Pet Loss Support
Understanding pet loss and grief
The Impact of a Pet’s Death
Globally, more than half of the world’s population has a pet at home, and there are likely over a billion pets worldwide. The significance of this pet owning community reflects the enormity of value, love, companionship, joy and comfort our cats, dogs, horses and other animals provide. Put simply, our animals enrich and enhance our lives as human beings, so much so that pet owners represent the majority of the world’s population.
Whilst bringing us unconditional love and lifelong memories, an ultimate reality of pet ownership is being prepared for their departure from our world. Their shorter lives to those of their human owners mean that the pet owning community, all at some stage in their life, go through the process of pet loss and pet bereavement, upon the death of their animal companion. Many people have multiple pets, and their home just does not feel complete without having their four-legged friends to come back to after a long day.
The Stages Of Grief After A Pet’s Death
Grieving a pet can be a complex process and it is important to give yourself enough time to mourn your loss. There may be a societal pressure to ‘move on’ and ‘be strong’ by showing little emotion after the death of a pet. However, letting whatever emotions you feel be felt and processed is all part of normal grief. The death of a pet is just as important as the loss of any other living being, and the same healing time and support should therefore be given.
Understanding the stages of grief can be helpful upon the death of any living being. There are several models of grief, each offering a different perspective on the grieving process. One of the most well-known models of grief is Kübler-Ross’s Five Stages of Grief:
Denial: This is a common initial response to loss, where individuals may refuse to accept the reality of the situation.
Anger: As denial fades, anger may arise, directed at oneself, others, or the situation.
Bargaining: In this stage, individuals may attempt to negotiate with a higher power or fate to change the outcome.
Depression: Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and withdrawal may emerge as the reality of the loss sets in.
Acceptance: Eventually, individuals may reach a state of acceptance, where they come to terms with the loss and find ways to move forward.
It’s important to note that these stages are not linear and not everyone experiences all of them.
Other models of grief also include;
Anxiety: Feeling worried, restless, or fearful.
Shock: Feeling numb or disconnected from reality.
Yearning: Longing for the person or thing that was lost.
Relief: Feeling a sense of release or peace, especially after a prolonged illness or difficult situation.
Grief can also manifest physically, leading to symptoms such as:
- Fatigue
- Insomnia or disturbed sleep
- Changes in appetite
- Difficulty concentrating
- Physical aches and pains
It’s important to remember that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to grieve. Everyone experiences grief differently, and there is no set timeline for the grieving process. Some people may experience intense grief for a short period, while others may experience a more prolonged and fluctuating grief process. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to grieve, and grief is a normal process after the death of a much-loved animal companion.
If you are struggling with grief, it’s important to seek support from friends, family, or a mental health professional. Talking about your feelings can be helpful, and there are many resources available to help you cope with grief.
Ways to help yourself
We strongly recommend that upon the death of an animal companion, you talk to someone who can help you through the grieving process. It can be difficult to say the words ‘my dog died’ but sharing grief with those who can support you can help ease the pain. This can be friends and family, but there are also fully confidential services offered by animal charities which can be of significant benefit at this time.
Other ways to ease the pain of pet loss:
• Take care of yourself physically
• Focus on healing, not just distracting yourself from the pain
• Practice mindfulness and breathwork to calm the body’s natural stress response
• Set goals which are achievable
• Adjust to your new life slowly without putting pressure on yourself to ‘be fine’, trying to avoid any other major life changes if possible.
• Honour your pet with a memorial when you feel ready to do so
• Give yourself plenty of time to accept and acknowledge your pet’s passing
Preservation of DNA Upon Your Pet’s Death
My pet has just died, what can I do? Something which you may or may not know is that you can preserve your pets DNA after they have passed away. At Gemini Genetics, we preserve DNA in a way that you can clone your pet should you wish to do so in the future.
More and more people are now preserving their pets DNA in this way. Even though they may not be sure about if and when they will clone, having the option to do so in the future, should you decide that is the best option for you, can be of enormous comfort during loss. It means that you can retain and regain a living connection to your lost animal companion.
Your pets clone would be a full genetic twin to your original pet and the closest living replica possible to them. This can be a very special bond to re-establish, and enables you also to continue the legacy to your animal companion- a legacy which is normally passed on through siblings but is most often not possible with many of our pet cats and dogs as they are neutered.
All that is needed is a small skin sample from your pet and their genetics can be preserved for just £600 +VAT. Your pets body needs to be kept chilled after their passing and not frozen. The skin sample needs to be taken and arrive with us within 5 days of their passing.
If you do decide to go through to cloning, your samples are shipped to our partner cloning company, Viagen Pets & Equine USA, to complete the cloning process.
For more information on preserving DNA for the option of future cloning, please contact Gemini Genetics – Contact Us | Genetic Preservation by Gemini Genetics
Emergency instructions can also be found via our website –
https://www.geminigenetics.com/emergency-cat-dog-protocols/
https://www.geminigenetics.com/emergency-equine-protocols/
A comprehensive company brochure can also be downloaded here
Healing with therapy
Talking is a great way to process difficult emotions, even if it feels hard to get talking. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to those closest to you, there are people out there to lend an ear so you are not alone. Therapy helps those experiencing grief by delving deeper past the initial coping mechanisms and focusing on psychological healing – pet grief counselling can be a really big help for those who feel isolated. A qualified grief counsellor will be able to help, but if you don’t want to explore this option, you can try the suggestions and links to resources on this page.