Dealing with the Loss of a Pet

Be prepared.   We never want to see our pet leave our lives, but, chances are we will out live our pet.  Being prepared ahead of time helps us to cope when it happens.  What will you do?  You can look into options in your area, some places offer cremation or burial.  If you select cremation, you can scatter the pets ashes in your yard, or keep them in an urn. 

Some people might find this morbid, but when I was a child we had hamsters die and insisted on burying them.  If a hamster died in the winter, we would put it in a plastic (usually margarine) container and that container would be put in a bag, marked, and put in the deep freeze until spring thawed the ground to allow us to bury our little pet. 

If a childs pet dies, it is very important that the child be allowed to see it, and say "good bye" to it.  If the pet is killed as the result of an encounter with a car, you may want to cover any part of the body not suitable for viewing, but allow the child the option to see their pet if they wish.  It allows closure, and in a way, teaches them about death so they are better prepared when a close family member passes on.  All too often parents rush out to replace the pet, or lie to the child, saying it ran away.  Both strategies are wrong, and ultimately may create doubt and distrust. 

In most cities tossing the dead body of a pet into the garbage is illegal, so if you have no place to dispose of your pet, do not use this as an option.  There are special places in the city dump that dispose of deceased animals, or you can have your veterinarian handle the matter for you. 

I suggest keeping the collar, hanging it in a special spot, or keep it next to a photo of the pet for memory sake.

I always try to say to any deceased animal "Go in Peace".  I suggest you do this as well, as it allows you to have closure.  From here on, it is normal for you to doubt the days leading up to the pets death.  This is normal.  If the pet died as the result of being hit by a car, we use this to learn how to make sure it does not happen again to future pets.  If your pet died as the result of old age, we know they lived a good life, and were ready to move on.   If it was a health concern, we learn how to prevent the problem in other pets.  The main thing is we go on.

Time heals.  Talking to the deceased pet, even if they are not there, helps in the healing process.  Do not be in too much of a rush to go out and get a new dog or cat, but if you do, make sure it is not too similar to the one you just lost, or you may find you are placing unfair expectations on the new pet. 

Do pets go to heaven?  To be fair, nobody really knows.   Many will say yes, more will say no, but nobody knows for sure.  I would like to think that if their is an afterlife pets, and other animals, are welcome to enjoy it as much as humans are.  I do not feel any reason why they would not be able to. 

Finally if you know of somebody who lost a pet, it is okay to give a sympathy card and let them know you do not think it is silly to mourn the loss of a pet.