Losing a pet is never easy. Anybody who’s ever lost a pet can attest to this fact. For many, the pain felt isn’t much different than losing a family number.
One of the issues pet owners face when a pet dies is it can feel like nobody truly understands what you are going through. Especially those who have never owned a pet. They simply can’t understand the pain and sense of loss a pet owner feels.
But even those who have lost a pet in their life can’t seem to bring you comfort. All this makes it harder for pet owners to work through their grief and deal with their feelings when a pet dies.
Vets deal with the death of pets on a regular basis. It just comes with the job. So they have a better idea than most of the feelings and emotions pet owners go through.
As evidence, here’s a message a woman got from her vet the day her cat died (the cat died at home, not at the vets office).
In the message, her veterinarian expressed that no one can ever truly feel the grief you are going through, because no pet & pet owner relationship is the same.
Here’s exactly what she said:
Just wanted to say that I’m awfully sorry that Torti slipped away. You obviously loved here a great deal, and did everything that could reasonably have been done to give her a chance.
A difficult and sad thing with the death of a cat is that nobody else can ever really understand. You can’t know a cat except by living with them and forming a partnership of understanding with them. Describing them in words never conveys very much. From the outside, even people with cats of their own can’t know your cat, or what you and she meant to each other.?
Anyway… if you have any lingering concerns or questions that I can help with, please ask.
We completely agree with this message and it is likely a big part of the reason why you feel no one understands what you are going through after losing a pet. After all, you and your pet are the only ones who felt the connection, love, and understanding between the two of you.
And that’s why when we lose a pet it feels like there’s a huge void in our hearts and in our lives that can never be filled again.
That said, losing a pet and the feeling of loss doesn’t mean that it is the end. With time, you can feel this void getting filled. Maybe you can adopt a new pet, or take up some other new passion that can make you feel better.
There are also other ways you can grieve or mourn your pets.
Some suggest getting a memento such as paw engraving/print, Other find comfort in keeping their pet’s ashes in a locket necklace or bracelet And still others suggest getting a painting of your beloved pets.
No matter what you choose to do, the most important thing to know is that when it comes to losing a pet, there is no right or wrong way to grieve. We all have our own way of doing mourning, and that is completely okay.
