If you need help right now

Grief can get heavier than it should be, and sometimes it stops being only about your pet. If you're struggling, please talk to someone who can actually help. Here's where.

If you are in immediate danger

Call your local emergency number — 911 in the US and Canada, 999 in the UK, 112 across the EU, 000 in Australia, 111 in New Zealand. If you can, tell someone nearby what's happening and stay with them.

If you're thinking about harming yourself

These lines are free, confidential, and open to anyone. You don't have to be in crisis to call, and you don't have to know what to say.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — United States Call or text, 24 hours a day. Press 1 for veterans, 2 for Spanish, 3 for LGBTQ+ support. Text HOME to 741741 Crisis Text Line — United States 24 hours a day, by text. Also 686868 in Canada, 85258 in the UK. 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline — Canada Call or text, 24 hours a day, in English and French. 116 123 Samaritans — UK & Ireland 24 hours a day, free from any phone. Or email jo@samaritans.org. You can also text SHOUT to 85258 in the UK. 13 11 14 Lifeline — Australia 24 hours a day. Also GriefLine on 1300 845 745, 8am–8pm daily, which handles bereavement specifically. 1737 Need to Talk? — New Zealand Free call or text, any time, to speak with a trained counsellor. Lifeline NZ is 0800 543 354. findahelpline.com Everywhere else Free, confidential helplines in over 130 countries. Choose yours and it shows what's available.

Please don't rely on this site if things are bad. Nobody here is watching around the clock, and Luna is a computer programme — she can listen, but she can't tell how much danger you're in and she can't get help to you. The lines above are answered by people whose whole job is this.

If the grief itself is what's overwhelming you

These lines are specifically for people who've lost a pet. The people answering understand why this hurts as much as it does — you won't have to justify it to them.

(877) 474-3310 ASPCA Pet Loss Hotline — United States Staffed by trained pet bereavement counsellors. You can also email griefsupport@aspca.org. (508) 839-7966 Tufts Pet Loss Support Helpline — United States Evenings, staffed by veterinary students. Leave a voicemail any time and they'll call back. They'll return calls outside Massachusetts free of charge. Blue Cross Pet Bereavement Support United Kingdom Phone, email and webchat support. Opening hours are on their website.

Several US veterinary schools run their own pet loss lines with limited evening hours, including Cornell, Illinois C.A.R.E. and Michigan State. Hours change term to term, so check their pages for what's open now.

If it's a decision you're facing, not a loss yet

Deciding whether it's time is one of the hardest things a person does, and it isn't something a website should answer for you.

Speak to your vet, and ask them directly what they would do. Most will tell you honestly. Ask about a quality-of-life assessment — many practices use a simple scale that turns an impossible feeling into something you can look at together. If you want a second opinion, that is a completely normal thing to ask for, and no reasonable vet will take offence.

If you're a vet or work in animal care

People in this profession carry a great deal of this, and the rates of burnout and suicide in veterinary medicine are well documented.

Not One More Vet — confidential peer support, grants and counselling for veterinary professionals worldwide.
AVMA Wellbeing Resources — for veterinary teams in the US.

When you're ready, we're here too

None of the above replaces having people who understand. When you're steadier, there are others here carrying something similar.

Read what others have written
Find a support group
Visit the memorial wall

We check these details periodically, but numbers and opening hours do change. If you find something here that's out of date or wrong, please tell us and we'll correct it the same day.