Sacramento animal chaplain offers healing help one paw at a time
SACRAMENTO – Andrea Haverland knows what it's like to love hard and lose even harder.
"Piggie was unique in the way that he loved us and he really just loved to be loved," Andrea said.
Andrea and Marc rescued Piggiebully from Front Street Animal Shelter at the start of the pandemic.
"The joy and love that he brought to our lives every day was really special," Marc Morgan said.
The English Bulldog came with a long list of health problems, but they happily stepped up and spent days on end taking special care of Piggie.
"He had a lot of breathe-related issues and congenital issues and we decided that every day we were going to make his best day ever, his best day on Earth," said Andrea.
They lived up to that promise, spoiling their precious pup right down to his paws.
"We called it Piggie spa, it's like a head-to-tail piggie spa, like his eyes, nose teeth, all of his supplements and food, down to his feet," Andrea said.
But those special spa days came to a sudden end when Piggie passed away in May. The emptiness and silence ran deep.
"Within 15 minutes of coming home from the vet the day that we lost him, immediately noticing, a big void because we did plan our day around him. There's 45 things a day that I'm not doing anymore that I was doing for him," Andrea said.
That's where Monica Hart comes in. Hart is a Sacramento chaplain who is expanding her gift of compassion to help people through pet loss. She met Andrea just a month before Piggie passed away.
"I think both of us said like, we have never been this sad before about anyone or anything. And it was so deep and it was so sad," Andrea said.
Andrea and Monica had attended a Doggy Dash fundraiser for the Sacramento SPCA.
"Andrea had autographed his personal little book and handed it to me and I remember going home and reading it," Monica told CBS13.
Andrea remembered Monica and when the time came, she knew she needed her.
"It was an honor for me first of all that she trusted me to connect with me and an honor to be there," Monica said.
"We were kind of going through it together and then having Monica as an outside perspective really helped," Marc said.
"What I do is I listen, I ask questions," Monica said. "Tell me the story, tell me the memories, tell me about their treats."
And so they talked with Monica for hours on end, sharing Piggie memories, laughs, love and tears. It's help Dr. Cole, a Sacramento vet, is now recommending to her clients.
"If they can have an ally like Monica or myself that can help them through this grief, then that is just great," Dr. Cole said.
Dr. Cole knows pet loss, not just through clients, but personally.
"He was my dad's cat that passed and so when I lost him it was like losing my dad all over again, I mean it's not just a pet," Dr. Cole said.
It's never just a pet, but a permanent family member where the hurt can turn to healing with a little help.
"The time that I spend with each person is giving them tools and empowering them to go to a deeper level of them being able to feel and be in that grief to heal," Monica said.
"I think it was about a week and a half after we lost Piggie we sat down with Monica and I immediately felt peaceful after," Andrea said.
Monica is one of a growing number of animal chaplains. You can read more about Monica Hart and her mission to help people grieving through pet loss. Her website also has a section to contact her if you need help.