Sometimes, we want someone to walk with us
Below you’ll find short descriptions of my offerings to walk with you on your journey.
Consultations for Individual Professional Practitioners and Organizations
Are you considering becoming someone who supports others in their work to help animals? Or perhaps you enjoy working with families that include animals. I offer guidance and ways of discerning whether this is the path for you (if you’re in contemplation). I also offer guidance of how to move forward so that you can support a beloved local organization whether that is an animal shelter, veterinary clinic, animal sanctuary, senior wellness center, and more.
Memorial Gardens
Let’s memorialize a small outdoor or indoor space with live plants. Connect the garden space to a daily ritual and find presence within the absence. I specialize in accommodating native and near-native species in small areas centered on environmentally conscious practices with direct experience in veganic permaculture design. Considerations to help plant life thrive will be provided as desired. Please review past projects.
We can install live native or near-native plants in small areas. Let’s discuss how plant life can transform living spaces to accommodate memorialization. Join me for a free 30-minute initial session to see how your outdoor space could be transformed.
Memorials (Including Celebrations of Life)
You’ll receive an individualized memorial specific to your desires and interests to honor humans and animals in your family or others you’ve cared for. The unique memorial service will help you honor, remember, and celebrate your beloved animal companion and your shared connection.
The ceremony can align with your individual spiritual beliefs or wisdom path. You can hold them privately or extend invitations to others to participate. Through rituals, you can connect with other beings outdoors, independently or with others, and perhaps welcome new awareness into your daily routine. You’ll receive an individualized ritual for a memorial that you can carry with you day after day in remembrance of the beloved individual.
For Colorado residents, ceremonies can occur in person (with potential additional travel fees for those outside the Denver Metro area) or virtually for participants anywhere. Illuminate and honor an animal’s special place in your life through ritual and ceremony.
Testimonial
“I wanted to have a Celebration of Life ceremony for my sister and that was all I knew, I had no idea how to begin. And that is how I met Alaina Sigler, what a lovely day that was! This all began in January of 2024. I was determined to have the ceremony on February 3rd, two days after my sister’s birthday. I worked with Alaina by phone back then, with many calls back and forth discussing ideas. Because of death visiting me, my brain wasn’t functioning in top form. Alaina was very patient with me, explaining different scenarios, and reading me different prayers and poems by writers who dealt with grief and death at a much deeper level, one that I had been afraid to approach. The ceremony was rescheduled for May 11th. It couldn’t have been more perfect.”
“We decided that she would open the service with that reading. May 11th arrived, and I finally got to meet Alaina in person. Her voice on the phone all those months, let me know she was a person of genuine caring. But to meet her in person was a blessing. She is a very kind, gentle soul. She carried the theme of water through the service by bringing bags she had made with water-soluble paper, pencils, seeds for planning, and other beautiful gifts and gave them to the people attending. They wrote notes on the paper, it was dissolved in water, and the water was used to help a tree that we planted for my sister. By the time we were finished, I felt like Alaina was one of my daughters. She helped me through a very difficult time and she will always be in my heart.”
Katy D., Denver, Colorado
Listening Space and Spiritual Counseling
In our compassionate space, I provide emotional support for navigating the complex emotions surrounding loss and grief, fostering healing through empathetic conversations. Together, we explore meaningful ways to honor and cherish the memories of your beloved animal companions, promoting a sense of solace and connection. In our time together, you may choose to receive an individualized mindfulness practice to use as you please.
Through the sacred practices of spiritual counseling, I provide support and guidance for those navigating the depths of your emotions. Whether you seek blessings for your animal companion, meditation on ecological decline, or space to contemplate a decision, I am here to accompany you on this journey.
Supporting You with Animal Loss
Support while experiencing grief helps us move through our day-to-day lives. We’ll discuss ways to engage in self-care to allow healing.
We can discuss ways to support you with grief. Our time together may include mindfulness practices, blessings, or follow-up ideas for honoring, celebrating, or memorializing a beloved animal.
Concern about a Human and Wildlife Conflict
As spaces continue to grow and develop for human interests, wildlife strives to meet the needs of themselves and their family and friends. I can help you respectfully navigate situations with wildlife that elevate safety and security for everyone involved, including human or other-than-human individuals.
Companioning Animals in Grief
Animals who are grieving may need companioning, just like us. I may be able to help you determine a course to support the one(s) you care for as they journey through grief. We can discuss ways to support animal individuals with their grief. Support while experiencing grief helps us move through our day-to-day lives.
End of Life Support
In a 45-minute session, we will discuss the animal family member and their needs as they approach the end of their life. Gain assistance for decision-making and receive suggestions for preparing to bid farewell. This may encompass support for euthanasia. I am available to provide support during your animal companion’s passing, whether it’s through at-home or in-clinic euthanasia. This visit may involve blessings, rituals, or other meaningful moments either at the moment of or immediately following your family member’s passing.
End-of-Life Planning Home Visit
If you have a terminally ill or elderly animal, numerous minor changes can enhance both your and your pet’s comfort during their care. This visit involves an animal chaplain visit to delve into your experience with your animal’s end-of-life. It also entails discussing the small changes you can undertake to ensure your companion’s best care and prepare yourself for their eventual passing.
Please allocate 90 minutes to 2 hours for this visit.
Animal Professional Support Offerings
If you are working professionally with animals—as a veterinarian, a vet tech, an animal trainer, or an animal welfare/sheltering professional—you can join me for a free 30-minute initial session. During this session, we will discuss experiences you are currently struggling with and what resources you may be able to seek out for additional support. Depending on your professional needs and interests, sessions can include meditation/mindfulness practice or blessing opportunities.
Group Support Offerings
If you would like support for an entire workgroup, such as clinic or shelter staff, an offering can be developed for your specific needs. This might involve scheduling days for individual “drop-in” sessions at your location. Arrange a complimentary initial support session to share more about your team’s requirements and explore how we can best support you.
Animal Advocacy, Compassion Fatigue, and Burnout
Frustrated by others’ reactions to your concerns about animals?
Angry because your efforts haven’t led to the changes you hoped for?
Isolated in your mission to help animals?
Upset by conflicts with family or at work due to your values?
Discouraged by the slow pace of change?
Reach out when you need…
Guidance on a conflict with another activist
Strategic resources for activism
Engagement with the animal advocacy community
Balance in your life and maybe tools for self-care
Connection with someone who understands and cares
I offer workshops, small groups, and individualized support on activist burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral injury. In our time together, I facilitate rituals to encourage healing by using strategies for community or self-care and to build resilience. By engaging in empowering rituals, participant(s) can move forward and continue their essential work for social and environmental justice.
Ethical Guidance
During a journey with grief, ethical questions and moral dilemmas can emerge. I am here to offer ethical support, aiding you in navigating these complexities with integrity and compassion for all living beings. Whether these concerns pertain to animal welfare and rights, habitat loss, or the broader environmental impact of human actions, I provide compassionate and understanding support.
Please ask about sliding scale rates during an initial session.
“It is too common for those who are experiencing the grief of losing an animal companion to experience this grief as disenfranchised, adding significantly to their distress. Having a re-enfranchising experience guiding the process will be validating and healing. Alaina approaches her work with all beings from a place of reverence and respect that is affirming and comforting. Her personalized and meaningful healing strategies will greatly benefit those mourning the loss of their animal companions and those experiencing compassion fatigue and moral injury from their advocacy work.”
Sheryl L. Pierre, Ph.D, Licensed Psychologist
Adjunct Faculty, Institute for Human-Animal Connection, University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work; Adjunct Faculty, Anthrozoology Master of Science Program, Canisius College.