This past Sunday, several adoptable dogs and their human, Shannon Tarr, were on hand to help celebrate the grand opening of Chuck & Don’s newest location in Hastings. Tarr, founder of Emotional Rescuer, LLC, brought her usual warmth, and her pack of eager pups, to meet locals and possibly spark the beginning of new forever homes.
While pet adoption was on the minds of many who stopped by the event, Tarr offered a gentle reminder through her ongoing series “Early Morning Thoughts of a Rescuer,” which she shares on the Emotional Rescue Facebook page.
It’s not always the right time to adopt, especially when a beloved pet has just passed.
“Take time to savor memories,” she wrote. “Take time to check in with others who may be experiencing the loss of the same pet that you lost.”
Grief can look different for everyone, Tarr explained. Sometimes the instinct is to fill the void right away, but that urgency, she said, can be misleading, and unfair to the new animal.
“We all experience grief and loss in our own ways, at our own times,” she wrote. “Try not to burden a new pet with the expectations that the relationship you build now will be ‘like it was before’.”
Tarr encouraged friends and family to support loved ones in mourning, but without pressuring them to move on too soon. “Offer to go with someone who’s experienced pet loss to spend time with new animals, but not to go out and get that person a puppy to take the place of a pet who’s just died.”
When it is time, she said, start fresh.
“Each pet, like each person, is their own personality, their own behavior, their own ‘self’. When it’s time to welcome a new friend into your life, start from there. Start from ‘now’ and move forward with that.”
For those still grieving, Hastings will soon offer a new place for reflection. A Rainbow Bridge memorial is being added to the local dog park. It’s meant to be a quiet space for remembrance, a chance to “feel the feels,” as Tarr put it, and to honor those animals who loved us “just the way we are.”