Why we need to take pet loss seriously
Losing a loved pet can be emotionally devastating and can affect your mental and physical health. Pets offer support for our emotional well-being and provide companionship, fun and endless love to their owners' lives.
Therefore when a beloved pet dies, there is an enormous sense of grief and loss and these feelings can be felt very deeply. Grief can be so severe you can even feel physical pain and symptoms that mimic a heart attack. The loss of a pet is also likely to drastically change your daily routine or the way you connect, causing ripple effects that go far beyond just the loss of the loved pet. For some, it might have been the only reason that you went out of the house and exercised or the only reason you got up in the morning. This lack of exercise can then affect the mental state of a person creating very dark and negative thoughts towards life. For all of these reasons, the emotional and mental health of a person can often be altered, so the loss of a loved pet and the grieving process needs to be taken seriously.
Losing a loved pet for many would feel like losing a member of the family. Unfortunately, some people think that a pet's life is less valuable or meaningful than human life and therefore don't take pet loss as seriously as they should. This can make the grieving process even more painful and prolonged; often, pet owners experience the same level of grief as the loss of a human life. People often fear to be considered abnormal if grieving for a pet too much, but you should never feel like this. Don't let these negative feelings affect the way you grieve and come to terms with your pet's death. If you can explain how you feel you should find that people start to understand the loss and grief that you are feeling and feel empathetic about the pain you are going through and become more supportive and understanding.
There are many ways in which to work through this grief, but it is important to be careful and not be tempted to rush out and fill the void left by the pet's death by getting a new pet straight away. Wanting to share your life with another animal is a great thing; however, it is best to allow yourself to mourn the old pet first so that you.
Grief Factsheets
If you’re in need of some extra support in the days and weeks following your pet’s death, take a look at these handy guides written by leading figure in grief and empathy education and author of When Pets Die: It's Alright to Grieve, Doris Zagdanski.
