To wish people wouldn't post things on SM headed "Lost my little girl today..."

[CurlewKate]

...and mean their dog or cat? My SIL did it yesterday- and for an awful moment I thought she meant one of my nieces. Obviously I quickly realised I wouldn't have heard like that- but it was a a real shock for a second. People do it on here too...
Just me? Is everyone quicker on the uptake than me?

I hate it as well. Must be awful for a bereaved parent to see it and have their heart drop and then realise it is a rabbit or a cat they are talking about in words that imply that a child had died.

I'm so sorry that you are having to face that day.

Say that again??

I agree but I doubt the O P would have an issue with that as she would know they didn't have human children, so she wouldn't be shocked?

I agree. I don't have children, so if I said on SM that I had lost "my girl" then people that know me will know I am referring to my dog (and here I am frantically touching wood and hoping I wont have to post that for a long time!).

I believe it is definitely true in her case. I never got what I wanted for Christmas, I never saw Santa, she has no photos of me. Her current dog has birthday parties, professional photo shoots and is booked to see ‘Santa paws’.
She let me walk to school from a young age and left me home alone. Her dog spends less time alone than I did and she also panders for her dietary needs more than she did for me. I’m autistic and have sensory issues so meals were challenging for me and she made them much worse by force me to eat certain foods even when they made me vomit.

I definitely love my dog more than (or about the same) as my partner and he feels the same. There was a fire and my first thought was my pets and getting them to safety, my partner’s was the same. I think because they rely on us and I view human life as equal to animal lives. My partner does not rely on me the same way. I definitely love my pets way more than I love my parents but that may be due to the way they treated me.

I don’t yet a child and I may be surprised by my feelings but I imagine I will love them equally but differently to my dog. He is my boy and I would die for him without hesitation (unless I had children and then I would live for their sake). My mother has also said she does not want to live after her current dog passes. The dog is young so likely has at least another decade but she’s made it clear that the dog is her priority. I have personally taken a year out from study and work in the past after losing a guinea pig as I couldn’t do anything but think of him. It’s been 3.5 years and I still think of him daily so I do understand her pain.

I agree the language does cause a jolt but it's their business really.
Another similar one that gets me is the posts with a picture of lovely little child and "I miss her so much" and they mean the stage in the photo not that they have lost the child.
I think this is done for attention though.

Yes. Those threads make my heart lurch. Then I realise.
I have had bad experiences with 2 people who told me they know I feel after I lost my 27 year old son in horrific circumstances. One had an aunt whose dog had died and the other had lost her 20 year old cat.
As for the ones wailing about their child who has gone to university. I have no words.
If my child was alive anywhere in the world I would be so happy.