An Emmy Winner's Mission to Ease Pet Grief

Have you ever lost a beloved animal? Then you know how the pain can take you by surprise and feel bottomless. I am raising seed money to fund a YouTube channel that will become an evolving, community-driven platform offering support, shared stories, resources, and solace for anyone navigating the grief of pet loss.

I am an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker who lost her dog a few years back. The grief was so enormous that I felt ashamed and confused, and there was nowhere to turn for support or answers to my questions: What is a dog? Are dogs capable of relationships? Why do we love them so much? Why doesn’t the world recognize my grief? What happens to those we love when they die? How long will this grief last?

I literally thought I was losing my mind. So I picked up my camera and started interviewing psychologists and scientists, and it turns out that there is a lot of science supporting our deep connections to animals, both cognitive and physiological. There is so much evidence that animals have much richer emotional lives and consciousness -- than we as a species give them credit for.

JUST A DOG invites you to follow me on the journey of discovery and healing I underwent, all the while continually responding to the audience's comments and requests so that I meet their needs and create a community where viewers can communicate with each other and the world. Perhaps the most tragic part of losing a beloved animal is the loneliness and isolation you feel in your grief. It is time that there is a place to go, and be, and heal, and I am determined to create it.

Your support will help me get this film made – one scene at a time, week by week, and onto YouTube – where it will be available for free to all who are haunted by the same questions and need the support and the information. As the project grows, it will branch out in ways that it can be self-supporting and continue to provide resources to those who are grieving. Through continued interviews with animal consciousness scientists, therapists, and a potential podcast, members-only forums and live-casts, and the creation of a memorial site for others to post to, this will become an invaluable resource to those who are grieving and to those who simply want to help make the world a better place for all the animals who share the earth with us.

I humbly ask for your support. Join me on this journey with a donation of any size and you will be thanked in the credits of the eventual film. For those who give $1000 or more, I will thank you in the description of every YouTube episode. PLEASE NOTE, A TIP TO GOFUNDME WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY ADDED TO YOUR DONATION BUT YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO NOT TIP AT ALL - KEEP IN MIND THE SITE ALREADY RECEIVES A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF YOUR DONATION SO A TIP IS EXTRA $$ GOING TO THE SITE.

Please watch the attached video. It is the first episode, which I have uploaded in a soft launch: you are getting the first view of it. Feel free to like, comment, subscribe, and share – and again, please support our efforts in any way you can. This is a full-time job and I need the support to get it off the ground. Without your help, I cannot afford to do it. Editing the videos, shorts, reels on instagram and TikTok videos to drive traffic to the site, and monitoring the site, doing outreach, and creating the avenues of growth is more than a full time job for one person - even with an excellent intern.

If you've ever loved and lost a pet, you know how profound that bond is. Help me create something beautiful, lasting, and healing for everyone who’s been there.

Thank you for being part of making this happen.