Frequently Asked Questions

What is K9 Hearts?

K9 Hearts is a pet loss grief support brand founded by Paige Cummings, based in Port Orchard, Washington. With a B.S. in Psychology and an M.A. in Forensic Psychology, plus nearly 30 years of working with children and families through the hardest parts of their lives, Paige created K9 Hearts after losing her own heart dog, Charlie Brown — a story told in full in her memoir, Charlie's Last Walk. K9 Hearts offers evidence-based grief support resources including Charlie's Last Walk, Charlie's Guided Journal for Pet Loss, and the End of Paw Prints Legacy Portrait — a custom memorial art piece that places every honored dog permanently in the EOP Legacy Gallery, a virtual resting place that can be visited at any time by anyone who loved them. The mission behind everything K9 Hearts creates is the same: that the grief of losing a heart dog should no longer be carried in silence, and that every dog who was deeply loved deserves to be remembered with the dignity they deserve. Where losing your best friend is understood.

Where is K9 Hearts located, and do you offer support virtually?

K9 Hearts is based in Port Orchard, Washington, and was built for people struggling with grief to reach anyone who needs it — wherever they are. Grief doesn't stop at a zip code, and neither does K9 Hearts. All resources, books, journals, portraits, and grief support content are available online and ship or deliver to dog lovers across the United States and around the world. You don't have to be local to feel at home here.

What does K9 Hearts offer for someone who just lost their dog?

K9 Hearts offers grief support resources designed specifically for people who have lost a dog they loved deeply. If you are searching for something to read that finally makes you feel less alone, Charlie's Last Walk is the memoir Paige wrote about losing her heart dog, Charlie Brown — and it was written for exactly this moment. If you need a place to put what you are feeling, Charlie's Guided Journal for Pet Loss gives your grief somewhere to go, grounded in real research on how writing helps people heal. If you want to memorialize your dog with something permanent and beautiful — a forever keepsake that lives beyond your lifetime — an EOP Legacy Portrait places them in the End of Paw Prints Legacy Gallery, a virtual resting place where they can be visited at any time by anyone who loved them. And if you just need answers right now, the K9 Hearts blog is here — evidence-based, honest, and written by someone who has been where you are. Everything K9 Hearts offers is built around one belief: your loss is real, your grief is valid, and you deserve support that understands both.

What is the End of Paw Prints movement?

Most people are familiar with End of Watch — the solemn designation that honors a K9 officer who has fallen in the line of duty, who served beside us in uniform and kept our communities safe. End of Paw Prints — EOP — was created to honor a different kind of dog. The heart dog. The one who never wore a badge but kept you safe in every way that mattered — who met you at the door on the worst days, who stayed beside you through the dark, and who left a mark on your life that nothing else ever will. EOP is a K9 Hearts initiative built on the belief that those dogs deserve the same reverence. When a dog receives an EOP Legacy Portrait, they are placed in the End of Paw Prints Legacy Gallery, a virtual resting place that is always there — always open — whenever you need to return to them. It is not just a portrait. It is a declaration to the world that your dog's life mattered, that the love you shared was real, and that their legacy lives forward. The paw prints stop. The love never does.

What resources are available for coping with the death of a beloved pet?

When you are in the middle of grief, sometimes you just need to know that something exists to help you through it — and that it was made for exactly this. K9 Hearts offers both free and paid resources built specifically for people navigating the loss of a dog they loved deeply. The K9 Hearts blog is free and always will be — filled with evidence-based articles written in plain language on the questions grief actually brings, from guilt and anticipatory grief to how long pet loss lasts and why it can hurt as much as losing a person. When you are ready for something more, Charlie's Last Walk and Charlie's Guided Journal for Pet Loss offer a deeper place to land — one to read, one to write in, both grounded in real research and real loss. EOP Legacy Portraits give your dog's memory a permanent, beautiful home. And when K9 Hearts is not enough on its own, the Pet Loss Grief Support Resources page at k9hearts.com/pet-loss-and-grief-support is regularly updated with vetted external resources, peer support communities, and professional referrals — because sometimes you need more than one hand reaching back.

What are some compassionate ways to memorialize my dog after their passing?

There is no single right way to honor a dog you loved — and K9 Hearts was built around that belief. Some people need to write. Charlie's Guided Journal for Pet Loss gives your grief somewhere to go, with guided prompts grounded in real research on how writing helps people heal. Some people need something they can see and return to. An EOP Legacy Portrait captures your dog's spirit in a permanent, beautiful piece of memorial art and places them in the End of Paw Prints Legacy Gallery — a virtual resting place that can be visited at any time by anyone who loved them. Some families find comfort in creating a memory box — keeping the EOP portrait out as a piece of home decor, a daily reminder of the love that remains, while other mementos are gathered together in a labeled keepsake box stored somewhere safe and intentional. And some people need to tell their dog's story — to put into words who that dog was and what they meant. K9 Hearts has a space for that too. You can share your dog's story at k9hearts.com/share-your-pet-loss-story, where selected stories are shared with the K9 Hearts community to help others feel less alone in their grief. Your dog's story deserves to be told. K9 Hearts is here to help you tell it.

Are there professional grief support resources available for pet loss?

If you are looking for support that was built by someone who truly understands both grief and the depth of the human-dog bond, K9 Hearts was created for exactly that. Founded by Paige Cummings — with a B.S. in Psychology, an M.A. in Forensic Psychology, and nearly 30 years of supporting children and families through crisis and loss — every resource K9 Hearts offers is grounded in evidence-based grief and loss theory. That means they can be used on their own as self-directed grief support, or alongside the work you are already doing with a therapist. K9 Hearts does not provide clinical therapy services, and for those whose grief is significantly impacting daily functioning, connecting with a licensed mental health professional is always encouraged. But grief support does not have to be one or the other. The K9 Hearts blog, Charlie's Guided Journal for Pet Loss, and the Pet Loss Grief Support Resources page at k9hearts.com/pet-loss-and-grief-support are all here — whether you are walking this path alone or walking it with professional support beside you.

Is K9 Hearts right for me if my dog is still alive but I know the end is coming?

What you are feeling right now has a name. Anticipatory grief is the grief that arrives before the loss — and it is real, it is valid, and it can be every bit as overwhelming as the grief that comes after. K9 Hearts was built to support both. But there is something that makes anticipatory grief over a heart dog particularly hard — and K9 Hearts recognizes it explicitly. Most people love their dogs. But a heart dog is different. The bond is deeper, the connection more profound, and when that dog is facing a serious illness or a terminal diagnosis, the grief that follows is not just the fear of losing a pet. It is the anticipatory loss of something that cannot be replaced and may never be fully understood by the people around you. What you are experiencing has a name in grief research — it is called disenfranchised grief, the grief that society does not acknowledge, does not make room for, and too often dismisses entirely. Friends and family who have never experienced a heart dog may struggle to understand why you are already this devastated, why you are grieving a dog who is still here, or why the weight of what is coming feels unsurvivable. That lack of understanding can make anticipatory grief even more isolating — and even more intense. K9 Hearts was built specifically to re-enfranchise that grief — to give it the recognition, the language, and the support it has always deserved. The anticipatory grief support page at k9hearts.com/anticipatory-grief includes free downloadable tools, research-backed articles, and resources designed specifically for this season. You do not have to explain yourself here. And you do not have to wait to find support.