Loss of a Dog: The Importance of Social Support
New research finds that losing a pet dog is
a stressful life event.
 |
| Photo: Muh/Shutterstock.com |
Sooner or later, all pet owners have to
face the realization that the lives of our animals are far too short. Grieving
for a lost pet is further complicated by some people who fail to understand what
a pet means. Comments like, “It was just a dog” can be very hurtful. A new study
by Lilian Tzivian (Ben Gurion University of the Negev) et al investigates the psychological effects of pet loss.
The study compared 103 dog owners who had
been bereaved in the previous 2 – 4 weeks with 110 owners who currently have a
dog, and who had not suffered a pet loss in the previous two years. The cut-off
of two years was chosen to ensure that people in this group were not grieving
an earlier pet.
Amongst the bereaved owners, 89% had had their dog euthanized due to illness, and 9% due to an accident.
Amongst the bereaved owners, 89% had had their dog euthanized due to illness, and 9% due to an accident.
Although the results will not surprise those for whom pets are family, they may surprise others who do not have an attachment to a pet.The recently-bereaved owners had higher
levels of stress overall. They also had lower
ratings for quality of life.
The authors write,
The authors write,
“The levels of Quality of Life in three of the four Quality Of Life domains (Physical, Psychological and Relationship) of current owners were significantly better than the levels among bereaved owners. These findings reflect the negative contribution to well-being of losing a dog…”
Social support was found to be an important
factor affecting quality of life, with lack of social support proving negative
for bereaved owners.
The scientists write,
The scientists write,
“In the case of mourning for a person, social support is very common and expected, but when a pet dies people do not always grasp the depth of the bereaved owner’s sadness. Lack of social support in the case of death of a companion animal may strongly affect owner’s grief reactions.”
They also say that the dog himself (or
herself) may have previously been a source of social support to the bereaved
owner.
The study involved standardized
questionnaires that measure stress and quality of life. The Physical quality of
life questionnaire measures ability to function, sleep and work, while the
Psychological scale measures feelings, self-esteem and enjoyment of life.
Relationships refers to people’s friendships and relationships with other
people. Only the Environmental aspect, to do with finances, physical safety and
the home was unaffected in bereaved owners.
All of the participants were female and
living in Israel. In an earlier study, the researchers had few male
participants and so they decided to concentrate on women. Although many studies
include more women than men, this raises interesting questions about whether
the expression of grief over a pet is perceived as more acceptable for women
than men.
All of the dogs lived indoors and were kept as pets, not working dogs. The bereaved owners were recruited via
veterinary clinics who verified the pet loss, whereas the other group were
recruited by different sources. Although many demographic variables were
similar across both groups, there were some significant differences. The
bereaved owners tended to be older and more were parents. Amongst the current owners
there was a higher proportion of students and more had never been married.
This is in fact a limitation to the study.
Because the two samples were not matched, differences could potentially be due
to other factors. However this does not affect the finding that levels of
social support were important amongst bereaved owners.
The study is a useful step in
understanding the effects of losing a pet on people’s psychological health. The
results confirm what many pet owners already know, that losing a pet is a
stressful life event. Perhaps this will help those who don’t have a special
bond with animals to understand.
What kind of support have you found helpful
when coping with the loss of an animal?
Reference
Tzivian, L., Friger, M., & Kushnir, T. (2015). Associations between Stress and Quality of Life: Differences between Owners Keeping a Living Dog or Losing a Dog by Euthanasia PLOS ONE, 10 (3) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121081
You might also like:
