications such as Kates-Boylston’s Pet Loss Insider deemed her the “most well-known pet funeral director” and a true “pet loss pioneer.”
In 2009, Coleen founded Two Hearts Pet Loss Center, to guide people who wish to provide meaningful pet death care services in their communities, as well to be an educational resource in the pet grief discipline. In 2009, she received the first Death and Grief Studies Certification specializing in Pet Loss Companioning by Dr. Alan Wolfelt as well as releasing her first book, Pet Parents: A Journey Through Unconditional Love and Grief. Her second book co-authored with colleague Dr. Mary Gardner, Forever Friend, released in 2022. She is Certified in Thanatology and is a Certified Pet Loss Professional.
By 2014, Coleen was ready to take her vision to a new level. She was a co-founder of The Pet Loss Center and assisted the company in opening pet loss operations across the United States, with this operation being acquired by a national acquisition company in 2020. Coleen is an internationally sought-after speaker on the topics of pet loss and grief. Through her delivery style, pet care professionals learn a variety of techniques immediately applicable to implement on how to companion families in their grief journey. Furthermore, her talks to pet parents give them the permission they need to not only grieve but mourn the loss of their beloved pet.
Coleen is the founder and past co-chair of the Pet Loss Professionals Alliance. She currently serves as the Executive Director as well as a past president of the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care. She is a native of Kansas where she graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. She currently sits on the Board of Trustees for Fort Hays State University and was a recipient of the 2018 Alumni Achievement Award, the college’s highest recognition for graduates. She also currently sits on the Board of Trustees Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.
Dallas, TX, is where Coleen and her husband, Chris Burke, reside. They share their home with their four-legged kids, Beulah & Albert.
About Hollywood Feed: Hollywood Feed serves pets, their owners, caretakers and communities in 170 stores across 19 states. Consistently ranking atop consumer choice awards in the markets it serves, Hollywood Feed and its family of brands have been named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Best Retailers for 2022 (ranking #1 in the pet care category), Newsweek's list of America's Best Customer Service for 2024, Best Pet Supply Stores by Dallas A-List, Best Pet Store by The Memphis Flyer, Best Self Atlanta Magazine's Best Pet Store, Best Pet Food and Supplies in the Best of Denton County Awards, and Best New Business by Cary Living Magazine in North Carolina. Hollywood Feed proudly stands by its brand promise: If your pet doesn’t love it or if you don’t love it, we will gladly replace or refund it. Learn more about Hollywood Feed at hollywoodfeed.com and facebook.com/hwfeed.
Hollywood Feed recently hosted a free virtual class, entitled “The Healing Journey: Helping Children Understand & Process Pet Loss” taught by Certified Pet Loss Professional, Coleen Ellis. This course was part of Hollywood Feed’s free pet wellness education resource known as Hollywood Feed University.
In this part three of a three-part series on pet loss and grief, Ellis walked viewers through the different ways you can support children in their grief journey and how to create a safe space for them to mourn. She taught that when we honor death, we honor life. Doing active mourning work can be very beneficial. Some examples of active mourning work are creating a stepping stone with your pet’s image on it, planting flowers, doing a bubble release or creating a tribute table. Other items discussed were important questions to ask your child to help them heal, helping children express their emotions and fears, memorial services, funerals and ceremonies and the power of saying goodbye . Lastly, she talked about giving your heart time to heal before thinking about getting a new pet.
During the course, she held a live, interactive Q&A session with attendees and addressed the questions asked by viewers.
A recording of each class may be viewed on the Hollywood Feed University website at: https://hfu.hollywoodfeed.com/live-event-page/the-healing-journey-helping-children-understand-process-pet-loss/
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: A chance encounter with a pet parent facing the death of her pet was a defining moment for Coleen in 1998. It was the beginning of her vision of how to best meet the needs of pet parents in their desire to mourn, memorialize and pay tribute to their beloved pets when they die. In 2003, the experience of the death of her dog, Mico, guided her in starting the nation’s first stand-alone pet’s-only funeral home, Pet Angel Memorial Center. Soon, publications such as Kates-Boylston’s Pet Loss Insider deemed her the “most well-known pet funeral director” and a true “pet loss pioneer.”
In 2009, Coleen founded Two Hearts Pet Loss Center, to guide people who wish to provide meaningful pet death care services in their communities, as well to be an educational resource in the pet grief discipline. In 2009, she received the first Death and Grief Studies Certification specializing in Pet Loss Companioning by Dr. Alan Wolfelt as well as releasing her first book, Pet Parents: A Journey Through Unconditional Love and Grief. Her second book co-authored with colleague Dr. Mary Gardner, Forever Friend, released in 2022. She is Certified in Thanatology and is a Certified Pet Loss Professional.
By 2014, Coleen was ready to take her vision to a new level. She was a co-founder of The Pet Loss Center and assisted the company in opening pet loss operations across the United States, with this operation being acquired by a national acquisition company in 2020. Coleen is an internationally sought-after speaker on the topics of pet loss and grief. Through her delivery style, pet care professionals learn a variety of techniques immediately applicable to implement on how to companion families in their grief journey. Furthermore, her talks to pet parents give them the permission they need to not only grieve but mourn the loss of their beloved pet.
Coleen is the founder and past co-chair of the Pet Loss Professionals Alliance. She currently serves as the Executive Director as well as a past president of the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care. She is a native of Kansas where she graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. She currently sits on the Board of Trustees for Fort Hays State University and was a recipient of the 2018 Alumni Achievement Award, the college’s highest recognition for graduates. She also currently sits on the Board of Trustees Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.
Dallas, TX, is where Coleen and her husband, Chris Burke, reside. They share their home with their four-legged kids, Beulah & Albert.
About Hollywood Feed: Hollywood Feed serves pets, their owners, caretakers and communities in 170 stores across 19 states. Consistently ranking atop consumer choice awards in the markets it serves, Hollywood Feed and its family of brands have been named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Best Retailers for 2022 (ranking #1 in the pet care category), Newsweek's list of America's Best Customer Service for 2024, Best Pet Supply Stores by Dallas A-List, Best Pet Store by The Memphis Flyer, Best Self Atlanta Magazine's Best Pet Store, Best Pet Food and Supplies in the Best of Denton County Awards, and Best New Business by Cary Living Magazine in North Carolina. Hollywood Feed proudly stands by its brand promise: If your pet doesn’t love it or if you don’t love it, we will gladly replace or refund it. Learn more about Hollywood Feed at hollywoodfeed.com and facebook.com/hwfeed.
Contact:
Beth Okeon
beth@abomarketing.com, (901) 409-7607
