Dealing With The Loss of a Pet

The loss of a pet can to some be like losing a family member or friend. Pets are small extensions of who we are. What makes us choose a certain pet shows our character and what we want from our companions in life. A pet is often considered as a family member and when one dies is it a loss that is shared by the whole family. We let our pets into our hearts as well as our lives and caring for them on a daily basis forms strong bonds that are not easily forgotten. How we cope with this loss is often no different than we cope when we loose a human in our lives.

Death comes to us all eventually, but with pets it happens more often as they have a shorter life expectancy. Sometimes as with people we are prepared for the loss when illness strikes and sometimes it is unexpected and sudden. This is when it hurts the most. With the ever increasing amount of cars on our roads more animals dies each year from accidents than do from natural causes.

The grief felt by the owner when their pet dies is unique to each pet and no one can tell you what to expect or how you will feel until it happens. The deep echoes of this feeling stem from the same feeling you experience when a loved one dies making you mourn their passing as much as if they were one of the family. When you experience death it is normal to feel shocked, numb, anger, sorrow and guilt as it is normal to feel this way when it has been your pet that has passed. Some feel that they are being silly just because it was their dog or cat but over ninety percent of owners feel the loss and experience emotional outbursts just the same.

A lot of owner especially if they have had to put their pet to sleep will feel an over whelming sense of guilt. They will question themselves and continue doing so until they realise that they put the wellbeing of their pet before their own feelings of attachment. If a vet has offered to “put your pet down” it means you have exhausted every possibility that is open to you at that point and only that option would be humane. You obviously had a lot of love and respect for your pet and there will come a time when you will let go.

Some people choose to bury their beloved pets in their back yards where as others take them to pet cemetery. Your pets can even nowadays be cremated and full funerals can be held for them. Speciality pet coffins are also available making the experience and dealing of grief easier for the bereaved owner.

After death some people like to create for their pets a memorial page on the internet which is known as a pet personal page or put a scrap book together for them at home. This way when you need to you can look back fondly once the grieving process has finally abated and remember your pet when they were happy and healthy rather than the dead animal they became.