ANIMAL LOSS
PET BEREAVEMENT AND ANIMAL LOSS
Grief therapy doesn’t just exist for human loss. Losing our beloved pets and animals can have all the same feelings of human loss. Animals have a special place in our hearts and will often be a huge part of the family and extended family.
Animals will give unconditional love. We know all their habits, foibles and characteristics. They love us unconditionally, make us laugh and share lots of experiences with us. If we’re down, a cuddle can help enormously and releases feel good hormones serotonin and dopamine.
Petting an animal can lower our blood pressure too https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/having-a-dog-can-help-your-heart--literally.
An animal might have been with us through the years of happiness and heartbreak.
We may get our exercise through our pets, horse riding and dog walking for example and so they share our adventures and self-care moments too. Looking after animals is a privilege and can also be a wonderful experience for children to grow up around caring for a living thing and experiencing mortality.
If we have had the joy of an animal, the likelihood is that their life expectancy will be shorter than ours. There is also the possibility we have had to consider medical treatment and euthanasia for our beloved pet too. That can bring up feelings around making the best ethical decisions for them.
Our hearts will break, we’ll never forget them and as renowned gardener Monty Don says on the loss of Nellie, one of his companion dogs, a gorgeous honey coloured Golden Retriever, “She is gone but the love remains”.
If you feel you would benefit from grief counselling for the love and loss of an animal, do come forward. You heart needs support to heal. Your pet loss is welcome with me to talk about and reflect. If you are missing your walks, we can move the therapy to outdoors.
In memory of Boris x
Photo of Millie and Bella