welcome to clicquots healing hub
THE HEALING HUB
Welcome to our unique sanctuary dedicated to love, celebration, healing, and inspired products created by our founder, Elizabeth Simaliak. Elizabeth designed these heartfelt offerings in honor of her soulmate, best friend, muse, and beloved pet, Clicquot—a true love of a lifetime.
Here, you’ll discover inspiring real-life stories of everlasting bonds with pets, and the profound grief experienced when a cherished companion passes away. These touching stories highlight resilience, survival, and emotional healing, offering support for those coping with the deep loss of a beloved pet. Whether you are seeking comfort, guidance, or hope after the loss of a pet, our community shares ways to heal and celebrate the extraordinary love we share with our animal family.
CHRISSY & LOUEY
My story with Louey begins in 2015. A friend of a friend was rehoming her 3 Sphynx kitties and my friend knew I always wanted one. She put me in contact with Louey’s first mom and I adopted him in April 2015. It was love at first sight and we instantly became soulmates. He knew I was his mom. We had a wonderful 2 years together. I had pets before, but Sphynxes are otherworldly. They are just so special. They have an ability to get into your very soul.
Louey went into heart failure on Christmas Day 2016. Since I only had months left with him, I made every day as special as I could. He was spoiled even more than usual, and I spent every minute I could with him. I have no regrets about the way we spent our last months together. I sent him out in style.
He passed away on June 8, 2017.
Something that helped me with his passing was an experience I had the day after his death. I am a skeptical person and I don’t believe in spirituality or anything supernatural. But I was sitting in his room crying and suddenly I smelled a fresh poop. You have to understand, in the months we spent together in the guest room, whenever he laid down a particularly smelly dump, I’d shake my head and laugh and say “I know someday I’ll give anything to smell your poo”. So the day after he died I was sitting in his room crying and suddenly I smelled that poo. And his box was pristine because I’d dumped and scrubbed it in anticipation of bringing him home from the hospital, so it wasn’t that. I was so confused, I stopped crying and sniffed the air. Definitely fresh poo. It was at that moment I knew he had to be with me, because of the comments I’d made so many times during his illness. I’m still not sure I believe in the supernatural, but I definitely felt that he was still there with me, and that our babies remain with us even after they cross the Rainbow Bridge.
NELL & PLUTO
Animals are beautiful companions who fill our hearts with so much love. They are non-judgemental and so unconditional, all with their different little personalities. Hello, my name is Nell, I have always gravitated towards being around animals which lead me to study Zoology & Ecology. That’s where I learned the extent of factors affecting our unique wildlife, and not much being done to protect them. That’s when I started rescuing & rehabilitating wildlife, to be able to heal & help as many as I could to give them a second chance and release them back into the wild once again. I founded and operated Wild Paws Wildlife Shelter after I finished university, taking in wombats, macropods, possums, birds, bats and any other animal that I had the capacity to help. In addition, I had two beautiful dogs. Tofu – a Chinese Crested, he came everywhere with me, we were inseparable. And Memphis – a tan Kelpie who was full of energy and lots of love. They were my family and my everything, helping me push through many hard times. In the middle of the night in September 2021, tragically we were involved in a house fire, losing 14 rescue animals, and my beloved Tofu & Mem. I couldn’t face the heartbreaking grief as a result. To heal, even to just survive, I had to leave. I drove interstate, where I met Pluto, a little hairless Chinese Crested/Chihuahua pup who joined me. I took him to beaches, and dog parks so he could play and learn about life. We stopped in towns and volunteered with wildlife such as sea turtles, tree kangaroos, dolphins & kangaroos while living out of our car. We met people and talked about our life stories, we visited new places, we made friends and also spent a lot of time alone with no phone reception in remote places, everyday Pluto was by my side. And even on days I couldn’t look after myself when the grief got too heavy, Pluto gave me a reason to keep pushing through. It’s been a long healing journey, and I’m sure it’s a grief I will carry for a very long time. There is no correct answer to heal from loss of our beloved animal companions, there is many ups and downs, but it is such a blessing to have had them part of our lives.
GRANT & STELLA
Surviving pet loss is arguably the most difficult thing I have ever encountered. Losing three special creatures within an 18-month period touched me in such a deeply profound way. Each dog brought something different to my life, with their unique characters shaping the path of my life moving forward.
Stella: My beautiful heart dog. She filled a spiritual bond after the passing of my mum. After being so badly treated by the greyhound racing industry, she learned to trust humans again and open her huge heart to love.
Hope: My teacher. This beautiful old girl taught me to appreciate the simple necessities of life. She lived her life in the present moment, instinctively pursuing what was directly in front of her.
Scruffy: My companion. This little boy was with us for 12 years. He was ever-present with his comforting demeanour. He grew up with my sons throughout their childhood and into early adulthood. He did a wonderful job. A very good boy.
Love doesn’t end, it only changes. Knowing that intense grief stems from intense love, tells us that the intense love is still there. The grief will come home to love.
I continued the bonds with my three incredible dogs by moving forward with meaning and purpose into the counselling space, ultimately qualifying as a pet loss grief specialist and helping others navigate their grief.
We honour our babies and the ongoing love we share by carrying their memory forward in a meaningful way, however this may look to the individual concerned.
Here are the things which I did (and continue to do) to help me navigate my pet grief towards resolution:
- Allowed myself adequate time and space to grieve fully and openly. Tears were helpful and a natural part of healing.
- Accepted my grief as valid and natural.
- I recognised places which were triggers for my grief and I avoided them.
- I endeavoured to concentrate on self-care - sleep when I could / tried to eat healthy / stay hydrated / walks in nature.
- I spoke with a counsellor who validated and normalised my feelings.
- Put up boundaries towards unhelpful people and social media.
- Embraced helpful people and beneficial social media and books.
- Looked for ways to carry my love for my dogs forward - voluntary work with a greyhound charity.
- Memorialised my pets by tattoos / plaques / planting trees.
- Continued to think of ways to maintain my ongoing bonds with my pets - counselling studies and pet grief qualifications.
There are many more, but the need to prioritise self-care is vitally important. If living day to day is all you can manage, then please just manage that. Time will take the sharp edges off the pain and make things more bearable.
