Anyone who lost a pet knows how painful it really is.

On the surface, it might look like an overreaction to some because for them, losing a loved one or a family member isn’t the same as losing a dog.

But recent studies suggest that with millenniums of evolution with dogs, people don’t see them as mere pets. And that at some point, the grief and stress of losing a dog can be greater or comparable to losing a friend or family.

For people who never had a dog, they can dismiss grief with “It’s just a dog”.

But say that to any pet owner and they will tell you otherwise. And since we don’t really have established norms about grieving for pets, the process of loss can be neglected, judged, and misinterpreted.

Where is this human-to-dog connection rooted? Why does it elicit this kind of sadness from us? What do dogs mean to us?

We’ll have to go back 10,000 years in the past.

Dogs are the only animals that have successfully reintegrated their evolutionary patterns with humans. So much so that dogs evolved specifically to be by our side.

Years of adapting and breeding gave dogs the ability to empathize, connect, and socialize with people, and that’s why we feel our love is reciprocated.

In some studies, MRI scans show that dog brains light up from praises from their owners just as much as they do with food. They can also recognize people, emotions, and facial expressions.

This helps us connect to them on a deeper level.

Another aspect that draws us into dogs is the fact that they offer one of the few opportunities for us to feel what unconditional, uncritical, and inclusive love feels like.

According to psychologist Julie Axelrod, this can be one of the reasons why losing a dog is painful. For her, it’s not just about losing a pet. It’s losing a source of unconditional love and companionship.

This can be particularly hard for children, most especially.

In an article released by Harvard, they shared that a death of a pet, like a dog, can be a child’s first encounter with a great loss.

As parents often treat their dogs as “brothers” or “sisters” to their kids, children have a tendency to attach to this idea and thus react accordingly to such loss.

Having pets also make people realize their capability for love.

Taking care of a dog meant investing time, resources, and emotions. Dogs give us the opportunity to provide affection, protection, and providence to another living creature much like us towards another human being.

When people lose that sense of purpose, it can be really hurtful for them.

So when you find yourself grieving for a loss of a pet, let yourself be.

You are not alone in having such feelings and the pain is totally understandable. Accepting and normalizing these feelings will definitely help us cope especially since humans will always outlive their pets.

They are family and will always be family. And hopefully, as more people embrace having pets, this culture of loss can find a whole new meaning for humans and non-humans alike.

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Source: Business Insider, Harvard, Psychology Today