About Us
Our vision is that those grieving pet loss or pain associated with pet care will have resources as valuable and prevalent as those experiencing loss of human relationships.
Our mission is to provide awareness and tools for grieving pet lovers that provide intentional acknowledgement, support and encouragement through their journey.
Meet The Care Team
Dr. Kiefer, Founder
Dr Kiefer is a small animal veterinarian with a passion and focus in surgery, sports medicine and rehabilitation and emergency medicine. She created VetSSMART, LLC, a support service for the well-being and professional improvement of the veterinary profession. She created the foundational courses offered through Mourning Paws as a means to support the veterinary profession and pet owners. She has shared love with many personal pets in her career, but the one whose loss brought the most painful grief is Shaqeyt: a marvelous Siberian husky who was an adventure partner, best friend, emotional and spiritual supporter, and patient and loving soul. She strongly believes that your paths are crossing with hers because of the love Shaqeyt has shared with her.
Shaqeyt and Dr. Kiefer on one of their many backpacking adventures.
Laurie
Laurie joined Mourning Paws after many years as a veterinary technician and hospital manager, including work with Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).Her time there deepened her understanding of the human–animal bond and inspired her to give back, leading her to Costa Rica in 2014. Through VIDA Volunteer Travel, she helped develop the International Veterinary Training Center and supported service-learning trips to underserved communities—experiences she describes as life-changing.
After losing her “labradorable” boy, Hooper in 2021, Laurie found comfort in her Mastiff, Mati, who brings her joy and laughter every day. Her personal experience with grief led her to Mourning Paws, where she now supports others navigating pet loss. She completed advanced training in Animal Hospice and Palliative Care and became a Participant Support Leader in 2023.
Laurie exploring with Mastiff, Mati.
Francesca
Francesca is a licensed social worker who has dedicated her work to supporting members of the veterinary profession and pet lovers.She knows first-hand the depth and importance of the love of a pet brings to life through her Spinone Italiano dog, Lio, and her playful house cat, Napoleon.
Lio, the lover!
Napoleon, contemplating the advancement of his empire.
Mary Ann
With help from her beloved husky Matea, Mary Ann provides behind-the-scenes administrative support, seasoned wisdom, and compassionate encouragement on behalf of the Mourning Paws team. In her golden years, she continues to serve with a caring heart, helping ensure everything runs smoothly while offering emotional support to those around her.
Mary Ann and Matea, the backbone of our team!
Why Mourning Paws?
Our founder (Dr. Kiefer) is no stranger to grief. She has been witness to many pet owners experiencing overwhelming grief, and felt helpless to offer comfort or help, given the resources available to the veterinary profession. When she experienced a painful loss of some beloved humans, she found very helpful resources for navigating that grief. Not long after, she experienced the loss of her beloved dog of 16 years, Shaqeyt, and sought similar resources. She could not find resources that were specific to pet loss anywhere close to the help she found with losing the humans in her life.
In desperation, she took the tools she used for grieving humans and applied them to losing Shaqeyt — but found they didn’t address many aspects of the pain associated with losing a pet. This grief was just as profound, but so misunderstood by others. As she struggled to navigate this grief, she hurt deeply for everyone else experiencing this pain. Through this pain, she decided if the helpful tools didn’t exist, she could honor Shaqeyt, her clients and their pets best by creating them. Because of the complexity of grief associated with pet loss, and the lack of resources in existence, she sought guidance and support from a member of the licensed social worker profession that has focused on working with the veterinary profession and pet owners. This partnership became Mourning Paws.