Losing a Pet: The Hidden Suffering and Grief

People suffering through the grief of losing a beloved pet often have to suffer alone and in silence. Friends may be understanding for a while but may eventually tire of hearing about the sadness we feel over losing our pets. Many people just don't understand the strong bond that develops between people and their furry friends. Some people may even make cruel remarks like, "It was just an animal" or "Just get over it already." Sometimes these remarks come from those who are close to us - even our spouses. Comments like these end up making us feel even worse. We start to feel wrong about the extent of our grief.

At our workplace, we are expected to go in to work just as we would any other day. There are no "pet grief" days allotted. Unless we work at a very special place, we can't just call in to say we won't be coming to work because our pet passed away. We either have to go to work or call in and lie. Lying makes us feel bad which only adds to our sorrow. Going to work and being forced to focus on our job and act like we are doing fine often causes us to feel worse.

Those suffering through the grief of pet loss may feel that there is something wrong with them because their grief is so strong. They may also wonder why they may be feeling that grief for months and sometimes years after their loss.

When we lose our fur baby, it is perfectly natural to feel devastated. We miss all the love and joy they provided in our lives. Losing a pet can be as difficult as, and sometimes even more difficult than, losing a family member. Pets are family members; they just aren't human. We can love them just as deeply as we do humans.

Pets provide us with a special kind of love that is often hard to find elsewhere. They love us unconditionally. They don't judge us based on how we look, how we dress or how much money we make. We don't have to try to impress them. They don't yell at us or fight with us. We care for all of their needs. They depend on us. They are happy to see us when we return from a long, hard day at work. They shower us with kisses. They look at us with love in their eyes. They snuggle with us. We love them. They love us back. We feel that love so strongly and it feels good.

One reason that it may be harder to heal from the grief of pet loss than other losses is because of the lack of support to deal with our grief. This can cause our grief to go on much longer than necessary. We feel pressured to get over it and get on with our lives. We feel that something is wrong with us because we are still hurting. We feel unable to express our grief openly and freely.

One of the best things that we can do for ourselves when going through the loss of a pet is to accept and allow our grief. We must find ways to express it. We don't want to wallow in our grief, but it's important to express it. It's also important to find avenues of support. These supports can be in the form of online pet loss forums, local pet loss support groups, friends and family. Writing in a journal and reading pet loss books can also help us work through our grief.

Hopefully in time, the grief of pet loss will become more understood and accepted, allowing people to deal with their grief more openly. More avenues of support will become available. Until then, the best thing we can do is find as much support as we can in order to help ourselves through it.