Dealing with the loss of a pet can be overwhelming, but an ISU support hotline for grieving pet owners offers extra consolation.

Ten years ago, the College of Veterinary Medicine established the Pet Loss Support Hotline for students, the Ames community and people around the nation to provide a listening ear to people grieving over the loss or expected loss of a pet.

It is not always easy to find an outlet for grief over a pet, said Karen Kline, adviser for the hotline and associate professor in veterinary clinical science.

“We’re here because a lot of people don’t have that outlet for this kind of grieving process,” Kline said.

The hotline is a non-profit organization staffed by more than 25 first- to fourth-year veterinary medicine students and volunteers from the community. Students volunteer for a variety of reasons.

“I began being involved because I wanted a better understanding of people feeling this type of grief,” said Katie Barry, president of the hotline and a junior in veterinary medicine.

The hotline is dedicated in memory of Krista Rankin, a 1998 ISU graduate, who was one of the main people to secure funding for the hotline.

Volunteers are trained by an off-campus person with veterinary training in a two-day session about pet loss grief counseling. The volunteers learn about the grieving process and how much a pet can matter to a person.

“Volunteers learn how people deal with grief of a pet loss,” Barry said. “Most people don’t think losing a pet is a big deal, but it is like a family member to [the grieving person].”

From dogs to pet snakes and birds, Kline said the hotline is multi-species oriented.

Whatever the case, volunteers are only there to provide a sympathetic ear for people in pain, Barry said. Since volunteers are not certified veterinarians, they are not able to give out medical advice or information about a pet’s death or the circumstances surrounding it.

“We provide a place to talk outside of [the griever’s] immediate area,” Kline said. “It’s a very non-subjective support type of system.”

If people do not want to discuss their problems over the phone and would feel more comfortable with printed information, support packets can be requested and sent to the person in grief by mail, free of charge. Support packets come with articles and pamphlets pertaining to the grieving process when a person’s pet dies.

The ISU hotline is available for people nationwide to contact and talk to volunteers about grief over their pets, but the hotline does not work directly with any other support hotline. There are other universities and veterinary hospitals that also provide this service.

Grieving over a pet?

The Pet Loss Support Hotline can be reached toll-free at 1-888-ISU-PLSH.

It is available 6 to 9 p.m. seven days a week from September to April and

6 to 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday

from May to August.