Charlie’s Last Walk: A Guided Journal for Pet Loss
Walk through your grief with Charlie as your companion.
Grief doesn't follow a schedule. It circles back, surprises you, and asks you to sit with feelings you weren't ready for. Charlie's Guided Journal was created with that truth at its heart.
This isn't a fill-in-the-blank workbook or a tidy step-by-step process. It's a gentle, therapeutic companion built around the real story of Charlie's Last Walk — woven through evidence-based prompts that meet you exactly where you are, on your hardest days and your quieter ones.
Because losing a dog isn't a small thing. It's losing your morning routine, your reason to come home, the one who knew you without words. You deserve more than a blank page.
Charlie's Guided Journal honors the messy, nonlinear, deeply human experience of that loss — and walks beside you as you find your own way through it.
Here's a sample of what you'll find inside...
An Excerpt from Charlie's Last Walk: A Guided Journal for Pet Loss
"Grief doesn't follow a straight line. You don't move neatly from denial to acceptance. Grief doesn't work that way. Instead, you spiral — feeling hope one moment, devastation the next, guilt in the afternoon, gratitude by evening. You might accept the loss on Tuesday and wake up in denial on Wednesday.
That's not failure. That's grief."
— Paige Cummings, from Charlie's Last Walk: A Guided Journal for Pet Loss
Special Section
Anticipatory Grief — When They're Still Here
Grief doesn't always begin at the moment of loss. For many of us, it starts the moment we know what's coming — when we're doing daily quality-of-life assessments, watching them struggle, and asking ourselves the impossible question: is it time?
"For me, grief started before Charlie died. It started when I knew I might have to make the decision to end his pain. When I was doing quality of life assessments every single day. When I was watching him struggle and wondering, 'Will he pass on his own, or will I have to choose?'"
This section holds space for you if you're still in that in-between place — not yet goodbye, but no longer okay. You are not alone in this. And you don't have to wait until after to begin healing.
Part Two
The Impossible Choice
The decision to let them go is the heaviest thing a person can carry. This section doesn't try to make it lighter — it sits with you in the weight of it. The what-ifs. The second-guessing. The question of whether you chose too soon or waited too long.
"Charlie's battle didn't begin that morning. It had been going on for seventeen months. Twenty-one pills a day spread across a medication chart that I had taped to my kitchen wall."
Choosing euthanasia is not a failure of love. It is love in its most selfless form. These prompts help you document the journey that led to that moment — not to justify it, but to honor it.
Part Three
The Waves of Grief
You don't move through grief in a straight line. You spiral. Hope one moment, devastation the next. Acceptance on Tuesday, denial on Wednesday. This section meets you in the spiral — wherever you are today — without asking you to be further along than you are.
"The 6:00 am walk that had been our morning ritual for years didn't happen for weeks. Each morning at 6:00, I would forget he was gone. I'd reach for his leash, save a bite of food from my plate for him, and listen for the tick-tack sound of his nails on the wood floor. The silence was deafening."
These prompts don't ask you to feel better. They ask you to feel honestly — and to know that every wave, even the ones that knock you down weeks or months later, is a completely normal part of loving someone that much.
Charlie’s Journal is available in multiple digital and print formats to fit how you grieve.
Desktop/Tablet Interactive PDF for GoodNotes, Adobe (using the free “fill and sign” feature)
Mobile sized Interactive PDF for GoodNotes and Adobe.
Hardcover through Amazon
Paperback through Amazon
Digital Formats
Everything you need to read, reflect, and begin healing — delivered instantly in one purchase.
This bundle includes:
📖 Charlie's Last Walk — The Story
Full color 7x10 interactive PDF memoir with photos throughout. The true story of devotion, loss, and the impossible decision to let go.
📓 Charlie's Guided Journal — Mobile Bundle
Adobe PDF + GoodNotes versions optimized for phone and tablet.
💻 Charlie's Guided Journal — Desktop & Tablet Bundle
Adobe PDF + GoodNotes versions optimized for laptop and desktop.
All four files delivered together in one instant download.
Many readers find it helps to read Charlie's story first, then move into the journal prompts when they feel ready. Others open the journal first and return to the story in between prompts. There is no wrong way to grieve.
Your download arrives as a ZIP file containing all versions clearly labeled and ready to use.
Delivered instantly after purchase.
Print Versions of Charlie’s Guided Journal
Charlie’s Guided Journal is also the perfect gift for someone who is grieving the loss of their best friend.
K9 Hearts has gift cards available to give the gift of love and healing.
Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is offer someone a place to begin.
If someone you care about has lost their dog, they may not yet have the words for what they're feeling — or the energy to look for help themselves.
A K9 Hearts Gift Card gives them that choice, whenever they're ready.
Gift cards can be used toward:
- Charlie's Last Walk — the memoir
- Charlie's Guided Journal for Pet Loss
- The Complete Digital Bundle
Delivered instantly by email. The recipient chooses when and how to use it.
There is no right timeline for grief.
This gift says: I see you. Take your time.
