Pet Death and Owners’ Memorialization Choices

Abstract

An increasing number of people view their pets as family members and the death of a pet often induces a grief reaction of comparable severity to the loss of a significant human relationship. Yet, despite similar levels of grief, the death of a pet typically does not involve similar rituals that allow owners to express their grief. This study was designed to better understand how people memorialize their pets through the use of continuing bonds (CB) expressions, as well as their choices pertaining to after-death body care, decisions related to taking time off work following the death, the impact of their religious beliefs on memorialization choices, and how their veterinarian responded to the death. An online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey was distributed to pet owners who had experienced the loss of a companion animal, resulting in 517 responses, most of whom were White (86%), female (91%) and resided in the United States (87%). We found that choices regarding the expression of CB in response to pet death are similar to those witnessed after human loss. This study is one of the first to identify the wide array of pet owners’ choices regarding memorialization and emphasizes the importance of recognizing individual choices. These results suggest that it is essential that those grieving the death of their pet be supported and reassured that there is no right or wrong way to grieve, with all options recognized as legitimate in the experience and expression of one's grief.