York's first pet bereavement cafe to open at Yorkshire Barn

The event will be staged at The Yorkshire Barn cafe at Murton Park (Yorkshire Farming Museum) and will take place on Monday March 11.

The focus will be on remembering pets and the cafe will be a joint venture between The Yorkshire Barn and Mill Cottage - York's Pet Crematorium.

Celebrant Fiona Brown, who already runs a popular bereavement cafe at The Yorkshire Barn, said losing a pet can be devastating and isolating for people who often have to grieve alone.

Theresea and Paul Williams of Mill Cottage Pet Crematorium, York at The Yorkshire Barn where they will co-host a pet bereavement cafe

She said: "Our bereavement sessions have been popular and a great support network has developed.

"This new idea is to remember our pets - and having lost my own pet rabbit last year I really empathise with other grieving pet owners."

She added: "For those of us who have pets, they are very much part of our family. It is important to recognise this and grieve for them when they have left our lives.

"It can be difficult for others to understand how we feel and well-meaning comments like ‘well you can always get another one’, can cut deep.

"There can be feelings of guilt if we want to grieve. They weren’t ‘just pets’ to us and we will always love them.

"Pets give us unconditional love so their loss can be heartbreaking, leaving a massive hole. You don’t get over the loss of a loved one, whether two legs or four but you can learn to live with it."

Spot and Pip - Theresea's dogs who passed away three years ago

She said the pet bereavement café session would be somewhere safe for people to come and share their experiences, to talk about their pet and how much they meant to them, to support one another and hopefully to make friends.

She added: "We will have various symbolic activities on offer, including a candle lighting in memory, time for private reflection and prayer from Pastor Will Horner, a reading from York poet Collette Wright on Rainbow Bridge and a talk from a pet bereavement counsellor from Mill Cottage Pet Crematorium”.

Mill Cottage Pet Crematorium has been providing pet bereavement counselling to their human clients for some time and wanted to broaden their reach by launching a pet bereavement café.

Theresea Williams of Mill Cottage Pet Crematorium said: "At Mill Cottage Pet Crematorium we offer bereavement and grieving support from the first moment of contact with our pet families.

"Having experienced the loss of two elderly dogs three years ago, we have true empathy and for me personally having worked with humans who are grieving, I understand the similarities and differences.

"We like to tailor what we do to suit each family, whether you require a lot of care and support or occasional, we are there throughout.

"Quite often after a pet’s cremation, once the ashes have been returned home, people feel that’s the end. In fact it’s more like the beginning of adjusting to a new life without your loving companion and this can be extremely difficult.

"It’s at this point we are able to share conversations, ideas and offer more help and advice.

"We believe the pet bereavement cafe will be a great place for us all to meet other pet lovers, to share our experiences and find the level of help and support we would like. Also for those who are yet to go through the loss of a pet, but feel it’s imminent, they may like to attend to further prepare themselves.”

As the Yorkshire Barn is a dog-friendly café and already hosts a monthly bereavement group, Fiona and Theresea thought it seemed the ideal place to launch a pet bereavement café and hope to make the meet ups a regular occurrence.

For those who wish to attend on Monday March 11, the cafe begins with an informal meet up at 10am, with the talk and period of reflection from 11am to 11.30am.

There is no need to book but for catering purposes there is an events page on Facebook (theyorkshirebarnmurton) where people can indicate if they will wish to come along.

A complimentary cuppa and a cookie will be provided and people are welcome to stay on after the bereavement session ends if they would like to buy something to eat from The Yorkshire Barn menu.