Pet Loss Hotlines

Pet loss support lines exist because this grief is common enough, and real enough, to need a phone number, and because the people around you may not treat it that way. This list is short on purpose. Every number on it was read from Cornell's veterinary college page on September 15, 2026, and nothing is listed that we couldn't verify.^[1] Hours change with the academic calendar, so if nobody picks up, leave a message; they call back.

• Cornell University Pet Loss Support Hotline: 607-218-7457. Run by Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine and staffed by volunteer veterinary students who have trained with professional grief counselors. Hours vary by season and by volunteer availability; call for the current hours. The line runs on Google Voice, which asks for your name before it connects: say "anonymous" or just your first name.^[1]
• Tufts University Pet Loss Support Hotline: 508-839-7966. Monday through Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m. Eastern, with 24-hour voicemail the rest of the time.^[1]
• Chicago Veterinary Medical Association Pet Loss Helpline: 630-325-1600. Leave a voicemail; calls are returned between 7 and 9 p.m. Central.^[1]

None of them charge. None of them will tell you it was just a dog.

At Cornell, a veterinary student who volunteered for this and trained for it. That matters in two directions: they've been in the exam room when the decision was made, so nothing you say about the euthanasia will shock them, and they chose to spend their evenings on this line, so nothing you say will bore them. You don't need a reason to call beyond the one you have. You don't need to be crying. People call the day of, and people call on the first anniversary, and both are what the line is for.

Whatever's true. If you need a first sentence, any of these works, and then the person on the other end takes it from there.

• "My dog died on Tuesday and everyone keeps saying I can get another one."
• "I put my cat down last week and I can't stop going over whether it was too soon."
• "I'm fine during the day. At 6 o'clock the house is unbearable."
• "I don't know why I'm calling. I just needed to say his name to somebody."

The guilt one is the most common call, and it's the one worth making. Nearly everyone who made the decision wonders whether it was too soon; the families who saw it through tell veterinary hospice programs the opposite far more often, that they waited too long. Grief after losing a pet has the whole section on it.

Pet loss lines are for grief. If the grief has turned into thoughts of suicide, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which is free, confidential, and answers 24 hours a day. Losing an animal that structured your days can pull the floor out in a way people around you don't see, and calling is a reasonable thing to do on a night like that.

A grief therapist works for pet loss the same way it works for any death; grief therapy and counseling covers how to find one and what it costs. Many veterinary schools and humane societies also run pet loss support groups, in person and online, and your own vet's office usually knows the nearest one. For the rest of it, the body and the options and the paperwork, what to do when your pet dies. For marking it, pet memorial ideas and the free pet obituary.

This page is a resource list, not mental-health advice. Hours and numbers were verified on the date shown and can change; if a line is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it that week. For our full citation list and how we check our facts, see our Sources and Methodology.