While it's certainly not necessary, posting an obituary for your pet can help you to move on from the loss. An obituary will provide a public announcement of your pet's passing, allowing friends and family to send their condolences as well as helping others who may be affected by your pet's loss.
A pet death announcement is a way to respect and celebrate the life of your pet and share how much they meant to you. And it's often important to let the people in your life know that you've experienced a personal loss, even if they didn't know your pet.
Fitzpatrick advises you stick to one photo and a brief "in memoriam." Giving too much information about your pet's life (and death) and repeatedly posting about it can rub friends the wrong way.
Give them all the things they enjoy most – their favourite toys, their favourite food. You know what will make your pet feel most at ease in the time that remains. If you become tearful, ask a family member, friend or other trusted person to take care of your pet so you can leave the room and have a cry.
“Death ends a life, not a relationship.” “A pet is never truly forgotten until it is no longer remembered.” “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” “Don't cry because it's over, Smile because it happened.”
And yet the death of a family pet can remind us of how vulnerable, precarious and precious life is. It's that process of acceptance and letting go that builds the resilience necessary to navigate an array of life's obstacles. We hone an ability to adapt to the evanescence of our lives with grace and hope.
Why Pet Loss Hurts. “One reason why losing a pet is such a deep loss is because animals' love is so unconditional and accepting,” she said. But it's also because so many aspects of people's lives are impacted. “Every single facet of life is part of the loss,” she explained.
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.
In part, this is because pets share some of our most intimate relationships—we see them every day, they depend on us, we adjust our lives around their needs—and yet publically grieving their loss is not socially acceptable.
You are simply allowing yourself to love another pet. Grieving your dog's death is normal and natural. As you grieve, seek out positive ways to move forward in your life while keeping a special space in your heart for your dog.
Losing a pet can be devastating. After spending precious time together, saying goodbye to your best friend is beyond hard. It doesn't matter whether you raised your pet from being a baby or got them later in their life. They have a profound impact on your life.
While losing a pet is painful and overwhelming, unfortunately, it can also be a very lonely process, as many people don't understand the feeling of loss and don't recognize that the grieving process for a pet can be as long as that for a human.
Losing a cherished dog can feel especially devastating to people with a history of trauma or adverse early life experiences because they relied on their dog as a protector, safe companion, and confidante. Others may view their dog as a surrogate child, and losing that treasured connection can feel especially painful.
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.
Create a digital flyer to share on your social media channels, which you can do by downloading the ASPCA's Pet Safety App. Search for local lost and found pet Facebook pages. Check to see if anyone listed your dog as found and ask the Facebook page administrator to post a digital flyer of your dog.