PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University (WSU) will host a celebration of life event, a day where owners can reflect on their fallen companion animals.
Scott Campbell, a veterinary chaplain for WSU, started his seminary internship and is now pursuing a residency as WSU’s animal chaplain.
Campbell mentioned that when you have a pet, they quickly become a part of your family. He said many pet owners don’t get the chance to grieve the loss of a pet fully. This is an opportunity for them to grieve and recognize the amazing memories they brought to their lives.
“This is a larger community, we can help each other and so creating essentially a professional membership organization for all those folks,” said Campbell. “I think our society is traditionally as a whole is a society pretty poor in recognizing the pain of the loss of an animal companion.”
The WSU College of Veterinary Medicine will host the “Celebration of Life and Remembrance for Our Animal Companions” on April 13 at 10:30 a.m. in the Elson S. Floyd Cultural Center on the WSU Pullman campus.
The free event is held four times a year and will feature live music and drinks. Anyone who has lost an animal companion, either on their own or as part of their family, is encouraged to attend.
“People don’t feel comfortable or safe expressing the depths and the pain of those losses, generally in public. People will say, just get another dog. It was it was only a guinea pig,” said Campbell. “It was only a bird and they don’t understand the profound impact that these companions make on people’s lives.”
For more information, visit the Washington State University website.
