Introducing Dead Pets: A Podcast
The show I've been afraid to make.
One of the biggest emotions I felt as a child was grief from the loss of pets — a lot of pets. Our house was full of dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, lizards, and birds. At one point, we had 25 cats, including kittens. It was very chaotic, but I loved every one of them.
They met their end in various ways. My lovebird Gus fell into the toilet. My favorite cat, Sysco, died while sleeping in my bed. One of our dogs was hit by a car.
You get the idea.
Their deaths devastated me. I felt a deep sense of loss with all of them. The pages of my childhood journals are full of entries trying to make sense of the grief.
Now, as an adult, I have a 19-year-old cat, a 7-year-old cat, and two 5-year-old dogs.
Here, look how cute they are:
I love them so much, it physically hurts. They are my family. I sometimes feel overwhelmed with the heartbreaking reality that they will not live forever. That one day, it will be like they disappeared, and the only evidence of their lives will be the enduring pain in my heart.
I’ve been thinking about doing Dead Pets for a long time. I wanted to create a space for the other part of pet ownership, the utterly devastating and searingly painful part, when they inevitably die.
I’ve been afraid to fully dive into this show — afraid it will be too painful a path to walk down, with too many sad stories to hear. But isn’t that what ultimately keeps us from talking about the uniquely painful loss of a pet? And that is something I want to make less painful, less terrifying, less lonely.
Being loved by a pet is fucking magical. This podcast is about dead pets, yes, but more than that, it’s about the lives of our pets.
Each episode, you’ll hear from guests about a pet from their past. We’ll talk about why we love them, why it hurts so bad when they’re gone, how they changed us, how we carry them with us, and all of the joy and meaning they brought with them in their short lives.
The stories we are bringing to you in the first season of Dead Pets have given me the gift of knowing that I will survive the loss of my pets, that each crushing heartbreak is the trade-off for their incredibly fulfilling love, and I would choose it again and again.
If this sounds like something that might help heal your heart, if you are that person who could talk about your pet all day long, or if you’re just morbidly curious, follow Dead Pets Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Oh, and sign up for our newsletter at deadpetspodcast.com to get 20% off the rad t-shirt below, available on launch day.
Our first episode drops on December 4. I promise, it’s not as fucking depressing as it sounds.
— Elyse Wild, writer of Vulgar Advice, creator of Dead Pets
