What Is K9 Hearts and Why Was It Built?
K9 Hearts is a comprehensive, self-directed grief support brand built for anyone who has lost a beloved dog — and for anyone who loves someone walking that path. Born from the real experience of losing Charlie Brown, a yellow Labrador who lived only three years but changed everything, K9 Hearts exists because grief deserves to be witnessed, not rushed.
Founded by Paige Cummings — 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 — K9 Hearts bridges personal heartbreak with professional understanding. When Charlie died, Paige walked his last walk with him through Banner Forest Heritage Park in Port Orchard, Washington. That walk became a memoir. That memoir became a mission. And that mission became K9 Hearts.
Every product, every portrait, and every word on this site was created with one belief: grief is not something to fix. It is something to be supported, witnessed, and honored.
Where losing your best friend is understood.
Where Is K9 Hearts Located and Can Anyone Access It?
K9 Hearts is based in Port Orchard, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. Because every resource K9 Hearts offers is delivered digitally, K9 Hearts supports grieving dog owners anywhere in the United States — and around the world. You never need to travel, be local, or leave home to access the memoir, the guided journal, the EOP Legacy Portrait, or any grief support resource. Everything is delivered directly to your inbox.
Grief does not have a zip code. Neither does K9 Hearts.
Who Is K9 Hearts For?
K9 Hearts serves dog lovers navigating the loss of a beloved companion — whether that loss is recent, anticipated, or something carried quietly for years. You do not need to be in crisis to belong here. You do not need to be devastated in a way other people can see. If you are sad, if you miss your dog, if you have ever been told "it was just a dog" — you are exactly who K9 Hearts was built for.
K9 Hearts also serves those still holding on — walking alongside a dog in declining health, doing daily quality-of-life assessments, dreading the goodbye that is coming. Anticipatory grief is real, and K9 Hearts recognizes it.
And K9 Hearts serves the people who love someone in grief. If a friend or family member has lost their dog and you do not know what to say or what to give — K9 Hearts gives you something meaningful to offer. Something that says: I see your loss. It matters. You are not alone.
There is no timeline on grief. There is no wrong time to seek support or to honor a dog you loved. If you have ever loved a dog with everything you had — you belong here.
K9 Hearts also serves those still holding on — walking alongside a dog in declining health, doing daily quality-of-life assessments, dreading the goodbye that is coming. This is called anticipatory grief, and it is real, it is valid, and it is one of the most isolating experiences a dog owner can face. K9 Hearts has a dedicated Anticipatory Grief section — including free downloads, a special edition of Charlie's Last Walk, and grief support resources — built specifically for you and the dog who is still here.
→ Visit the: Visit the Anticipatory Grief page
What Does K9 Hearts Offer for Pet Loss Grief Support?
K9 Hearts offers grief-informed resources and emotionally supportive creative works designed to meet you wherever you are in your loss. Every offering was created with the same belief: healing is not linear, grief has no deadline, and love for a dog never has to end.
Charlie's Last Walk — A Dog Loss Memoir
The true story of Charlie's final walk and the 24 hours before his death. Written by Paige Cummings, this memoir bridges personal grief with professional psychological insight and offers validation, comfort, and companionship for anyone facing the impossible decision to euthanize a beloved dog. Available in paperback, hardcover, and instant digital download.
→ Link to: https://www.k9hearts.com/about-charlies-story
Charlie's Last Walk — A Guided Journal for Pet Loss
An evidence-based grief journal with 49 therapeutic prompts woven through excerpts from Charlie's story. Rooted in Worden's Tasks of Mourning, this journal follows grief the way it actually moves — not in stages, but in spirals. Includes a dedicated section for anticipatory grief. Available in print and four digital formats.
→ Link to: https://www.k9hearts.com/pet-loss-guided-journal
ps://www.k9hearts.com/pet-loss-guided-journal
End of Paw Prints (EOP) Legacy Memorial Portraits
K9 Hearts' signature legacy portrait initiative. A custom memorial portrait bearing the official EOP Emblem, created from your existing photos and placed permanently in the End of Paw Prints Legacy Gallery and Virtual Resting Place. Available in three tiers. The paw prints stop. The love never does.
→ Link to: https://www.k9hearts.com/dog-memorial-portrait-art
Digital Grief Support Resources
Downloadable grief support resources designed to meet you wherever you are in your healing journey — delivered instantly to your inbox.
→ Link to: https://www.k9hearts.com/digital-store
A therapeutic grief journal designed for how grief actually works — not in stages, but in spirals.
Charlie's Guided Journal for Pet Loss is the companion to Charlie's Last Walk. Using evidence-based grief frameworks, it walks you through the real, non-linear journey of losing your heart dog — with space to write your own story alongside Charlie's.
