Losing a Pet Harder than losing a human

[Catherine]

This article makes some important points that I am sure that we can all identify with. Many of our human relationships are not as close as the ones we have with our pets. Our pets share our personal lives every day. Few people in our lives are that close to us.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/angela-hart...27058.html

Maybe we need to find words and actions that help us explain our loss.
Of course it doesn't help that many people we deal with are not animal lovers and they do not respect our losses. That is why we band together, so that we can be there for each other when we do have losses.

[Tobi]

Yes it can be difficult for some people to completely understand what it feels like to lose an animal companion. For some people their animal is the only living Being they share with on a day to day basis, through thick and thin, 24 hours a day. Animals fit in with us and our ways so very well too. And often towards the end of their lives, require nursing care which reinforces the bond.
With a human relative, often that hands-on care is done in a hospital, and that intimacy is removed from the family member/relative. Not so with animals most of the time.
I think we know they love us so much, and respond accordingly. So when they leave, it can be really tough.

Our animal companions may be the only Beings we are quite happy to be constantly with 24 hours a day. Though we like/love others, we quite like to have a little time here and there to ourselves. But often we don't feel that about a 'pet'. That kind of relationship is quite rare among humans.

[Catherine]

I feel perfectly at home with my pets around me. I don't have to dress up or act in a certain way. My pets take just as I am and it doesn't mater if it is a good day or a bad day. We are as comfortable together as an old pair of shoes.

You are right about the nursing an old pet. It makes you closer. The pet responds to the care and is happy to receive it. Every little thing you do for them, they respond with love and thankfulness. You feel so much closer when you have to care for an ailing pet.

People are not so simple or so nice. As people get old and sick they resent those who care for them and often treat them badly. People destroy bonds towards the end because they hurt the ones who care for them.

No wonder we miss our pets more when we lose them.
I still miss my Koi. I sat on the floor beside the tank and cried when they were dying. A lethal parasite got into the water and killed all of them. The loss still hurts.