Is losing a pet the same as losing a relative?

[Thejewellershands]

This question has been inspired from another thread that I read this morning and got me wondering.

Do you think that losing a pet is comparable/the same as losing a relative?

I have a dog and two cats and on one hand if I lost a close family member and someone compares it to them losing their cat I’d probably be a bit annoyed. But then again, when I put myself in the position of losing one of my animals I know that I will feel utterly devastated and heartbroken. Grief is grief and loss is loss. But are they comparable? What do you think?

Mine definitely would be.

I've had two abusive relationships was alone for three years in between. Almost lost my life with the first one. Dog always been by my side. Im now with someone who trests me badly, and is emotionally unavailable. Hopefully not for much longer. Things would have been so much worse without my dog.

I hand reared my dog. I was there when her eyes first opened, I saved her life and she's now saved mine.

I've felt/been alone for years. But I always had her. She made me make friends. Go for walks. Taking her to the local pub meant people talked to me and I became part of a community. How lonely I'd have been without her doesn't bear thinking about. I walk to friends houses or the pub and I know she'd make mincemeat out of anyone who tried to attack me, she's proved she'd protect me more than once. She's meant I feel safe living alone. She's made me laugh when I wanted to cry and she's made me make friends.

Nobody else has done that for me..not many humans have done even one of those things.

If anyone tells me losing her will not matter as much as losing a human, I'll laugh in their face.

People seem to be reading the thread as asking about the death of one's pet vs the death of one's child. That's not what it was asking at all. I doubt anyone would even ask that question.

The question was about a pet vs a relative. OP does mention a close family member, which could mean someone one was close to, ie an affectionate relationship, or simply closely related. It's perfectly possible - as numerous posters have described - to have people one is closely related to die, and it range from severe grief to "good riddance". For the latter, for me, my pets weren't comparable, because they meant so much more.

Some people choose to move on, in time, with a new pet - that doesn't happen when you lose a close human. I think both types of loss are valid - but I think comparing them isn't right

Yes, it does. You build new relationships with new people. People do get a new best fried after losing one, a new spouse after losing one, and people do go on to have another child after losing one too.
It is not "replacing" them, as you will never ever replace what you had with the person you lost. It is new, and different.
The same applies when someone gets a new dog/cat.