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Grief knows no species Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Nancy Fox is starting a support group to help cat-lovers like herself grieve for the loss of their felines. The cat in the picture is Uncle Broadbent, whom Fox lost to an aneurysm last week. Talent woman begins support group for cat-lovers By Mark Freeman TALENT � Shepherding Uncle Broadbent from a bristly, squeaky alley cat into a regal animal and member of the family is one of Nancy Fox�s most treasured memories. "It was wonderful to see how you could transform a sickly animal into something wonderful," says Fox, of Talent. "He�s so handsome, we had a portrait of him made." But photographs and memories are all that�s left of Uncle Broadbent, who abruptly died early this week from a rude and painful condition and left Fox and her adult son mired in grief. Help with pet-loss To join Nancy Fox�s cat-person group, telephone 535-8927. Winterspring Center for Living with Loss and Grief, in Medford, is also offering training for volunteers to help people through the pet-loss grieving process. If interested, telephone 772-2527. Knowing they�re not alone would help, she says, so Fox has formed a support group to help cat-lovers like herself grieve for the loss of their felines in the company of others who appreciate the emotional grip cats can hold on humans. "It�s been so very, very hard that we felt this would be a very therapeutic thing," says Fox, who turns 83 this week. "It�s a time to share, come together and not have any dog people." Fox�s cat-loss bereavement group will hold its first meeting at 4 p.m. today at a residence in Talent. At least eight people, all of whom have lost cats recently, are expecting to attend, Fox says. One will show a video, another will read a poem and a third will share a "letter of consolation," she says. Those who attend can take consolation in knowing that grieving over the loss of a pet can, at times, be more intense than grieving a dead family member because pets are often a more constant part of people�s everyday lives, says Donna Taylor, Talent grief specialist. Taylor, the executive director of Winterspring Center for Living with Loss and Grief in Medford, says that a pet�s death can sometimes arouse issues of unresolved grief from previous human deaths. "It not only represents the loss of that animal, but also other losses in life," Taylor says. "For people to get support after they lose a pet is important." Winterspring is currently seeking financial grants to set up pet-bereavement support groups targeting both children and seniors, Taylor says. For children, grieving over a dead pet can equip them with emotional skills for later in life; seniors who lose pets can feel flooded by the grimness of mortality. "That�s a time in life when pet loss can be more frequent and more painful," Taylor says. For Fox, the pain came at 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 25, when Uncle Broadbent�s harsh screams awoke her and her son, Rob Bonter, in their Talent home. They found the 6-year-old black-and-white cat dragging its lifeless back legs on the hardwood floor. A Talent police cruiser ferried the family to Phoenix to meet an on-call veterinarian. An hour later, Uncle Broadbent was euthanized to ease the pain from what likely was a rare aneurysm that cut off blood flow to its back legs. A cat the couple found as a sickly, pathetic stray and nursed to health, a cat they loved and cherished so much that they sent back a portrait of him because one of his legs wasn�t painted just right, was suddenly gone. "He was 6 years old, that�s only half a life," Fox says. "The reason for these things, we just don�t understand." A friend suggested Fox meet with a pet-owners support group, but she chose to begin her own instead. Fox says she didn�t want to be around dog people who, she says, can�t really understand the power of felines � especially the special ones like Uncle Broadbent. "Cats are like people," Fox says. "Some cats, you won�t miss much. Others, you do." And whatever people do, just don�t tell someone like Fox that their pets are replaceable. "The worst thing anybody can say to you is, �Go out and get another cat�," Fox says. "You can�t replace a child or a valuable broken vase. There are no two animals alike." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA