Tips For Easing The Grief Of Losing A Family Dog

Having a family dog is one of the most rewarding experiences you can give to yourself and the rest of your family. Dogs are known to be some of the most loyal companions in the animal kingdom, and when you love and care for a dog properly, you truly make a friend for life. Keeping a dog for a pet also has many health benefits, as pets are known to lower blood pressure and help people deal with depression. Unfortunately, there will come a time when your family’s beloved canine will pass away. This can be a difficult experience for any family and especially for children.

The first thing you need to keep in mind when dealing with the death of a family dog is that grief often causes a variety of emotions to mix together. Grief is a complicated process where emotions of extreme sadness might mix with anger, fear, or confusion. These mixed emotions are perfectly normal and need to be accepted as part of the grieving process. People are unique, as are the dogs that enrich our lives, so each member of the family will experience and express the grief in different ways. If your child seems to be a bit more rebellious or angry and acts out more than usual, try and go easy on them and engage the child to see if grief is the root cause of the problem before immediately increasing discipline.

A lot of people, especially those who do not own pets or care much for animals, may not understand the intensity of the emotions you feel over the death of your dog. Some people may say that your feelings are not valid or that you are being overdramatic. Avoid confrontations with these people for a time, as this will only cause the grieving process to intensify. Be aware that the best source of comfort during this time might be from the members of your family who are going through the loss with you.

One way that you can help cope with the loss of your dog is through some type of comfort gift. This could be some type of wind chime with a picture of your pet on it or a poem on a plaque. Whatever the gift is, make sure that it has a picture of the pet and some comforting words that will ease your hurt when the pain creeps back on you again.

By: Renee Wood, MSW

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Renee Wood founded The Comfort Company in 2000. She is a social worker that has helped families deal with the loss or pending loss of a child, as well as aiding patients in the end-stage of renal failure. The gifts provided by The Comfort Company offer memorial ideas as well as hope for healing hearts.