Pet loss, grief, euthanasia, thanatology

Euthanasia of companion animals: a legal and ethical analysis.

anthrozoology — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:08:20 -0400

Passantino, A.; Fenga, C.; Morciano, C.; Morelli, C.; Russo, M.; Pietro, C. di; Passantino, M.;

Annali dell'Istituto Superiore di Sanita. Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Roma, Italy: 2006. 42: 4, 491-495.

In Italy, the conditions under which euthanasia of small pets is justified are only partially regulated by law, i.e., n. 281/1991, article 2 n. 6 and 9, by the later Ministry Circular n. 9 made on 10/03/1992 and by law n. 189/2004. Law n. 281/1991, besides delegating the job of birth control in cat and dog populations to the regions, has made it statutory that stray dogs may only be euthanized when they are "seriously or incurably ill or proven to be dangerous". The Ministry Circular underlines the fact that "euthanasia of dogs is prohibited except in special justified cases". On the other hand, due to the legal classification of animals as property, the owner has the right of ownership over his animal so that he can sell it and kill it (ius vitae ac necis). In this view a request for euthanasia is licit, whatever the animal's state of health may be. The authors feel that further legislation to regulate the question more completely would be opportune and thus they analyse the problems of legal-ethics and public health that a veterinarian faces when carrying out euthanasia, also bearing in mind the laws and codes of professional ethics. They suggest possible solutions which could be adopted by competent authorities.

Death of a Companion Cat or Dog and Human Bereavement: Psychosocial Variables

anthrozoology — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:09:22 -0400

Journal Society and Animals , 10, 1 , 2002, 93-105

Lynn A. Planchon, Donald I. Templer, Shelley Stokes and Jacqueline Keller

This study found that death depression, general depression, and positive attitudes toward, and attachment to, companion animals were associated with greater grief following the death of cats and dogs both in a veterinary client group who had recently lost their companion animals and in a college student group with a history of companion animal loss. The correlations of both the above variables and the demographic and death circumstance variables tended to be higher with the veterinary clients. Death of a dog by accident as opposed to illness correlated .81 with extended grief in the veterinary clients. Not having their dogs euthanized correlated .70 with extended grief in this group as well.

Bereavement Counseling: Using a Social Work Model for Pet Loss

anthrozoology — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:05:52 -0400

Journal of Family Social Work Volume: 7 Issue: 1 : 69 - 81

Approximately half of American households include at least one companion animal. These anilmas quickly become members of the family. When the animal dies, the human grieves the loss much as they would grieve the death of any family member. This article presents a social work model for assisting clients with pet loss. This model blends traditional grief therapy with the ecosystems perspective of social work practice, and applies that to loss specific to the death of a companion animal. Social workers must increase their competence in addressing issues of pet loss with clients. This model can provide a fundation for the development of the competence.

Couples' Perception of Stressfulness of Death of the Family Pet

anthrozoology — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:02:40 -0400

M. Geraldine Gage, Ralph Holcomb

Family Relations, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Jan., 1991), pp. 103-105

A survey mailed to 1,650 mid-life couples resulted in a subsample of 242 couples whose pet had died during the 3 years prior to the survey. Among the subsample who reported pet loss, about half of wives and more than a quarter of husbands reported they were "quite" or "extremely" disturbed by the death of a family pet. For husbands, pet loss was rated about as stressful as the loss of a close friendship, for wives about as stressful as losing touch with their married children. There was consensus on the rating of the stressfulness of pet loss by fewer than half of the couples.

And Then the Dog Died

anthrozoology — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:51:38 -0400

Kenneth R. Kaufman a; Nathaniel D. Kaufman b

Death Studies, 30, 1 2006 , pages 61 - 76

Childhood grief and mourning of family and friends may have immediate and long-lasting consequences including depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, behavioral disturbances, and school underachievement. Childhood pet bereavement is no less important, because the pet is often considered a member of the family by the child. However, society does not always acknowledge the significance of pet bereavement, which can result in unresolved grief. This article, a case analysis with literature review, addresses childhood pet bereavement in the context of multiple prior losses (K. R. Kaufman & N. D. Kaufman, 2005). This case mirrors both old and new findings in grief research and therapy: (a) beneficial response to emotional expression of grief in context of search for meaning; (b) beneficial response to cognitive approach toward grief with ability to prevent development of complicated grief even in the face of multiple losses; (c) beneficial effects associated with supportive family and with positive self-concept; (d) intensity of grief magnified by the child's degree of attachment to the pet, the suddenness of the pet's death, the multiple prior losses, and the role of the pet in the child's life; and (e) resiliency. This case further emphasizes the need for parents not to trivialize death of pets, to appreciate the role pets have in children's lives, and to assist the child in multiple approaches toward expression (be it verbal, written, or artistic). Finally, this case reinforces the ability of the child to assist in family bereavement and to serve as teacher.

