Dealing with Pet Bereavement

Grieving a pet can be like mourning the loss of a family member. It is a highly individual experience whether the loss is through death or enforced separation and can be a sad and difficult time. Life once filled with the love and friendship of a pet may suddenly seem very empty and feelings of despair and loneliness are not uncommon. Wellbeing and health author Victoria Harrison writes ’Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn how to swim.’

Here are some useful things to remember:

- A change to your daily routine can help – it’s a good idea to try to fill your time with activities you enjoy. 

- Share your feelings with friends and family who understand how deep your loss feels. 

- Accept offers of help and support even if you don’t feel like talking to anyone. 

- Adjusting to life without a pet can be hard, especially if your pet provided a sense of purpose as well as companionship. 

- Volunteering to help pets in need can be a good way to decide if you’re ready to become a pet owner again.

Helping a child with Pet Loss:

Many people do not realise how traumatic and confusing death can be on a child. Although children tend to grieve for shorter periods of time, their grief is no less intense than that experienced by adults.

Here are some helpful tips:

- Tell their teacher about the pet’s death

-  Encourage the child to talk freely about the pet

- Give the child plenty of reassurance

- Discuss death, dying and grief honestly

- Never say things like ‘the pet was put to sleep’ as the child will become afraid of going to sleep

- Include the child in everything that is going on

Explain the permanency of death:

Try to involve children as much as possible in other ways of preserving memories of your pets. Memorialising our pets is an important part of the grieving process. Some popular ways to remember and celebrate their lives are by writing poems or letters to your pet, painting pictures and making models, making a scrapbook with photographs, or a memory box.

None of us would be without our animals by choice. Who else in the family offers us unconditional love and is always happy to see us? But sometimes difficult decisions need to be made and if anybody ever feels that they are struggling to cope with their feelings of loss then please talk to a pet bereavement counsellor, who will know how distressing the loss of a pet can be and who will listen with compassion and without judgement.