Beyond the Human Passage: What Animals Teach Us About Dying, Death and Saying Goodbye
Recorded Thursday, September 17, 2026
Presenter: Ken Gorczyca, DVM
This talk addressed anticipatory grief, euthanasia and natural death, the option of dying at home, pet-loss grief, aftercare and more.
Dr. Ken Gorczyca, DVM, is a veterinarian, educator, artist, and companion-animal end-of-life doula who has practiced in the San Francisco Bay Area since the 1980s. His approach to death and dying was shaped by his work during the AIDS epidemic, when he served as the founding veterinarian of Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS).
Today, through his practice, A Beloved Farewell, he provides in-home euthanasia and end-of-life guidance throughout Sonoma County and the greater Bay Area, integrating veterinary medicine with storytelling, ritual, remembrance, and grief support. He teaches at the University of Vermont Companion Animal End-of-Life Doula certificate course. A recipient of the AVMA Leo K. Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award and the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Achievement Award, Dr. Gorczyca explores what accompanying animals through death can teach us about love, caregiving, and our own mortality.
www.abelovedfarewell.com
www.Kengorczyca.com
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Embracing End of Life (EEoL) Community Education Series
Our live interactive online Embracing End of Life (EEoL) Series are free events brought to you by Final Passages, a 501(c)3 non-profit.People who register for the live events often givbe a donation at the time they register, and get the replay at no cost. We offer these replays as a fundraiser. Contributions for Replays are directed to provide scholarships for our training programs, for reproducing and developing educational materials, publication of our book about family-directed home funerals, and other community and national outreach programs, including this monthly online series. To register for the next live EEoL event, see our home page. If you are unable to attend live, register in order to get the replay. You can also sign up for our newsletter to get announcements of this and other trainings and events offered through Final Passages.
