Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Ellavsky.
Hi Laura, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I became an End-Of-Life Companion Animal Doula because of the life & love I shared with my soul dog: Mozzie. Mozzie walked beside me for ten and a half years. He was in short, a “Good Soul” and my best boy. He was with me for 10 and a half years (1/3 of my life). During our time together, relationships came and went, people died, and my children were born. Through it all, high and lows- I had my best friend. I always knew my heart would break when he died, but didn’t realize just how much that would hurt. I found myself struggling and didn’t know where to turn. I also realized I had been struggling with anticipatory grief for a while before his passing, and I wish I had the tools to have navigated the final chapter of his life in a way that left me with less regret and more memories of comfort, acceptance and time together. I wish I had the education, resources, and knowledge I have now. It would have made our final walk together so much more peaceful- for both of us. This is why I became an EOL Companion Animal Doula, to be that resource for others. I want people to know the End-of-Life journey with their companion animals can be better. There are more choices, resources, and support than they may know. I feel passionately about educating people about these choices so they have the power to make them before it feels like there are none. End-Of-Life Companion Animal Doulas, or “EOL CAD”, provide non-medical (non-veterinary), social/emotional support to families as they experience or anticipate the loss of their beloved animals. In my role, this might mean being someone to talk to, providing in person support at euthanasia, offering ideas and suggestions, helping identify what a good life and good death means to you for your animal, providing grief support and other resources, planning memorial services, and honoring the life and love you share with your companion animal. I also offer “Celebration of Life” photography sessions because I think these sessions provide the opportunity to capture the bond people have with their animals. So often, we have tons of pictures of our companions, but not so many of us with them- and I think that is something really comforting for people to have.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest struggle I have had this far in becoming a doula, was experiencing the loss that triggered this change and personal growth to become one. In order to be fully present to support others anticipating and experiencing loss, I first have to be grounded and clear in my own mind and heart. Working to get to that place was a challenge, especially while grieving. The logistics of starting a new, tiny business, while doing work that is also “new’, or not widely heard of, is at times difficult.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I offer support to families or individuals anticipating or experiencing pet-loss. I provide non-medical (non-veterinary), social/emotional support to families as they experience or anticipate the loss of their beloved animals. In my role, this might mean being someone to talk to, providing in person support at euthanasia, offering ideas and suggestions, helping identify what a good life and good death means to you for your animal, providing grief support and other resources, planning memorial services, and honoring the life and love you share with your companion animal. I also offer clients an “Advanced Care Plan” document; designed and created by myself to walk you through some decision making before your animal is in crisis. This document is also designed to help if your animal is currently in crisis and you need to organize your thoughts. I wish more people had these plans and thought about End-Of-Life planning in puppyhood, or when the animal is young. Thinking ahead alleviates the urgency and hurried, emotionally charged kind of decision-making we do in crisis. I also offer “Celebration of Life” photography sessions, with emphasis around senior animals or animals with terminal illnesses, but I love to photograph animals at all stages of life. I offer sliding scale fees for all of my services, because I think even just a little bit of support through a tough time, sets us up for a brighter future. If someone needs help, I always say: please just reach out. I am also aware that sometimes even when people want and need help, it is still hard for them to reach out for my support. This is partly why I have launched a community based 501(c)(3) non-profit project/organization, called; “The St. Cloud Rainbow Bridge Memorial Garden”. I am working to create this healing space that features a literal Rainbow Bridge, symbolizing the popular pet-loss poem. People will be invited to hang collars on the bridge or other small memorials. This space and the organization’s resources we’re working to gather and connect people to, are all free. I am really proud of these efforts because they address a void in our lives, and that is the need for grief support after and during this kind of a loss. Pet-loss is often described as “disenfranchised grief”, which is grief that is not widely accepted, acknowledged, or validated. When people are sitting with this heavy, painful grief and they feel judged or ashamed to express it, it increases their suffering and isolation. This project addresses that by creating a tangible acknowledgement of those feelings, and shows people they really aren’t alone. This is also important for children, especially young kids. We know the first experience with death and dying a child has is typically the loss of a family pet or the loss of a grandparent. Death is such a weird concept for kids to understand; wrapping their young minds around the permanency of loss isn’t something very young kids can really do. And when grown-ups offer words of support like “You aren’t alone”, “We understand”, it’s all very abstract and really doesn’t offer comfort in the same way it might to us. Providing a space where children can see, touch, and feel that their loss and their experience is valid-is really meaningful. It is really cool to hear back from parents about how excited they are to have this type of support for their kids, so I am really hoping this project can find a home in our community and move forward. I am working to provide pet-loss grief support groups for this organization as well. Of all my work, my efforts on this project are what make me feel the most proud, and I think my little guy who inspired it all, would be proud too. You can follow “The St. Cloud Rainbow Bridge Memorial Garden” on Facebook for more information.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was when we got our first dog; Bear. He was the cutest and I loved him instantly!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goodsoulsendoflifedoula.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/good.souls.eol.doula/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodsoulsendoflifedoula
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-ellavsky-a68911299/
