Pet Loss, Love & Healing
Honoring the Bond
Losing a beloved animal companion can be one of the most profound and misunderstood experiences of grief. Pet Loss, Love & Healing: Honoring the Bond is a thoughtful panel discussion for anyone navigating the loss of a pet, supporting someone who is grieving, or seeking to better understand the deep human-animal bond. Together, we will explore why pet grief matters, how our culture often minimizes or avoids grief, and why the loss of a pet can feel especially isolating.
This session will offer space to reflect on the emotional, physical, and cognitive effects of grief, including “grief brain” and the ways loss can live in the body. We will also touch on the difference between grieving and mourning, gentle ways to care for yourself, and meaningful rituals to honor a pet’s life, such as deciding what to do with belongings, ashes, or cremains.
Our Moderator and Panelists include:
Kate Titus, Canine Mobility Specialist, is a speaker, educator, author, and founder committed to helping dogs move with comfort and independence. A Certified Canine Fitness Trainer and massage therapist, Kate launched A Loyal Companion in 2008 and later opened Arizona’s first canine fitness and swim facility. She’s also a dedicated nonprofit leader, serving on the board of Friends of PACC and chairperson of the Friends of PACC Clinic board.
Jennifer Titley-Rubio, MSW, LCSW, Certified Grief Counselor, supports individuals experiencing death loss, traumatic loss, anticipatory grief, disenfranchised grief, and animal loss. Her work is grounded in companioning the bereaved with compassion, presence, and solace. She became a Board Member of Transitions in Loss and Grief to provide more education to the public about grief.
Dr. Kellie Barrett is the compassionate founder of Kindred Spirits Pet Services, a pioneering end-of-life care practice for pets based in Tucson, Arizona. She has dedicated her career to providing gentle, respectful care for animals in their final moments. She is a Certified Peaceful Euthanasia Veterinarian through CAETA and holds multiple certifications in Low Stress Handling, the Human-Animal Bond, and Pet Loss & Grief Support.
Paula Rivadeneira, PhD, is the Founder and Owner of Cholla Afterlife Aquamation for Pets, the only eco-friendly water cremation service for pets in southern Arizona. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Old Souls Animal Rescue and Retirement Home, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to saving geriatric, special needs, and hospice animals of all kinds.
In-person and online seats are available.
The seminar is free, but donations to Old Souls Animal Rescue and Retirement Home are appreciated.
Speakers
Kate TitusModeratorKate Titus is a speaker, educator, author, and founder committed to helping senior dogs move with comfort and dignity. A Certified Canine Fitness Trainer and massage therapist, Kate launched A Loyal Companion in 2008 and later opened Arizona’s first canine fitness and swim facility. Since then, she’s helped thousands of dogs and their people navigate aging with care and clarity.
Kate has authored two books, Sit. Stand. Go! and Emotion to Motion, and regularly speaks on canine mobility, massage, and wellness. She’s also a dedicated nonprofit leader, serving on the board of Friends of PACC and previously chairing Gabriel’s Angels. At the heart of all her work is a simple mission: to offer real, honest information and compassionate solutions for dogs and the humans who love them.
Kate holds an MBA in Marketing from Suffolk University and a Master’s degree in Recreation, Sports, and Fitness Management from Northeastern University.
- Jennifer Titley-Rubio MSW, LCSWCertified Grief Counselor
Jennifer is a local Tucsonan with Masters Degrees in Biology and Social Work from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University. She was a Lead Social Worker in Tucson Unified School District, a therapist/supervisor at Our Town Family Center as well as a Hospice Social Worker. In 2019, she shifted her on-call Hospice position to a bereavement counselor, providing individual and group counseling to the bereaved. She co-facilitated grief support groups for three years, including a COVID Grief Support Group, and Healing Journeys, an 8-week psycho-educational/support group based on Alan Wolfelt’s 10 Touchstones. Jennifer is trained as a Restorative Retelling facilitator, and has also provided the ten-week long group series focused on the intersection of grief and trauma following a sudden, violent, or traumatic death loss. She has also completed extensive grief trainings with Megan Devine and David Kessler. More recently she has become a Board Member of Transitions in Loss and Grief to provide more education to the public about grief.
She with her husband raised 2 children, 2 rescue dogs, and 6 rescue cats. After a series of personal losses—deaths, health and animal companions—she started her own private practice Monsoon Light LLC, providing individual and group, grief and loss therapy.
She has a special place in her heart for animal loss. “I believe that losing one’s beloved animal is a very special kind of loss and a grief which often goes unrecognized in our culture.”
She works with those experiencing death loss, traumatic loss, anticipatory grief, disenfranchised grief and animal loss. “It is my intention to hold space, companion and bring solace to the bereaved.”
Monsoon Light LLC Grief and Loss Therapy - Kellie Barrett, DVMCertified Peaceful Euthanasia Veterinarian
Dr. Kellie Barrett is the compassionate founder of Kindred Spirits Pet Services, a pioneering end-of-life care practice for pets based in Tucson, Arizona. Originally from Nebraska, Dr. Barrett earned her veterinary degree from Iowa State University and has since dedicated her career to providing gentle, respectful care for animals in their final moments. With experience spanning animal shelters, private clinics, and nonprofit outreach, Dr. Barrett brings a deeply empathetic approach to her work.
She is a Certified Peaceful Euthanasia Veterinarian through CAETA and holds multiple certifications in Low Stress Handling, the Human-Animal Bond, and Pet Loss & Grief Support. She also serves on the board of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC) and holds a Death and Grief Studies Certificate from the Center for Loss and Life Transitions.
Kindred Spirits was the first in Arizona to offer Aquamation, an eco-friendly alternative to cremation, reflecting Dr. Barrett’s commitment to sustainability and dignity in pet aftercare. She lives in Tucson with her husband, two children, and their beloved rescue dogs, Roo and Quill P Thunder. Her work is more than veterinary care—it’s a heartfelt mission to honor the bond between humans and their animal companions.
- Paula Rivadeneira, PhD Founder and Executive Director of Old Souls Animal Rescue and Retirement HomePaula Rivadeneira, PhDFounder and Executive Director of Old Souls Animal Rescue and Retirement Home
Dr. Paula is the Founder and Executive Director of Old Souls Animal Rescue and Retirement Home, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to saving geriatric, special needs, and hospice animals of all kinds. She founded Old Souls in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2010, and moved the rescue all over the west coast, landing permanently in Tucson in 2021.
Dr. Paula is also the Founder and Owner of Cholla Afterlife Aquamation For Pets, the only eco-friendly water cremation service for pets in southern Arizona. Her business runs 24/7 and offers pets a beautiful and gentle journey to the Bridge. She supports grieving families with comforting rituals and unique keepsakes to keep their pets close to their hearts.
Dr. Paula’s PhD is in Conservation Physiology of Wildlife from Auburn University. This led her to management positions with the Great Basin Institute in Nevada and the San Diego Zoo in California. After a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Davis, she became a Researcher and Cooperative Extension Specialist at the University of Arizona where she now maintains an adjunct position.
While she remains an advocate for wildlife, Dr. Paula’s heart lies with caring for hospice animals, particularly dogs and cats, and she is passionately involved in animal sheltering. She became an Animal Shelter Director in Waco, Texas before joining the management team at Pima Animal Care Center as their Professional Development Manager, and Manager of Licensing, Admissions, and Pet Support.
Still, nothing is more important to her than caring for hospice animals, and providing compassion and support to deceased pets and their families.