Introduction to the Pet Bereavement Support Service
1. Welcome to the
Pet Bereavement Support Webinar Series
from
Webinar 4 of 6:
Introducing the Pet Bereavement Support Service
2. Welcome to the
Pet Bereavement Support Webinar Series
from
With Julia Dando MA – Training Manager, SCAS
3. Pet Bereavement Support
What will we be looking at today?
• What is the Pet Bereavement Support Service
and who is it for?
• What does the service provide and how?
• What it is like being a volunteer working on
the Pet Bereavement Support Service
helpline
5. 6013 calls to the support line
last year
519 support emails last year
offered 11,265 hours supporting
others on the telephone and
email support line
0800 096 6606
pbssmail@bluecross.org.uk
13. Pet Bereavement Support Webinar Series
Webinar 5: Pet Bereavement and providing support for people
Wednesday 18th April 2012 @ 1pm
Webinar 6: Pet Bereavement Support and developing protocols
Wednesday 25th April 2012 @ 1pm
14. Thank you for
your attention
Webinar 5
Pet Bereavement and
providing support for
people
Wed 18th April 2012
@ 1pm (GMT)
Hinweis der Redaktion
Welcome to the first in a series of 6 webinars looking at Pet Bereavement Support
My name is Julia Dando and I work for The Society for Companion Animal Studies
There will be opportunity later for you to share some experiences of your own. You can do this by using the chat box but preferably if you have a microphone I can give you the floor and we will be able to hear from you. I can see which of you have microphones enabled so we will see how that goes when we get to the relevant part of the session.
In the early nineties it was recognised that because the loss of a pet can cause deep distress and sadness - there was a real need for a service to offer emotional support for anyone who was finding it difficult to manage their loss and grief. In 1994 The Society for Companion Animal Studies developed and launched the Pet Bereavement Support Service. In 1998 SCAS and the Blue Cross made a successful joint bid to the National Lottery to further expand the service and both charities have since been involved in the running of the PBSS.
The service has developed over the years and responds to thousands of calls a year and hundreds of emails and requests for information about pet loss. The Pet Bereavement Support Service offers confidential, emotional support through its telephone and email support service FREE telephone helpline from 8.30am until 8.30pm 365 days a year. Trained volunteers across the UK provide a listening and compassionate ear and respond to calls and emails in their own home and are in areas across the UK. The service and all volunteers are managed and supported in their work by a staff team, based at the head office in Burford, Oxfordshire.
Interestingly callers are predominantly female but we are now seeing an increase in male callers
Although called the pet bereavement support service we do deal with loss in the wider sense – A loss may not always be as a result of a death. The Pet Bereavement Support Service receive call from a wide variety of callers who are being affected by a wide variety of types of pet loss. For example: Perhaps someone who has had a stroke and has had to go into a care home and was unable to take their pwt with them, people that have found themselves homeless and are facing the realty of needing to rehome their pet. We also receive calls from social workers and mental health practitioners, veterinary professionals and even road traffic officers. As well as family and friends of those affected by a loss.
As well as being a member of the British Association for Counselling and Pyschotherapy, last year the Pet Bereavement Support Service was very proud to receive Quality Standard from the THA – this sits the service alongside other well-known helplines such as The Samaritans, Cancer Research UK and Citizens Advice. This really is testament to the wonderful work that the volunteers do.
We have around 78 volunteers answering calls for the Pet Bereavement Support Service using a rota system. The telephone Support Line runs as a ‘virtual call centre’, meaning that, as a PBSS volunteer, wherever they are in the country, they are able to log in and out for duty using any land-line. This means that volunteers can work from their own home and their privacy is protected at all times. The callers never know the personal details of the volunteers.
http://www.scas.org.uk/2899/Pet-BereavementSupportWebinarSeries.html The Pet Bereavement Support Service has been giving free emotional support to those who may have lost a pet or have been effected by the loss of a pet since 1994. Open every day from 8.30am - 8.30pm the team of volunteers provide a vital port of call for those in need. This 30 min session looks at the work of the PBSS and the impact that it has had of the lives of many over the years. Whether you work in a veterinary practice, a rehoming or rescue centre, or maybe just know someone that is struggling due to the loss of a pet, this 1 hour session looks at some of the ways that you can provide support. Knowing what to say can be the biggest worry for people who are in a position where emotional support is needed. We will be taking a look at "active listening skills" and other tools and skills that can be helpful. There are lots of things that you can do to make things easier for everyone when there is a loss of a pet. This 1 hour session looks at what you can do in practice to make things easier for clients, colleagues, friends, family and yourself when you are involved with providing support for those experiencing the loss of a pet.