Although all pet loss is traumatic, it can be especially hard to cope with when the death of your pet is sudden and unexpected. Tragic accidents such as being hit by a car or attacked by another animal, or a fatal stroke or seizure out of the blue can be almost impossible to accept.
Regardless of the manner of death, a pet owner may perceive the death as traumatic and experience distress or exhibit posttraumatic stress symptoms. Seeking psychotherapy for pet loss can help to alleviate the distress and process the complicated grief.
“One of the first major losses a child will encounter is likely to be the death of a pet, and the impact can be traumatic, especially when that pet feels like a member of the family,” said Katherine Crawford, previously with the Center for Genomic Medicine at MGH, and lead author of the study.
The loss of a dog is so painful because people are losing a little life that we were responsible for as well as a source of unconditional love and companionship. There's a reason that most emotional support animals are dogs.
It's common to think that people don't get that sad after loss of a pet. But research tells us that often, the grief that people feel following loss of an animal companion feels the same as grief following loss of a human companion. In some cases, people report even more intense feelings.
It could mean the loss of a source of unconditional love, a primary companion who provides security and comfort, and maybe even a protégé that's been mentored like a child. The loss of a dog can also seriously disrupt an owner's daily routine more profoundly than the loss of most friends and relatives.
Some people find grief following the loss of a pet comes in stages, where they experience different feelings such as denial, anger, guilt, depression, and eventually acceptance and resolution. Others find that their grief is more cyclical, coming in waves, or a series of highs and lows.
You may find yourself admitting that my pet died, and I can't stop crying. Understand that crying for your pet is natural. It's normal, and though painful, it's part of the grieving process that's necessary for you to heal. “Most people who have bonded with a pet know the comfort and joy animals provide.
Symptoms of acute grief after the loss of a pet can last from one to two months, with symptoms of grief persisting up to a full year (on average).
Guilty feelings can result from feeling responsible for your pet's condition. For many pet owners, guilt is common even when there is nothing they can do to prevent the situation.
There are several types of grief that fall into this category: the death of a friend, a miscarriage, giving up a child for adoption, and the death of an ex-spouse are just a few examples. Pet loss is often experienced as a disenfranchised grief too.
Acknowledge your grief, and give yourself permission to express it. Allow yourself to cry. If you live alone, the silence in your home might feel deafening, but acknowledging it will allow you to prepare for the emotions you might feel. Suppressing your feelings of sadness can prolong your grief.
Grieving a Pet Can Hit Harder Than The Loss Of A Person, And That's Okay. Many pet owners know that our connections with animals can be on an emotional par with those we share with other humans – and scientific research backs this up.
Most people who lose a dog will be quick to tell you that it's just like losing a child. But it's much more complicated than that. First of all, most parents will go through life without ever losing a child. When they do, they will be quick to tell you it's not supposed to be that way!
Pets are beloved members of our families, often spending a decade or more sharing their joy and unconditional love with us. Our pets are sometimes the only ones who have stood loyally beside us through life's ups and downs. The loss of a pet is just that, a profound loss, and the grief is very real.
These waves of emotions are par for the course; you've experienced something terrible and “feeling normal” takes time. A 2019 study examined the grief timeline in 82 people who lost a pet. About 25% experienced intense grief for 3 to 12 months, 50% for 12 to 19 months, and 25% for 12 to 24 months.
Some experts say that if you're experiencing anxiety more than six months after your loss or your anxiety has become severe enough to negatively affect your life, then you may be suffering from complicated grief. Sadly, anxiety and complicated grief can be intertwined.
Psychologist Julie Axelrod has pointed out that the loss of a dog is so painful because owners aren't just losing the pet. It could mean the loss of a source of unconditional love, a primary companion who provides security and comfort, and maybe even a protégé that's been mentored like a child.
Losing a pet is not easy for most people. Pets — or what researchers call companion animals — are most often seen today as a fellow member of the family. It is not surprising then to learn that most people grieve a pet's passing as much, and sometimes even more, than the passing of a human friend or family member.
Many grieving dog owners report feeling as if their emotions go up and down, making them wonder whether they will ever get over the loss. The ultimate answer is that we never really "get over" loss but only learn how to cope with it better. The only sure way to deal with grief is to go through it and deal with it.
Animals that live in the present don't understand death; for them, it is just absence. However, intelligent animals with complex social structures and long-term memory, like elephants, realize that death is permanent and thus mourn their loss.
The pets that we had to say goodbye to are alive in heaven right now in their spiritual bodies and we will see them again if we accept Jesus as our Savior. Your Pet Is Not Gone Forever.
Your dog will hardly know what happened and will simply start to feel pleasantly drowsy. You will notice that I said “Your vet will hopefully prepare an anaesthetic or sedative injection for your dog”. Some do not. Having seen it done both ways, the “two injection” method is definitely my preference.