In a medical hospital, members of clergy serve as chaplains to comfort the family and friends of patients suffering serious illness or injury.

At Oregon State University’s veterinary hospital, Rev. Renee Windsor-White does the same thing.

Veterinary chaplains are still a rarity nationwide, though many animal hospitals have some form of support staff who work with clients in distress. The hospital at OSU’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine also has a comfort room, with plenty of floor space so people can lie down near their pets.

As a certified veterinary chaplain, Windsor-White provides a soothing presence to clients whose pets are facing difficult diagnoses or euthanasia, and helps them navigate the hospital system when emotions make it hard to think clearly.

“A lot of society says you shouldn’t have any grief; that it is just a pet, just a dog, just a cat,” she said. “But folks who have experienced it know that it’s very real, and that a bond with an animal — you lose a number of different things when you lose a particular animal.”

“The grief itself doesn’t care what the source is; it is just there.”