If you have ever owned a cat or dog, for any length of time, you will have no trouble identifying with people who have grown deeply attached to them. If you have had a pet that has passed away it is hard to forget the grief you suffer.
You will know what most pet owners know, the love for a dog or cat is a very real love. And the grief one feels when losing that loved one is as real as if you lost a member of your family, and for many people, in truth, they have.
What happens when a person loses a loved pet is much the same process as when you lose a human friend or family member, with the slight premise that we know well in advance that a pet’s life expectancy is considerably shorter than a humans. But still, the person goes through stages in pet bereavement; these include disbelief, denial, anger, and finally acceptance.
And just as with a human death, there are decisions and actions that must be made. Decisions on how and where to dispose of the remains, decisions of whether you want a formal kind of memorial.
And one of the most difficult decisions happens while your pet is still alive. Sometimes the pet becomes so ill or so much in pain that the owner must decide whether or not to have the animal put to sleep in order to keep it from suffering. It’s not easy; none of these decisions regarding the death of an animal are taken lightly by pet owners.