Continuing the discussion about using dogs for coping

Last Friday, at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, CO, I spoke at the Bridging the Divide Suicide Prevention Summit about how people use dogs to help them cope. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to do workshops on this topic because it helps bring more vocal awareness to the importance of how we use dogs (and other pets) in our lives. The first woman to walk in said she had hoped there would be a dog there because she needed a dog after spending the morning discussing suicide. In San Francisco last year at the American Association of Suicidology conference we did have several therapy dogs attend the workshop. I believe they were more popular than the topic. The workshop Friday provided an interesting discussion because almost every person in the room chimed in about their experience with dogs and loss. When I was in Birmingham, England, speaking earlier this month, one person asked if I had any stories about how cats have helped people. It was then that several other people in the room added their stories with their cats. For some reason, however, over the years this hasn't been a topic that people have discussed yet many people use their pets to help them cope with loss in many different ways. I look forward to spreading the word on the importance on how people use their pets to help them cope with loss.