Losing A Pet Hurts Just As Much As Losing A Loved One: Study Shows Grief Runs Deep
A new survey reveals that losing a pet can be just as heart-wrenching as losing a family member. Many pet owners experience deep grief, anxiety, and even guilt after their companion dies, highlighting the strong emotional bond between humans and animals. The study shows that society often underestimates pet loss, yet for those affected, the pain is real, lasting, and deserves recognition and support.
Losing a pet can hit a lot harder than people expect, and a new UK study suggests that the grief that follows can be just as intense, and just as long‑lasting, as grief over a family member or close friend. Of course, we all know pets are part of the family, but science is now backing up what many pet owners already feel deep down: when a beloved animal dies, the emotional impact can be huge.
The research, led by psychology professor Philip Hyland at Maynooth University, surveyed nearly 1,000 adults in Britain and asked about their experiences with both human loss and the death of a pet. What stood out was how many people really struggled after their pets died. Around 7.5% of people who’d lost a pet met the criteria for prolonged grief disorder (PGD), a serious mental health condition usually only diagnosed after the death of someone close, like a sibling or partner. Those numbers were almost the same as the rates seen in people grieving those kinds of human losses.
That’s a big deal because current clinical guidelines only allow for PGD to be diagnosed after the death of a person. In other words, if you’re devastated months after losing your dog or cat, your grief might not “count,” at least not on paper. Hyland argues that makes no sense, because the symptoms people reported, intense longing, deep sadness, trouble functioning day‑to‑day, were just as real and debilitating as those experienced after a human death.
And for some people, the loss of a pet really was harder to deal with than losing a human loved one. About one in five participants who had lost both a pet and a human said the pet’s death was more distressing. That may seem surprising to some, but it reflects how tightly woven pets become into everyday life. They’re companions, confidants, emotional anchors, often present during good times and bad, offering unconditional love and comfort. When that connection ends, the hole it leaves behind can be massive.
Yet even with all this emotional evidence, many people feel awkward talking about how much their loss hurts. Society tends to downplay pet grief, treating it like a lesser kind of sadness. People might shrug and say, “It’s just an animal,” or tell someone to “get over it,” which only adds guilt and isolation to an already painful experience. And because clinical definitions haven’t caught up, many who truly need help don’t get it.
The study also estimated that about one in 12 cases of prolonged grief disorder could be traced back to losing a pet, simply because so many adults form close emotional bonds with animals and because pets’ shorter lifespans mean owners face this kind of loss more often.
Bottom line? If you’re still grieving your pet months later, you’re not “overreacting.” You’re reflecting the real strength of the bond you shared. And maybe, just maybe, it’s time our understanding of grief caught up with the way people actually experience love and loss.
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