The Pain Of Losing A Pet
We all know what it is like to go through the grieving process. When a family member passes away or a loved one leaves you, you need time to accept that they are no longer with you. But what about when your pet is the one leaving you? The pain you experience when you lose a pet is a topic that people do not talk much about.
There are also many who have never felt the love of an animal, who do not understand what it means, and therefore they minimize and underestimate it. This means that the person suffering from the loss must also deal with the fact that their pain is invalidated.
Cats, dogs, rabbits, turtles… they are not just animals. When you adopt them, they become part of the family.
A pain that is rarely recognized
If you’ve felt the pain of losing a pet, you may have met people who have said things like ‘it’s just an animal’, ‘just get yourself a new one’, etc. This does nothing to help a person who has just lost his most faithful friend. Imagine going to a funeral and saying the same thing about a baby who just died. Does it make sense to say, “do not worry, you can get a new one.”? Would you ever tell someone that they could just adopt another father or mother?
People continue to underestimate the emotional impact of losing a pet. In fact, there are many people who do not even feel bad or have any sympathy when their best friend goes through this type of loss. And sometimes they even avoid talking about it to show how unimportant it is.
To cry over the loss
When you mourn the loss of a loved one, having a funeral can alleviate some of the pain. It brings you together with the people you need in this moment. In addition to having the support of your family, burying or cremating the person in a way that honors them and allows you to say a proper goodbye to them could offer some initial comfort.
These rituals create a context and atmosphere where the pain can be expressed and shared. Are there any funeral rituals for pets?
There are crematoria and cemeteries for animals, but saying goodbye to your best, furry friend in public is in no way similar to the way you would say goodbye to another person. There is no real procedure, which means that if your dog, cat, rabbit or turtle dies, you have to say goodbye to them as they deserve.
Feeling guilt and pain over losing a pet
Not saying a proper goodbye to your pet can be detrimental to the grieving process, especially if you feel guilty about their death. Maybe your pet had a health problem and you feel guilty that you did not take care of them or give them more attention. Perhaps the tumors that were a side effect of their medication could have been avoided.
These are some thoughts that may pop into your head and make you feel guilty. However, the main reason why people feel guilty about the death of a pet is euthanasia, which is not legal in the same way for humans, but is one of the options most often used to alleviate animal suffering.
Euthanasia makes many people feel guilty about the death of their pet because they have set a date for their death as a last resort. Many people who choose euthanasia feel like killers. But do not forget that when you turn to this option, it is because there were no other options to save them.
In connection with this, support is important. Letting the person put their suffering into words will help them validate and deal with it. That way, it does not remain with them like a stone in the shoe that gradually begins to cut through the skin.
Getting a new pet
If you are in the first stage of the grieving process, you are probably not ready to have a new pet. It is normal to feel that you are somehow betraying the memory of the person who passed away by letting someone else take their place. This is also not good for the new pet, because it can warn them of future suffering.
People who have suffered such a great loss, such a deep wound, need devotion. They need time to talk, to be quiet, to get angry at the world, and to ask questions. But what they need most is a helping hand as they show the first signs of moving from one phase of grief to the next, until they are able to integrate the experience into their lives.