This Desktop & Tablet Bundle includes:
- Adobe PDF version (works on any desktop or laptop)
- GoodNotes version (optimized for iPad and tablet)
Both files delivered together in one download.
What's inside:
- Anticipatory Grief — when they're still here
- The Impossible Choice — processing the decision
- Waves of Grief — the non-linear journey
- Legacy and Remembrance — honoring their life
- Opening to Love Again — when you're ready
Your download arrives as a ZIP file containing both versions. Simply open to find your Adobe PDF and GoodNotes file inside — both ready to use immediately.
Delivered instantly after purchase.
A full-color interactive digital PDF — delivered instantly to your device.
Files included: interactive PDF, .mobi and epub file.
If you have ever loved a dog the way Charlie was loved, this story will find you.
Charlie's Last Walk is a true memoir about devotion, loss, and the impossible decision to let go. Written by Paige Cummings — a grief professional with nearly 30 years of experience — it captures the sacred bond between a woman and her heart dog, and the slow, honest path toward healing that followed.
Told in four parts:
Charlie's Last Walk — the final morning in the forest
The Medical Reality — the 24 hours that led to the decision
Grief and The Gift — the weeks that followed, and how Charlie's legacy continued
Love Again — meeting Nova, and learning that hearts broken open have room to love again
What you receive: Full color interactive PDF with photos throughout. Works on phone, tablet, and desktop. Compatible with Adobe and e-book readers (Apple Books, Kindle, Google Books, Adobe Acrobat-free version) .
Delivered instantly after purchase.
Is K9 Hearts a Substitute for Therapy or Clinical Grief Counseling?
No. K9 Hearts does not provide medical treatment, psychological diagnosis, or clinical grief counseling. Our work is not a substitute for therapy or professional mental health care. If you are experiencing grief that is significantly impacting your daily functioning, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
What K9 Hearts does provide is grief-informed support that was specifically designed to work alongside professional care. Charlie's Guided Journal for Pet Loss is rooted in evidence-based frameworks — including Worden's Tasks of Mourning — the same gold-standard models used by grief therapists in clinical practice. Many readers use the journal independently as a self-directed healing tool. Others bring it into their individual therapy sessions, where it serves as a structured companion to the work they are already doing with their therapist.
K9 Hearts is not a replacement for professional support. It is a resource that honors the full weight of what you are carrying — available to you any time, any hour, wherever you are in your grief.
For help finding professional support, visit the K9 Hearts Pet Loss Support and Grief Resources page.
→ Link to: https://www.k9hearts.com/pet-loss-and-grief-support
How Does K9 Hearts Support Healing After Losing a Dog?
Nova now carries the torch that Charlie lit
K9 Hearts supports healing through memoir, guided journaling, legacy art, and evidence-based grief resources — all grounded in psychological principles that recognize memory, symbolism, and creative expression as powerful tools for emotional regulation and grief integration.
But the heart of how K9 Hearts supports healing is simpler than any framework.
It starts with Charlie.
Charlie Brown was three years old when he died. He had OCD (osteochondritis dissecans), DJD (degenerative joint disease), HD (bilateral hip dysplasia), and ED (elbow dysplasia) — a body that failed him faster than anyone could fix. His life was short. His impact was not. Everything K9 Hearts offers grew from the grief of losing him and the belief that his story — and your dog's story — deserves to be witnessed and honored.
And then there is Nova.
Nova is Paige's silver Labrador — Charlie's successor, K9 Hearts' daily reminder that hearts broken open have room to love again. Nova carries the torch that Charlie lit. Her chapter in the K9 Hearts story is still being written, and she will be featured in her own right as K9 Hearts grows — representing new beginnings, next chapters, and the healing that becomes possible when you allow love back in.
In Charlie's Last Walk, Paige wrote about Nova's own superpower:
“Charlie gave me profound lessons about love and letting go. Nova gives me — and everyone she meets — these small doses of joy. Little reminders that light still exists, even when the world feels dark.
Not a timeline to follow. Not a prescription for when you should be ready. But a small dose of light. A reminder that healing is possible — not because the pain disappears, but because love finds new ways to shine through it.
Somewhere ahead — maybe tomorrow, maybe months from now, maybe in a moment so small you almost miss it — there will be a stick. A flicker of light. A tiny crack in the darkness where joy slips through.
And when that moment comes, you’ll know the healing has quietly begun.
”
Charlie taught me to love deeply. Nova taught me that healing comes in doses of light. K9 Hearts exists to walk beside you until you find yours.
More from the Blog — Charlie's Story & K9 Hearts Pet Loss Grief Support
K9 Hearts exists because of Charlie. Because one dog's life — short as it was — left a mark that refused to be silent. The posts below begin with Charlie's story and expand into the grief support resources, research, and healing tools that grew from it. You do not need to read in any order. Start wherever you are. Stay as long as you need. Everything here was written because Charlie's story deserved to be told — and because yours does too.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does K9 Hearts do?
