Founded in January of 2017, Losing Lulu is a grief support group devoted to helping those who have been touched by Behavioural Euthanasia . Losing Lulu resides on Facebook and operates on the principle that once an animal has passed blame and shame will not help those who have experienced the loss and who remain behind. Our motto is “keep it kind.”

Luluers come from a wide range of backgrounds ages, experiences and cultures. Our youngest active participants have posts read to them by parents and grandparents. Our oldest members are in their nineties. Members include those who have experienced a direct loss of an animal friend or family member, shelter staff and volunteers who have been touched by the loss of animals in their care, trainers, behaviour consultants ,vet techs and veterinarians, and other professionals who have been touched by BE.

Losing Lulu has been instrumental in opening the door worldwide on the discussion about behavioural euthanasia (BE). While there is still significant stigma related to BE, more and more often people can open the discussion with clients, colleagues, and professionals and have meaningful and thoughtful discussions in the interest of the animal, the family and the Community. Our understanding of BE is shifting away from seeing all serious behaviour problems as the direct result of owner action or inaction to the complex interplay between genetics, life and learning history, health and well being and the environment that the animal currently occupies.

People who are impacted by BE, particularly pet guardians, have so many questions. Are certain dog breeds more likely than others to experience a BE? Are cats ever euthanized for behaviour problems? How do we know when BE is appropriate? What research is being done? What help is available for those who are experiencing profound grief related to the loss of an animal with a serious Behavior Problem? How is BE handled in shelters and rescues? The list of questions and the need to discuss this is endless, and for a number of years, members of Losing Lulu have been talking about having a conference or other event to address some of these issues. The time is finally here!

Losing Lulu is an informal organization operated by founder She Alexander of the Dog Trainer’s Crucible. Because Losing Lulu does not have any legal existence another organization must step in to provide the administration, digital support, marketing and delivery of an online summit. The Dog Trainer’s Crucible, Sue’s business devoted to providing support for professional trainers will be developing, marketing, administering and hosting the Losing Lulu 2026 Summit starting on April 19, 2026. The Dog Trainer’s Crucible has the appropriate resources and expertise to plan, develop and deliver this event, and is also insured to deliver events such as this.

The Summit is offered to anyone who is interested in the subject material at no cost provided that they provide us with an email address to communicate with them, and permission to add them to our mailing list.  The collected emails will be divided into three groups:  guardians, professionals and professionals who are also guardians.  Participants will have the opportunity during registration to select which of our sponsors will NOT receive their emails after the summit.  We need permission to send them emails in order to be able to communicate things such as our schedule, the viewing links and other materials associated with the presentations. 

We will have about 30 presenters joining us, and presenting over the course of 14 days.  Each presentation will be offered three times to allow for the most people to be able to watch anywhere across the globe.  The home time zone for the summit is The Eastern Daylight Time Zone, which is GMT -4.  Two to four presentations will be offered each day, at 6am, 7am, 8am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm.  If needed a fourth presentation can be delivered at 9am, 4pm and 9pm.  The goal is to make this material as available as possible.  

The presentations will be curated on a Losing Lulu Thinkific school, and will be made accessible to participants on the basis of a small fee.  There will be one package available to purchase, but participants can choose to pay $30, $50 or $75 for a two year access package.  The funds will be collected by The Dog Trainer’s Crucible which will also maintain this school.  Continuing education units will be applied for with CCPDT, and IAABC.  Credits will only be available to those who have paid for the full access program.  The fees collected will cover the cost of the Thinkific School, the Website and other digital assets, and the cost of administering the CEU program.