Grieving the loss of your pet can be one of the most painful devastating experiences of loss.  It is hard to be prepared for the amount of grief that can happen when you lose your beloved pet. Our pets are our daily companions and often the first to greet us when we come home. The mutual love and affection we exchange with our beloved animals feed and nurture us. To lose that source of love can leave us so bereft. The way grief works also one deep loss can bring up a well of grief of all the other losses or deaths we have endured in our lives.   It doesn’t matter if the circumstances of loss of your pet is sudden from an accident or acute illness, or if it’s after a long-term disease where you thought you were prepared for the inevitable death.  Although the sudden loss from an accident or illness can have particular traumatic effects.
It can feel terrible if you share your grief with someone who doesn’t understand. Anyone who insensitively may say ” oh, it’s just an animal, not a human” – just doesn’t GET IT…. The grief is REAL and UNDERSTANDABLE…It’s often best to get support from others who know the love and joy of having a pet…or maybe even see the knowing, compassionate eyes of someone who also lived through the death of a pet and came out the other side.
Marlena Kushner, MFT
Women’s Therapy Services