K9 Hearts provides comprehensive, self-directed grief support for anyone who has lost a beloved dog. Our mission is to make sure that no one has to walk through pet loss feeling alone, unheard, or told that what they are feeling is not valid. K9 Hearts was built on the belief that grief is not something to fix — it is something to be witnessed, supported, and honored.
You do not need to be in crisis to find value here. Whether your loss is recent or years old, whether your grief is devastating or quietly present, K9 Hearts exists for you. Our resources include the memoir Charlie’s Last Walk, Charlie’s Guided Journal for Pet Loss, the End of Paw Prints Legacy Portrait, evidence-based blog content, and a growing library of grief support tools — all self-directed and available to you any time, anywhere.
K9 Hearts is also a meaningful gift for a friend or family member who has lost a dog. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do for someone in grief is hand them something that says: I see your loss. It matters. You are not alone.
Is K9 Hearts a counseling service?
No. K9 Hearts is not a counseling service and does not provide clinical mental health treatment, psychological diagnosis, or therapy. K9 Hearts offers self-directed grief support resources — memoir, guided journaling, legacy art, and evidence-based content — that complement your personal healing journey.
If you or someone you love is experiencing grief that is significantly impacting daily functioning, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional. You can find resources and support options on the K9 Hearts Pet Loss Support and Grief Resources page. You can also read Are There Professional Services That Help With Pet Loss Grief? for guidance on finding the right kind of help. Additional support resources include:
• Is Pet Loss Grief Real? What Science Says
• Resources for Coping With the Death of a Beloved Pet
• How to Find Support Groups for Pet Loss Grief
• Share Your Pet Loss Story
If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
Who founded K9 Hearts?
K9 Hearts was founded by Paige Cummings. 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 understood grief professionally in a way most people never do. And then she lost Charlie — her yellow Labrador — suddenly, at just three years old.
None of her professional training prepared her for that morning. K9 Hearts was built from that experience — not as a clinical service, but as the resource Paige wished had existed when she was the one who needed it.
You can read the full K9 Hearts origin story here: Losing a Young Dog — Short Lives, Deep Grief: The K9 Hearts Story.
Where is K9 Hearts located?
K9 Hearts is based in Port Orchard, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. However, K9 Hearts serves grieving dog owners everywhere — across the United States and around the world. Every resource K9 Hearts offers is fully digital and self-directed. You never need to travel or be local to access any of it.
Grief does not have a zip code, and neither does K9 Hearts.
Do I need to live near Port Orchard to use K9 Hearts?
No. You do not need to live near Port Orchard, Washington — or anywhere near Washington State — to use K9 Hearts. Everything K9 Hearts offers is delivered digitally and is available to anyone, anywhere in the world.
K9 Hearts was intentionally built as a global resource because pet loss grief does not belong to one city, one country, or one culture. It belongs to anyone who has ever loved a dog with everything they had.
What is End of Paw Prints?
End of Paw Prints — known as EOP — is a grief movement and legacy portrait initiative created by K9 Hearts. EOP exists to give grieving dog owners a way to honor their dog’s life permanently, beautifully, and with the dignity that love deserves.
The EOP Legacy Portrait transforms your existing photos into a custom memorial portrait bearing the official EOP Emblem. Each portrait is placed in the End of Paw Prints Legacy Gallery and Virtual Resting Place — a permanent online space where your dog’s story lives on.
EOP was created because grief deserves to be witnessed, not rushed. Because a dog’s life — however long or short — leaves a mark that does not disappear when they do. The tagline of the EOP movement says it simply: The paw prints stop. The love never does.
EOP portraits are available in three tiers to fit different needs. Learn more and begin the portrait process here, or visit the End of Paw Prints Legacy Gallery.
How is K9 Hearts different from other pet loss services?
K9 Hearts was not built as a product line. It was built as a response to a gap — the gap between how deeply people grieve their dogs and how little the world acknowledges that grief. Most pet loss resources are either clinical and detached, or brief and surface-level. K9 Hearts is neither.
It is comprehensive, self-directed, and built to meet you wherever you are — whether you lost your dog yesterday, whether you are still preparing for a loss, or whether you have been carrying quiet grief for years. K9 Hearts is also built for the people who love someone in grief. If you are trying to help a friend or family member who has lost a dog and you do not know what to say or do — K9 Hearts gives you something meaningful to offer.
We are continually working to expand our resources and tools. If you have a suggestion for something that would help you or someone you love, we want to hear it. Reach out to Paige directly at paige@k9hearts.com — every message is read personally.
Both the Kübler-Ross stages and Worden's Four Tasks of Mourning confirm that grief is non-linear and deeply individual. K9 Hearts explains both frameworks honestly — what they mean, how they apply to pet loss, and why understanding them helps you stop judging yourself for how you grieve.