The death of a pet can be a devastating event for the owner. It is important not to underestimate the impact on the pet owner.
Factors impacting the level of pet owner grief:
(1) level of attachment between the pet and owner
(2) role of the pet in the owner's life (substitute child, etc)
(3) severity of the pet's terminal illness
(4) manner of the pet's death (euthanasia, etc)
(5) mental health of the owner
(6) societal attitudes towards the death of a pet
(7) availability of emotional support
(8) presence of other pets, include acquisition of a replacement pet
The risk of severe or prolonged grief increases with the number of negative factors.
