Death Of A Dog; How To Cope
Saying goodbye is never easy. It hurts and no one wants to go through the daunting process.
There are many steps in dealing with an animal’s death. Animals provide companionship, acceptance, emotional support, and unconditional love. If you understand and accept this bond between humans and animals, you've already taken the first step toward coping with pet loss: knowing that it is okay to grieve when you’re pet dies.
The grieving process varies depending on the individual. However, the process typically begins with denial, which offers protection until they can come to reality with their loss. After these feelings subside, caregivers may experience true sadness or grief. They may become withdrawn or even depressed. It’s interesting how some people deal with grief; some accept, deny, or purely ignore what happened and don’t want to remember. These steps are natural and sharing memories, crying and accepting what happened helps you cope and move on.
Some ways to cope with your pet’s death are to acknowledge your grief and give yourself permission to express it. You could even write about your feelings, either in a journal or a poem, or short story. Try calling your local humane society to see whether it offers a pet-loss support group or can refer you to one and prepare a memorial for your pet.
Don't hesitate to reach out to others who can lend a sympathetic ear. Acceptance occurs when you face the reality of your loss and can reminisce with decreasing sadness. Understanding how you grieve and finding ways to cope with your loss can bring you closer to the day when memories bring smiles instead of tears.
I recently had to go through a rough patch in my life. We had to put my older dog Jasmine down. It was the toughest decision of our lives and we had to put our personal feelings aside and do what was best for her. She was an 11 year old Saint Bernard hound. She was beautiful and spoiled all in one big ball of fluff. She was my first dog and my best friend. She was there through so many huge moments in my life. But after we put her down I went through weeks of grieving. I missed her so much just being there sleeping on my bedroom floor. But I finally came to terms with it as I realized she is no longer in pain and with my stepdad in heaven watching over us.
Jasmine- 11 yr. old St. Bernard
When I first felt these feelings of grief I was confused as I never lost a pet before so I was unsure if it was natural. But after talking to many people who have lost pets I found out that it is completely natural to feel sorrow, grief and confusion.
One way I found that was best to cope was as the holidays approached my sister and I made a memorial scrapbook of her for my parents to keep around the house. So when they are missing her, they can look at this book and remember all the memories of her. The pictures were from her as a puppy to her final weeks. It was a cool way to see her grow up through photos as it was harder to see it when she was alive always being around her.
Dog Walks Now Contributor
Chelsea Nelson is from Upton Ma, and is currently a senior at Westfield State University. She intends to graduate in May 2015. She is studying English with a writing concentration. She has had dogs her entire life and currently has 2 dogs, Kodiak an 8 year old Labrador retriever, and Bear a 2 year old chow lab mix. She has also worked at a kennel for 4 years and still works there on holidays and breaks from school. Read her dog blog or follow her on twitter.
