There is now support for those who need comforting after the death of their pets.

The Iowa State Pet Loss Support Hotline at the College of Veterinary Medicine is now open and taking calls from the public.

Pet owners who have recently lost a pet or anticipate the death of a pet can receive support from the hotline.

“The line has been consistently busy,” said program coordinator Jeanne Budgin, a sophomore in veterinary medicine. “I didn’t even expect the phone to ring with the little advertising we have done, but we have had a call every other night.”

The hotline is staffed by 32 volunteers — many of whom are veterinary medicine students and other interested community members.

Now one volunteer works each shift.

Although the hotline has not had much advertising, hotline volunteers have plans to promote their services, Budgin said.

The hotline was recently featured on KCCI-TV, and they hope to also be featured in newsletters published by the Iowa Medical Veterinary Association, other Veterinary Associations and in other veterinary journals and pet magazines.

In addition, the hotline has a brochure that will be distributed among veterinarians in the state.

“Family and friends might not understand the special bond that one has with a pet,” said Dana Hall, assistant coordinator and a sophomore in veterinary medicine.

“They expect you to be back to normal in a week or two, but it can take some people about a year to recover. People can talk to us.”

The Iams pet food company will fund the hotline for the first three years. “Without them we couldn’t have gotten off the ground,” Budgin said.

Hours of operation for the hotline are from 6-9 p.m. seven days a week during the months of September through April.

From May through August, the hotline will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6-9 p.m.

During hours of operation, calls are answered by a hotline volunteer. During off-hours people are asked to leave their name and number and volunteers will return their calls during the hours of operation.

The hotline officially began taking calls on April 7.

For more information about the ISU Pet Loss Support Hotline, call the toll-free hotline at 1-888-478-7574 or visit the hotline’s Web site at: http//:www.vetmed.iastate.edu/support/.