subject: Coping With Death Of Pet - 4 Techniques To Help With Your Struggle [print this page] When an individual you love and care for dies, it is natural to experience the emotions of sadness and heartache. You gratefully accept the support and sympathy that your family and friends give you. Unfortunately, you may find that the very people you thought you could count on are not as understanding when a pet dies and do not appreciate the grief you are going through. They may think it is unreasonable to get so wrapped up in the emotions, saying "it is just a pet." Coping with your pets' death can be even harder to resolve without the support you thought you had.
Only those who have felt that deep bond with their pets can truly understand and empathize with the grief you are suffering. They know that pets can become a genuine member of the family! Many people observe their pets' birthdays, have pictures in their wallet, and share their innermost feelings to their beloved animal.
So, how can we best cope with the death of a cherished pet? The following are four techniques to help with the struggle of pet loss:
1) accept the grief you are feeling and allow yourself to feel the full brunt of it
2) find other people you can go to that will listen to your pain
3) contact your humane society or veterinarian and ask about a pet loss support group to attend or a pet loss hotline to call
4) write down all the feelings you are having about your pets' death
Our pet can provide friendship, emotional support, and unconditional love, despite our flaws. If we are comfortable with this strong bond we have with our pet, then we realize it is a normal process to grieve when our pet dies. This process has no timetable - it can take anywhere from days to years, depending on each individual.
