Local animal chaplain helps those grieving lost pets

EVANSTON — When Cheryl Sherman was 14 years old, she lost a dear friend — her dog, Whiskers. Her grief remained with her through her adult life and just recently she was able to talk about the death of Whiskers.

Her strong attachment to animals of all kinds and her understanding of how people feel at the loss of a pet influenced her to focus on becoming an animal chaplain or, as she calls it, an interspecies chaplain.