Losing anything in your life is a hard thing to get over with, especially when it is close to your heart. Similarly losing your pet is like losing a part of your body, which leaves unbearable pain with it, leaving a person in depression. The suffered person feels it as the end of the world, but all this can be prevented if proper measures and steps are taken. Some people, and believe me, its the majority of people out there, feel shy mourning over their pet’s death. They suffer from pain, but feel it as a taboo to have a little ceremony over its burial.
Everything that lives in this world is mortal. Their life is going to end at some point. Similarly, your pets are mortal, having a limited lifespan, which would probably be much less than your own life, unless you own a tortoise or something, who may live upto 100 years or even more than that. The most commonly owned pet, that is a dog, is the same, with which, people get extremely attached, as this pet also provides equal amount of love and affection to their owner, as their owner provides them with. But sadly, they don’t have a long life. They usually get to and ending of their life after living 10-16 years. The conditions get so bad at later stage of their life that instead of seeing them suffer, euthanasia seems to be a better option. So, a few methodologies to lessen your burden after your pet’s death are told here.
Usually when a person loses his/her pet, they go through these common phases of grievance:
- Guilt
It is the first phase, which comes to a person’s conscious. It usually happens if euthanasia is followed, or a pet is left on its own when a later stage of life is reached by them, and they started suffering. This phase includes blaming yourself for the death of your pet, which is usually not right, as the dog had to die at some point of time.
- Denial
It is the second phase, in which, the owner rejects to accept the fact that they don’t have the company of their pet anymore. People are not just ready to accept that they won’t be able to pat the backs of of their pet anymore, or would be able to play with them.
- Bargaining
It is the phase, in which, the question, “What if” starts pondering in the mind of the owner. The person gets totally lost in thinking about the questions like “What if my dog didn’t get involved in that accident?”, or “What if the vet would have saved it?” etc. This phase just makes a man waste his time, worrying about the past.
- Depression
Then comes the famous phase, the time of depression. Why did that happen? I don’t want to live anymore!, and stuff like this is imagined by the brain. The person needs to keep a good hold of himself, and not let this depression overpower the thinking ability.
- Acceptance
Finally, after reaching each and every step, you end up in agreeing the fact that your pet is no more with you, and it was NOT your fault. You finally are ready to grieve and have a mourning over the death of your pet.
A few ways, with which, you can always remember your pet are mentioned below.
- Some people find the idea of burying their dead pet, and having a memorial ceremony for it, an absurd idea. Being fearful from the society, they prefer not doing it, but if you would believe, it is one of the best methods to relieve yourself from the grieve of death of your pet. Organise a small ceremony, bury your pet, and just read a few good lines for it, after all, it was a part of your family.
- Don’t restrain yourself from crying. It has been scientifically proven that cries helps you to get relieved from a burden. Moreover, people feel it weird to cry on the death of an animal, but it is perfectly normal to cry over it. Donot feel shy or something about it. Just do it, it would really help you.
- Talking is meant to be good. Talk to your friends, family or relatives about it. If they were not much fond of your pet, then talk to your psychiatrist, counselor, or even your veterinarian. They would surely listen to you, and understand the pain and agony, that you are going through.
- Some good ways to remember your pet for the rest of your life is to get an imprint of the claws of your pet, and getting it framed. Collecting hair is really common. A pet is your closest friend, so it really will be missed, but no one can prevent what has to happen.
Losing a pet is one of the hardest things to suffer, but this has to be experienced due to short lifespan of animals. After your pet’s death, take some time, as you would always bear your pet in your mind, but it would take some time for memories to fade. Allow yourself to move on, and don’t get a pet real soon. Take some time and then go for a new pet, which must not be identical to the previous one, or remind you of the same. The death of one of your pets would also put an affect on other pets, but as would be visible, they would move on with time, which would be the same thing that must be followed by you on the loss of your beloved pet.