Is Grief and Mourning for a Pet and a Family Member the Same? A Narrative Review
Authors: Mariano Stefano 
Published: August 2024

Many people live with pets and most of them are considered as family members. So, when a pet dies, people experience grief and mourning. Despite the recent increase in research interest in human-pet relationships, as far as I know there is no review that answers this question: are grief and mourning for a pet and for a family member the same thing? The present narrative review can be a first step in answering this question.

METHODS: This review was conducted according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) statement in the PubMed database. After removal of duplicates and examination of titles and abstracts, 49 papers were included in the review. The retrieved articles were selected and evaluated by reading each of them in full text. The author of this study is one, therefore, to reduce the probability of bias in the selection process, this selection was repeated after three months.

DISCUSSION: Only one study among those examined directly compared the severity of grief over human death and the death of a pet. In this study, no significant differences were found between pain severity levels. However, since grief is a subjective experience, this work has the limitation that the same person did not experience the loss of a family member and a pet. It also presents other critical issues since it does not examine the factors that can influence the response to the loss.

The present review was not intended to be a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the intensity of grief over the loss of an animal companion compared to grief over the loss of a human.

However, in examining the literature collected in this study, we can highlight some significant recurring themes:

THE EVALUATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE OWNER/HANDLER AND HIS ANIMAL

In one study all AC owners report that their relationship with the animal is emotionally significant. In all the works examined, it emerges that animals were considered an integral part of the family and there was often a tendency for individuals to anthropomorphize their pets.

AN INDIVIDUAL'S VIEW AND PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE AFTER THE LOSS OF THEIR PET

In articles where the Mourning Dog Questionnaire has been used, the results confirm the pessimistic view of life after the death of a pet and much research indicates that the loss of a pet can cause depression.

THE UNDERESTIMATION OF THE PAIN OF LOSING A PET BY SOCIETY AND THE SOCIAL CONTEXT IN WHICH IT OCCURS

The grief associated with the death of a pet is often underestimated, misunderstood, or even unacknowledged by others. Many owners/caregivers of deceased pets indicated that relationships with family and friends who did not understand their grief had become strained and worsened. The death of a pet generally does not involve the same rituals that allow owners to express their grief and this lack can lead to psychological suffering for those who have suffered the loss of their pet.

CONCLUSIONS: Research indicates that pet owners experience a spectrum of pain and pain intensity when their pet dies, ranging from moderate to excruciating.

This grief is often compared to that felt over the loss of a close family member. However, many variables influence the intensity of mourning: age, social condition (living alone or in a family context) of the caregiver/pet owner, age of the dead animal, etc. Therefore, further research is needed.

Furthermore, this review reveals widespread underestimation of the grief associated with the loss of a pet, both by society at large and by individuals who do not own a pet.

This disenfranchised grief can have a profound emotional impact on those who experience the loss of a pet.

It is also clear that veterinarians can play a role in helping pet owners grieve and in improving the well-being, resilience, and quality of life of people experiencing pet loss. Additionally, further research is needed to develop a measure of grief disavowal specific to pet loss.