Best tips to cope with bereavement?

Thank you for your question. You are correct you are processing your loses by grieving. You are grieving the loss of your grandfather, the loss of your pet, and your relationship with them. Grief has two consistent truths. The first, you are going to experience waves of emotions. Some refer to them as the stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. These are not linear and there is no graduating from them. During these stages you may experience overwhelming pain. The second truth, once you make it through the first truth, you will again be able to connect with and have a relationship with your grandfather and your dog. When you reminisce, you will experience joy, happiness, some sadness. You just have to go all the way through the first truth. There is no timeframe for grief. Don't let anyone tell you that you should get over it. Grief lasts a lifetime, but the pain will subside and memories can be celebrated. 

If the pain becomes too overwhelming or if you just begin to feel stuck there are a few activities you can try to help you process your grief and provide you with comfort. I will list a few of these below.

When you start to feel the painful emotions such as sorrow, anger, resentment, do not suppress or avoid these feelings, rather try to embrace them. You will need to make sense of these emotions and that means confronting, naming and accepting them for what they are, emotions. 

When moving forward in life after a loss, it's important to remember moving on does not mean forgetting. It means finding a place you can cherish the memory and move forward. 

You may experience regret during this process. Not for things you did, rather for things you wanted to do, or to say. One of the tools to help with this is to write a goodbye letter. It's important to remember the letter is for you. You may decide to read it out loud, you may burn it, you may even decide to mail it. All of these are perfectly healthy and helpful. You can put anything in the letter you want. Try not to hold back and try not to edit. The more you write the more you are going through this process. 

It may also be very helpful to join a grief support group. There are many face to face groups and virtual groups. Just stay active in this process. Hope this provided some help or comfort.