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Article Excerpt
The purpose of this article is to increase mental health counselors' awareness of the importance of pets in the lives of their clients and to provide a greater understanding of the grief process accompanying the death of a companion animal. A broad framework for assessing clients' attachments to their pets and conceptualizing grief as it relates to pet loss will be presented.
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Although examples of the connection between humans and companion animals have existed since the beginning of civilization (Clutton-Brock, 1995; Ross-Barton & Baron-Sorensen, 1998), there has been a dramatic change in the role pets play over the past few decades. Changes in the family structure and mobility in society have created an accompanying increase in the importance of social roles that pets play in people's lives. Surveys indicate that the number of families living with pets is now over 50%, and that the number rises to 70% for families with children (Gage & Holcomb, 1991; Marsh, 1994). Today more people in the United States live with pets than they do children (McKey & Payne, 1992). A high number of pets live in families, and a large number of pet owners (70%-90%) describe their pets as family members (Albert & Bulcroft, 1988; Cain, 1983; Fogle & Abrahamson, 1990). Clearly, companion animals have become an integral part of many family systems.
Over the past few decades, there has been a dramatic increase in research on the role companion animals have on physical and mental well-being. Studies indicate that pet owners, compared to non-pet owners, have lower blood pressure and less heart disease, loneliness, and depression (Akiyama, Holtzman, & Britz, 1986; Allen, Blascovich, Tomaka, & Kelsey, 1991; Anderson, Reid, & Jennings, 1992; Connel & Lago, 1984). Pet ownership also has many social benefits: Companion animals help keep people involved with social contact, provide companionship, assist in daily living tasks, and provide unconditional love and loyalty (Lagoni, Butler, & Hetts, 1994; Peretti, 1990; Zasloff & Kidd, 1994). Social dynamics between people and their pets contain many qualities similar to that of human social relationships, including the concepts of social support and nurturance (Bonas, McNicholas, & Collis, 2000).
Given the important roles companion animals play in the lives of so many individuals and given the potential impact of a death of a beloved family pet, mental health counselors can be of tremendous support to bereaved pet owners. In order to provide such support, it is important for mental health counselors to have a strong foundation in grief theory as well as possess knowledge of the importance of the human-animal bond. Such a foundation can give mental health counselors insight into a clients' social support network, coping skills, and previous grief responses. The therapeutic setting provides an excellent environment to assess, acknowledge, and support clients' grief related to the illness or death of a companion animal, especially given the lack of support for such grief in society in general. Finding means of reaching out to the veterinary community to serve bereaved pet owners is yet another avenue for mental health counselors to reach clients in need of emotional support.
THE BOND
The term human-animal bond has been increasingly used to refer to the types of relationships people have with their companion animals. This bond involves an emotional attachment to a pet as well as a genuine feeling of affection and a responsibility for the well-being of the animal (Lagoni et al., 1994). Pets are increasingly relied upon to meet numerous social needs. "The presence of pets increases feelings of happiness, security, and self-worth and reduces feelings of loneliness and isolation" (Sable, 1995, p. 335). Some people view their pets as companions, some as best friends, and still others as surrogate children. Pets can also be a source of support during personal illness or life transitions. Pets can provide great companionship through childhood or the many phases of adulthood. Pets can create links to people who have already died (e.g., dad's cat, brother's dog). For persons with disabilities, pets often serve as a bridge to the outside world by functioning as the person's ears or eyes or by increasing an owner's ability to be mobile (Ross-Barton & Baron-Sorenson, 1998). Gerwolls (1994) posited that thousands of years ago pets took on a protective role with humans; and, although currently that bond may not assure survival, it often results in companionship, unconditional love, and even vital daily assistance for persons with disabilities.
Lagoni et al. (1994) suggest three primary reasons that humans tend to become attached to animals. Anthropomorphism (i.e., attributing humanlike traits to nonhumans), neoteny (i.e., the presence of infantile characteristics), and alleomemetic behaviors (i.e., human behaviors that animals often appear to mimic); all seem to increase the likelihood of a bond forming between humans and animals. In explaining how attachment between pets and people may occur, Lagoni et al. pose the following tenets: (a) attachment is likely because pets need to be cared for and nurtured and that makes owners feel needed, (b) attachment is based on family member status and shared affection in companionship, (c) the affectional tie between owner and pet endure over time, and (d) attachment occurs because of close proximity to animals.
Loss of the Bond
When the bonds between family members and their pets are broken through a pet's illness or death, the owner's grief can be overwhelming. "Loss of a companion animal after many years of mutual devotion is an unqualified occasion for bereavement" (Weisman, 1991, p. 245). In their study on the impact of the loss of a family pet, Gage and Holcomb (1991) reported that over half the wives and one quarter of the husbands surveyed reported being quite or extremely disturbed by the death of their family pet. Furthermore, their findings indicated that for husbands, the death of a family pet compared to that of a close friend, while for wives the death of a family pet compared to losing contact with married children. The loss of a beloved pet leaves an individual bereaved and may also intensify symptoms of depression and anxiety, which are common reasons people seek therapy (Cowles, 1985). For some people, the death of a companion animal may be as devastating as, or more so, than the loss of a significant human relationship (Anderson, 1994; Hart, Hart, & Mader, 1990; Sife, 1993). The intensity of grief responses after the death of a pet has been associated with several factors including the level of attachment to the pet, type of death (e.g. sudden versus expected, traumatic versus non-traumatic), perceived understanding from others, other stressful events, means of death, and negative mood pertaining to one's own...
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