To understand the grief process, recognize that the pet-owner attachment is enduring, that emotions may represent several issues, and that different people may be in different stages of readiness to work through the stress of pet loss. The pet may be the last connection to deceased loved ones or the trigger that brings up unsettled emotions about other deaths or their own mortality. The Support for People and Pets Program. The elderly may never have been allowed to share with others their emotions or grieving experiences. Many were taught how to acquire things, such as pets, but not how to lose them.
Some people operate on myths when dealing with grief.
Bury your feelings. Just give it time. In the future, don't trust. Only the loss of human life warrants grieving. Breaking away from these myths can be difficult.