Do Pets Grieve?

Do pets grieve? I’m not even sure why there's any doubt about this. Pets DO grieve. Pets grieve for other pets and pets mourn for their lost human family members too.

It just surprises me that anyone should question this. The thought that such faithful, intelligent creatures can be devoid of emotion is just not true.

Anyone who has ever had a pet and has been in the sad position of losing either a family member or another pet, will know the answer to the question, Do Pets Grieve? Specially in the case of dogs and sometimes cats - the answer would have to be a very emphatic YES!

Do Pets Grieve for Their Human Companions?

I’ve known some of my pets go into real depression when a family member has simply been away for any considerable length of time.

For example our dog, Cassie refused to eat for a number of days when our son first left home. He was touring with his group of musicians and I had to call him and ask him to talk to Cassie over the phone so she knew he was still around.

I felt really silly doing that and he felt sillier still trying to explain to his friends that he was talking with his dog! Cassie perked up immediately and willing ate all her dinner that night – and no, I’m not making this up - honest!! Do pets grieve? - Of course they do.

As an aside - on subsequent calls home during the tour, Andrew’s friends would want to talk to Cassie and ask her to 'speak' – whereupon she’d willingly oblige and bark down the phone to them. I don’t know who enjoyed this interaction more - dog or budding rock stars with an image to project – it was great to watch!

Do Pets Grieve for Other Pets?

On the question of Do pets grieve? - more than anything else, I know that Cassie’s little friend Lucky mourned her passing almost more than we did. Lucky would sit in the bed they shared and howl and whimper. She’d hang her head, with shoulders slumped and sit there – the saddest little picture of dejection that I ever saw.

She wouldn’t eat and she was so depressed we honestly thought we were going to lose her too, at one stage. I took her for long walks thinking this would do the trick, but she’d go looking for Cassie in all their favourite spots - and come back whimpering when she relised Cassie wasn't there either – it was heartbreaking.

It was Lucky’s grief that made us decide to get another little dog. I couldn't bear the thought of another German Shepherd. We were so attached to Cassie we didn't think we could do justice to another dog of a similar breed - we felt we'd constantly be comparing the new dog unfavourably against Cassie.

So we decided to get a little Scotty. After our usual planning, investigating and screening, we found just the one we wanted. We were so excited about presenting Lucky with a new friend. But..... it was hate at first site!!

However, Holly, our new Scotty, harassed Lucky so much that poor Lucky had no other option than to get over her grief. She had her hands full just keeping out of this rotten puppy’s way!

Lucky started eating again simply because we pretended to give the new puppy her food if she didn’t want it. And what started out as a bad tempered “Give me that back – that’s MY toy!” soon became a fun game of tug-o-war, specially as Lucky soon discovered she could easily beat this tiny four inch tall scrap of fur, whereas previously she had to deal with a German Shepherd many, many times her size!

So, very much like us, pets – and perhaps dogs in particular - definitely do mourn, and need activity and encouragement to move them along the process. When dealing with the loss of one pet, do be sensitive to the needs of the other pets in your family, specially if they have had a close relationship. Nobody who has ever gone through a breavement with a dog around will ever need to ask the question Do Pets Grieve? - it is the most obvious fact that they do.

We are by no means a soppy, sentimental family (well, I suppose my husband did cry during The Lion King!), we are all extremely busy and involved with a huge variety of things. We are robust and fun loving. And it is from this point of level-headedness that I can categorically state that pets, specially dogs, do grieve.

Do pets grieve? Of course they do.

Lots of love and understanding, a fair bit of effort and some good no-nonsense handling will be called for - because quite often pets do mourn just as much as we do. The entire subject of pet loss is such a tender one and we would hate to have you go through this painful situation unprepared for what you will feel and encounter. So, please do feel free to avail yourself of all the helpful information our experiences have enabled us to gather.

In related pages you will find help and advice on dealing with the loss of a pet and also on helping children deal with the death of their pet.

We discuss and prepare you for the painful experience of euthanasia for pets and we also deal with the practicalities of pet loss.

We also discuss preparing for the loss of your dear pet so that you have no regrets to spoil memories. We try and let our personal experiences help you if you are grieving for a lost pet, and we also talk about Pet Loss Support Groups.

Knowing how important this is, we have also gone to some considerable lengths to bring you a great range of Pet Memorials to help you remember your pet with the pride and dignity they deserve.

All in all, we want to make this difficult, but inevitable experience, as positive as possible for you, your pet and your family.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page so you can come back as often as you need to. Or, refer a friend to this page if they ever ask the question, do pets grieve?

You can also subscribe to my Perfect Pets Blog so you have all the newest updates brought directly to you. You can do this simply by clicking on the little orange RSS button in the highlighted light green box along the left margin of this page - and following the directions from there.

Click here to subscribe to our FREE monthly magazine Paws Here!. This great little magazine is crammed full of the latest useful information and interesting products – you’ll love it!

Also do not miss the other useful articles available to you – check out the links at the bottom of this page for free information and help with all your pet queries and concerns.

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