How To Cope With The Loss Of A Pet

Tips for coping with the loss of a pet

The scientific literature regarding pet losses is increasingly abundant. If this is so, it is due to two issues. The first is the consensus that companion animals are already configured with the same relevance as a member of the family. The second aspect is that their lives are shorter and this forces us to have to deal with the emptiness they leave more frequently.

Studies, such as the one carried out at the Philadelphia College of Medicine (United States), for example, show us something interesting. For 12% of the population the loss of a pet is experienced as something traumatic. That pain can last more than 6 months. The difficulty in managing this type of duel lies, above all, in social misunderstanding.

Therefore, it is necessary that we integrate basic strategies to cope with the grief after the loss of a pet. We analyze it.

Accept your emotions and express them

You have the full right to cry, to suffer for that loss regardless of whether it was a cat, a dog, a canary or a ferret. We all form very intense bonds with our animals and their death is lived with pain. Feel free to cry when you need to and to give space and acceptance to each felt emotion.

Talk about what you feel with someone close

Share what happened, as well as your feelings, thoughts and experiences with someone who knows how to listen and understand you. Friends, family or partner. Feel free to say out loud how you feel and what that animal meant to you.

Do not give importance to those who do not understand your experience

There are those who will understand that loss from the heart and will suffer it with you. Others, on the other hand, will be unable to understand why you feel this way or why you give so much importance to that event. Accept them. Do not be angry or face someone who does not love animals. As the writer Anatole France said, whoever has not loved an animal will always have a part of his soul asleep.

Perform a goodbye ritual

If you decide on cremation, do not hesitate to spread his ashes in a special and symbolic place for you. On the other hand, if you choose to bury your pet in your plot or garden, it is always cathartic to honor his memory through a small family ritual, spending a few minutes thinking about him.

Remember the good times

When one of our animals dies, it is very common for the last days to remain in memory. That now unfamiliar face comes to mind, that look to which we had to say goodbye.

To better manage the duel it is important not to focus on the final moments, but on the good moments lived, those that always remain in the heart.

Change routines

To cope with the grief after the loss of a pet, it is good to change routines. In general, animals create with us daily habits that are hard to forget. There are the walks, the times on the couch, the moments of games. Try, as far as you can, to introduce new habits that make you renew your habits.

How to help a child cope with the loss of a pet

If we have children at home, sooner or later they will have to face this situation. To help them cope with the loss of a pet, it is appropriate to follow these steps:

• Explain in language appropriate to the child’s age what is happening at all times. If the animal is sick, let him know.
• When the animal dies we must avoid euphemisms such as “it is gone” or “it is asleep”. It is necessary that, with sweetness, affection and closeness, we explain to them that the pet is no longer there and that it will not return.
• We will make it easier for the child to cry if he needs it and we will be aware of him during the first weeks.

Euthanasia in pets: how to face this experience?

There are many occasions when, due to the disease or particular situation of the animal, veterinarians propose euthanasia to avoid excessive suffering. Something that is undoubtedly evident is that these situations are not easy. However, it is good to keep these tips in mind:

• Let’s try to say goodbye to the pet and be with her at all times.
• Let’s avoid blaming ourselves for that decision. Let us think that with this we offer him a dignified death, without suffering and accompanied.
• In these cases, it is not recommended that younger children be present.
• Once the veterinarian gives us the body or the ashes of the animal it is good, as we have already pointed out, to carry out a farewell ritual in which the smallest of the house can participate.

When is it better to consider adopting a new pet

Many people consider adopting a new animal when they have just lost that special dog or cat. Now, to cope with the grief after the loss of a pet it is important to consider the following that we will say.

Adopting a new animal will not completely fill the void for the lost one. Likewise, no animal will replace the one that has died because they, like us, are unique.

Therefore, it is always better to allow a reasonable time to handle emotions well and say goodbye to that special member of the house. Later, after 5 or 6 months, we can already consider a new adoption. However, this should be carried out being aware that it is someone else.

Suffering for pets is normal

To conclude, we will say that today our animals are so significant and special that many couples consider them almost as their children. We love them, we give them a place in the home and a larger corner in the heart.

Suffering for their loss is something normal and we cannot, therefore, neglect or displace the mourning by the void. Let’s not hesitate to give ourselves a few days off if we need it. Nor in asking for expert help.