Death In The Family
Recently, some friends experienced the death of their beloved dog, Buster. His pain was such that the vet recommended euthanasia. They held his paw and made eye contact as he took his last breath. Those final heart-wrenching moments will last for a long time.
People who don’t have dogs in their family cannot understand the dog-owning friends morning a pet. Sometimes they thoughtlessly say, “heck, it’s just a dog.”
For people who have a dog they love, they see it as the loss of a dear family member. That is a simple truth. Many people grieve the loss of their dog more than friends or distant relatives. According to research, the death of their dog is comparable to losing a human loved one.
Sadly, our culture has few rituals like a newspaper obituary or religious service to help people show their grief and receive support. There are some group sites on Facebook and sympathetic support from friends who are dog lovers. When you realize how strong the bond is between some people and their dogs, showing this grief would become readily accepted.
The Bond
You might ask why humans bond with dogs. Humans and dogs have evolved their relationship for 10,000 years. Anthropologist Brian Hare studied how dogs evolved from their ancestors, the grey wolf. His theory, known as the Domestication Hypothesis, explains how they developed the social skills to allow humans to interact in the same way as other people.
Dogs do not judge people. They provide their owners with unconditional love and positive feedback. In many ways, the relationship between a person and their dog is satisfying. Like the Bellamy Brothers song, Lord Help Me Be the Kind of Person (My Dog Thinks I Am).
Without a doubt, generations of selective breeding of dogs increased their ability to pay attention to people. Tests show a dog’s brain responds as positively to their owner’s praise as with food. Dogs recognize people and learn their emotional states from facial expression alone. Lastly, dog studies show they understand their owner’s intention. In some cases, dogs help their owners or even avoid people who treat their people poorly.
Not surprisingly, People respond well to absolute affection, assistance, and loyalty. Dog owners have better attitudes and smile more.
Like Family
Misnaming is another term for inadvertently calling your child by the name of their sibling. A study showed the name of the family dog can be part of a misnaming error. This suggests the name of the dog is in the same cognitive pool of other family members. The family cat name rarely has that issue.
Undoubtedly, this helps explain the sense of loss experienced by one who loses their dog.
Psychologists note that this pain is because to the owner, dogs are not just pets. Nevertheless, it represents the loss of unconditional love, a primary companion, or maybe even a protégé who was mentored like a child.
The entire daily routine is disrupted more profoundly than with the death of a friend or relatives. For many people, their lives do revolve around the needs of their pets. Lifestyle changes are the primary sources of stress.
Yes, the death of a dog is awful. People will grieve. Even so, most people will get a new one at some point for reassurance, companionship, and unconditional love. My friends will get another family dog. It will just take time.
Attributions:
Image by Jan Steiner from Pixabay