Coping with the death of your pet

Coping with the death of your pet

A short take on what you can do if you lose your pet...

It's heartbreaking when a pet dies. You realize how big a role they played in your life when they're gone. The death of a pet is something that you have to deal with. Whether you're an adult who has lost a pet, or if you even have a child whose lost his pet - you need to know how to console yourself and others.

When a kid gets a pet, it means they have a friend and that their emotions are going to extend way beyond what they had imagined. They provide unconditional love and a sort of comfort that would get them through good times and bad. When they lose a pet, it could lead to extreme depression and trauma.

Psycholgists believe that there are chances you may feel guilt, denial, anger and depression. Guilt. if you are responsible for your pet's death. Denial, you believe that your pet is still alive and you refuse to come in terms with the real bitter truth. Dhanvi Sharma, a psychology student who is doing a research on this says that the best thing you can do is to be honest about your feelings and go ahead and cry.

"Its only natural. And sometimes to fight that you have to come to terms with the truth. Cry your heart out," advises Dhanvi. Locking up all your hurt and grief won't help you so the only thing you can do is face it and relieve yourself of that pain. John Vincent, a photographer lost one of his dogs during his trekking trips. "I could not do anything. There were wild animals in that forest and well, Diego got lost. I found his mangled body after 2 hours. I could not forgive myself for taking him even," reminsces John.

John couldn't get over Diego for the longest time. He finally bought a new puppy that looked like Diego when he was a pup himself. "it was the one way i could get over Diego. He will always be my favourite, no doubt. But i realized there was no other way i could come to terms with his death," says John. There have been lots of instances where you get over the death of a pet by buying another one. Its allright to do that, but understand that this is not the right solution. If its your child that is concerned here, sit him down and explain that your pet has gone to a safe place. In the case of children, it is extremely difficult to explain but sooner or later, they will forget that they have lost a pet. But the after shocks would re surface when they get another pet. The fear that they may lose this one would linger around.

What to do:
1. Accept the fact that he/she is dead.
2. Give a decent burial so that you can accept that fact
3. Talk to somebody; friends, parents. Keep yourself busy.
4. Understand that all is not lost. Things will get better
.