To think it's not weird to be upset over the death of a pet?

[MaggieDoesntGoHereAnymore]

I don't think it is but a classmate of mine informed me today that it was because "it's only a dog/cat/guinea pig/fish/whatever" and "it's not like it's a person"

I thought it was entirely normal to be sad over the loss of a pet but maybe I'm wrong.

I love my cats. I would be very upset to loose them and my dcs would be devestated.

People who don't like animals are wierd.

People who hurt animals should be put down!

Aw you don't need a grip!! Sorry about your GP :(

Our two were right little characters. Really funny and at and cute and made us laugh every day.

I loved them too and was also very upset. Dd was too young to understand about the one who had died before but when the second died she knew what had happened and was devastated.

I mix with doggy people and some of them feel very strongly about their animals and I would never underestimate the strength of their feelings.

I love my dogs and would be devastated if anything happened to the but it isn't anything like the same as a human family member.

I look after the goldfish in the fountain of our communal courtyard. From the original five, we ended up with twenty six (approx. - hard to count). Then a bloody heron ate half of them. I cried over that ... (I've been a mother to those fish ... )

Of course the death of a pet can be extremely traumatising, and lead to a real sense of loneliness and bereavement.

But I still find it hard to equate that sense of sadness with the desolation a parent would feel at the death of a child

I have cried when all my cats died. And when some of the piggies died.

But I didn't cry when ds1's evil, bad tempered rabbit died last week (I gave scars where she scratched me, she once bit me on the arm and made a large bruise). I do feel sorry for her sister though who us now very lonely. Ds2 loves her to bits. God knows what he'll be like when she dies. Hopefully he'll have left home by then, so it may not impact on him as much.

I cried every day for 2 weeks when my first cat disappeared when she was 5. I was 26 at the time.

And when one of my cats was run over in front of our house with me watching (by a bastard BMW driver who stopped, looked, then drove on) I sat on the front path cradling him in my arms until he died. My neighbour across the road came to check if I was ok (I wasn't). This is bringing tears to my eyes just typing it and it was 10 years ago.

I think some people are a bit one dimensional!

I am always bemused by people who dismiss any kind of grief as being 'only a hamster/elderly distant relative' etc. Grief is a feeling, you can't turn it on and off depending on what someone else deems acceptable. Losing an animal is upsetting. Not as bad as losing a close family member or friend, granted, but losing my childhood dog came close to it. Pets that you have a interactive relationship with will leave a hole. I was way more upset over the dog than when my great grandmother died, for instance.

But no, it's not the same as a person dying (though I can image if you only have your dog/cat etc, and no family, then it must be very difficult)

I don't think there's anything wrong with it. My two felines are part of the family. When the time comes I know I'll be devastated.

A friend of mine is lining herself up for pet grief counselling and is planning to have her cat's ashes made in to diamonds. To the naked eye that may sound strange but she's been unable to conceive for years and I think she had the cat as a distraction from the situation. In her eyes the cat is the baby she's unable to have.

I can't even bear to think about life without my dog. He's only a year old so hopefully he'll be around for a long time yet.
As far as I'm concerned he is my four legged baby. I've raised him from the age of 8 weeks, he depends on me, its down to me to ensure he is fed, warm, dry, healthy, loved and provided for and I've trained him. I don't have any children as yet but I often say I can't imagine loving anything more than I love my dog but I know when I have babies that love will probably be a thousand times greater. I worry over the tinest thing with him and again it terrifies me how I'll be with a real baby. As far as I'm concerned my dog is past of my family and when the awful time comes I daresay I'll grieve for him in the same way.
I don't understand your friends way of thinking but I guess we are all different.

Of course it's not on a par with loosing a child. No one would say that who has a child. That's ridiculous.

However it's still devastating and I consider my cats family members if not human.

However as a former district nurse I visited many elderly people whose pets literally were their friends and I know of dome who died very soon after their pets did.

You can't underestimate the impact on people at certain times of their lives.

It's not weird to be sad (I think it would be weird not to be sad)

But it's weird to be as sad as you would be over the death of a person close to you.

Lizzy aw your dog is so lucky to have you and clearly you will be a great mother.

There speaks someone who has never had a pet I'm thinking OP. Cried my heart out when my little kitty, who was very ill, was pts.

Not weird to be sad at all. Our cat was knocked down a few days ago and the girls saw it. Dd1 has been crying every day. I cried when we were wrapping her up to take her to the vet because she was so badly hurt. It's not the same grief as I've felt when I've lost a human family member but still sad.

Of course it's not on a par with loosing a child. No one would say that who has a child. That's ridiculous.

I'm afraid I would have to agree with MrsDevere's response:

thebody people do say it. They say it quite a lot.

MrsD and partial just unbelievable, I
Mean obviously I believe you but that's bloody disgusting and a dreadful thing to say.

Maybe I should have added no sensible person with an ounce of feeling.

Aspiring so sorry.

Don't think I have ever cried as hard or as much in my life as when my favourite budgie died in March. He was my spoiled little princeling and I loved him to bits.

If loving one's pets is wrong, I don't want to be right!

I wouldn't even begin to equate the death of a pet to that of a child/parent/sibling etc

Nevertheless I grieved for my dog for several years after his death and still do occasionally. I've never felt able to get another dog even after 15 years. We have tortoises now - with luck they'll outlive us.

We've had our cat 9 years...she's 11.
I would be sorry if she died but not particularly devastated as she is not a cuddly cat..is rarely in the house.
Dd would be very upset.

Of course it's not odd to feel sad and to grieve if you lose a loved pet.

There are degrees of how 'normal' an amount of grief it is though. Having a cry, feeling a bit down for a bit = normal. Dramatically proclaiming your life is ruined and mourning a pets death for months, observing the anniversary of their death and keeping a dog bed/collar/tag/bowl in a shrine-like area of your bedroom (FYI what my sister did when her dog needed to be pts) = A bit less sympathy from me.

When our cat was run over a few years ago and taken to the local PDSA, dh needed to go and collect her as we wanted to bury her in the garden. When he came home with her, it is the only time (the one and only time) in ten years i've seen him cry.

I don't think I would feel that sad if a pet died as I'm not much of an animal person and, personally, find it difficult to become attached to something that's not human.

I don't find it weird that some people are. I understand that everyone has different kinds of emotional attachments. I do find it odd when people go OTT (such as the woman mentioned by XiCi - 3 weeks off of work? I was only given three days grace when my grandmother, who I was very close to, died. And even then eyebrows were raised.)

Does my lack of animal attachment make me an "arse", "weird" or a "person"?

I'm a vet and a pet-owner. The response to losing a pet varies enormously, but in general of course people are upset. If the animal was their only companion or the last link to a deceased spouse then it can be devastating. I lost my own elderly dog last year and was very upset for weeks afterwards. I hope it has made me more compassionate towards clients who are grieving or contemplating losing a beloved pet.

I would never compare it to losing a spouse or child though.

Id think it weird if someone wasnt upset at the death of their pet.

I will be beside myself with grief and totally distraught when mine eventually pass. I get tearful even thinking about it.