Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Paige Rechtman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Paige thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?

One thing I believe that many people still don’t understand is this: Pets become pillars for our mental health. Which is why many people report feeling more devastated when their pet dies than when an important human in their life dies.

It might sound unconventional, but I’ve witnessed it over and over again, not just in my own life, but in the lives of hundreds of people in my community.

Especially when you have had a pet for 10, 15, 20+ years, and the bond you’ve formed feels extra special, losing that is more difficult than our society tends to acknowledge. Your pet is with you during some of the hardest chapters of your life. You form a real connection with them. With less people having children, pets become our children. We care for them every day, make important life decisions around their needs, and build our lives around their presence.

Especially now, when more people are working from home, our pets aren’t just part of our routine; they’re woven into every moment of the day. So when that presence is suddenly gone, you have to grieve but you also have to rebuild ways to care for your mental health and wellbeing.

Pet loss is often dismissed or downplayed. But in my experience, people have told me, again and again, that losing their pet was more painful than losing some of the most important people in their lives. Not because they didn’t love those people, but because the everyday bond with a pet is so constant and unconditional. Relationships with humans come with more complexities, like disappointment or insecurity, but with a pet, the bond is so pure.

For so long, I couldn’t come close to the idea of working in pet loss, because it was too triggering when my cat was alive. I knew losing her would be life-altering. I never imagined it would steer me towards doing this work, but not only is it meaningful, it helps me keep her spirit alive and has contributed to my own healing.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi, I’m Paige Rechtman—a licensed therapist, writer, and founder of Furever Forest, a healing community for people grieving the loss of a soulmate pet.

I never expected to work in the world of pet loss. I had been blogging about mental health for years, but everything changed after my cat Squiggles passed away. I wrote a blog post about her death (which took months to write and I sobbed at my desk whenever I went to work on it), but that post ended up ranking well on google and I would get tons of responses from people who it resonated with. From there, I created a Facebook group, which also took off, and then decided to create a community off social media to provide more intimate support.

Today, I am a therapist part time and I am building a healing hub for pet loss support, called The Furever Forest. I currently offer a monthly membership, full of creative grief tools and journal prompts to remember your pet, workshops, and compassionate resources designed to help people feel less alone and more understood in their grief (Plus our community is full of heart-centered animal lovers who are incredibly supportive of one another). Soon I’ll be offering additional resources, like a Memory Journal, courses, cohort groups, etc.

I also recently completed my book, It’s All the Same Forest, which explores grief, love, and connection with our pets. It’s a poem I wrote that I created hand-drawn illustrations for in the year after losing Squiggles as a way to process my grief. I really believe strongly in the healing power of creativity, and use it in my own life. Link to the book https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/itsallthesameforest/its-all-the-same-forest

My approach to pet loss is a little different – because I don’t just focus on the grief. The grief is a huge part of it, and must be processed, but I also wanted to create a space that feels like a celebration of our pets. People who join typically have lost a soulmate pet that they have had for a long time. And in our community, you can take all the time in the world that you need to grieve. AND when you’re ready, find ways to celebrate and remember your pet, because the bond you shared deserves that. I also incorporate art, nature, ritual, and creativity for healing.

I’m most proud of the real, meaningful connections that have formed inside The Furever Forest. And something I didn’t expect to happen was how much I enjoy getting to know the very special pets belonging to our members. Their stories live on in our community.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think what’s helped me build my reputation in this space is that I am a professional who speaks from the heart.

As a therapist, we’re trained to keep a certain level of professional distance and not share too much about our own lives. But my work in the Furever Forest is a bit different. I have intentionally kept it separate from my private practice, so that I can show up in our community simply as myself. I think that vulnerability and authenticity creates a deep sense of connection and trust.

At the same time, I have been a mental health professional for over 10 years. That combination (lived experience and clinical training), has helped people feel like they can trust me and that they are being seen and understood. They know I get it, from my own heart, and there is an element of credibility as well. That balance of authenticity and professional experience has been helpful.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I would say my side hustle has inspired my full-time business—and it all started with a single blog post.

I never set out to work in the world of pet loss. But after my beloved cat Squiggles passed away, I found myself writing a blog post about the experience. It took me three months to finish. Every time I sat down at the computer, tears would stream down my face. It was hard to write, and also healing to write.

When I finally published it, the post resonated deeply with a lot of people. It started performing well on Google and soon I had strangers writing to me several times a week, saying how much it helped them feel seen and less alone. I wanted to give them a space to connect with others going through the same thing, so I created a Facebook group.

That group grew steadily, and a few months later, I realized maybe it would help to build something more sacred and intimate, off social media. I was also ready. That’s how the Furever Forest was born: a private, supportive community for people grieving the loss of a soulmate pet. I still see clients in my private practice and likely always will, because I love it. But I’ve also enjoyed working on this side business in pet loss, and hope it continues to grow. It has been the most invigorating and exhausting and creative and meaningful work I’ve ever done.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paigerechtman.com
• Instagram: @fureverforest
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paigerechtmanlmhc/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCruhUmFs3UeM6c1QAA1OCZw
• Other: www.thefureverforest.com

Image Credits

Girls and Their Cats did the professional photos of me with my cat, Squiggles.