Grieving pet death: normative, gender and attachment issues

anthrozoology — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:31:42 -0400

OMEGA: The Journal of Death and Dying, 47, 4, 2003, 385-39

THOMAS A. WROBEL; AMANDA L. DYE

Grief over the loss of a pet was investigated to clarify the usual course of symptoms experienced, gender differences in the experience, and the role of attachment to the pet. The sample included 174 adults who had lost a pet dog or cat to death. Participants were administered a modified CENSHARE Pet Attachment Survey (Holcomb, Williams, & Richards, 1985) and a survey of symptoms experienced. Results indicate that initially 85.7% of owners experienced at least one symptom of grief, but the occurrence decreased to 35.1% at six months and to 22.4% at one year. Males and females reported significantly different rates on six of 12 symptoms surveyed. The severity and length of symptoms is significantly correlated with the degree of attachment to the deceased pet. These findings indicate that pet loss can be a potential area of clinical concern, especially if the person's attachment to the pet was strong.

Euthanasia & thanatology in small animals

anthrozoology — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 20:09:19 -0400

Journal of Veterinary Behavior (2007) 2, 35-39

Moises Heiblum Frid, DVM, Alberto Tejeda Perea, DVM, MSC

Abstract The study of thanatulogy has recently taken on increased importance in the field of veterinary medicine. Today. the roles of Companion animals have expanded to include beloved pet and family member, provider of social and emotion support, and in the case of service dogs, provider of assistance to owners with special needs. For these reasons, companion animals have taken on greater significance within their human families. Their deaths can be as painful and difficult for their families as the death of human family members. Veterinarians are tasked with working in concert with the pet owner, throughout the lifetime of the pet, to promote the pet's health and well-being. In critical and or terminal situations, it is the veterinarian's role to educate the owner, so that informed decisions regarding treatment options or a decision to euthanize the pet can take place. In veterinary medicine, euthanasia means to end life painlessly. Veterinarians and owners, working in partnership to make subjective and objective assessments on the pets quality of life, produce the best results. For the veterinarian, the medical approach (including: clinical history, physical exam, laboratory tests, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment) can assist in assessing the pet's physical health status, any potential treatments, and the likely short and long term outcomes. The owner's role in the partnership is to subjectively assess overall behavioral changes and the pet's quality of life. Once owners have decided to euthanize their pet, there are still more factors to consider: where to perform the procedure, which family members will be present, and how the remains will be handled. The veterinarian can do everything possible to minimize any anxiety for the pet during the euthanasia, including administration of a tranquilizer prior to the procedure. The veterinarian will allow the pet's family time to say goodbye and educate them on what to expect when their pet dies. There is a possibility that other pets that lived in the same household may also experience distress at the loss of their animal family member. The veterinarian can let the owners know what signs may be signaling depression or anxiety in that pet. The grieving process is extremely personal and people must be allowed to grieve in the way that helps them deal with their loss. Veterinarians need to be careful not to minimize the owner's loss or grief. The owner will count on the veterinarian's guidance and expertise when making decisions affecting their pets well-being. Making an informed decision can help assuage any guilt about opting for euthanasia when done in the best interest of the pet.

Development of the pet bereavement questionnaire.

anthrozoology — Mon, 07 May 2007 00:34:57 -0400

Hunt, M.; Padilla, Y.

Anthrozoos. 2006. 19: 4, 308-324.

The death of a pet can be a significant stressor for some people and is a known risk factor for depression. The Pet Bereavement Questionnaire (PBQ) was developed to fill the need for a brief, acceptable, well-validated instrument for use in studies of the psychological impact of losing a pet. Initial results suggest that the PBQ has good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha =0.87), as well as good construct validity, with three distinct factors reflecting grief, anger and guilt. Grief was found to correlate strongly with pet attachment. The anger and guilt scales, however, correlated with depressive symptoms. The PBQ discriminated between individuals seeking support after pet loss (who would be expected to show higher levels of bereavement) and those who simply acknowledge the recent loss of a pet. We suggest that future research into pet bereavement use this new questionnaire so that the results of different studies can be compared, normative scores can be developed and researchers in this area can use a single instrument with established construct validity. In particular, we hope the PBQ will be used in treatment outcome research to identify high-risk individuals and test the effectiveness of both existing and novel interventions. Moreover, the PBQ could also be used in clinical settings, such as tertiary care veterinary hospitals, to identify pet owners in need of clinical support services.

Grief resulting from euthanasia and natural death of companion animals

anthrozoology — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 21:58:03 -0500

McCutcheon, K. A., & Fleming, S. J., 2001/2002,

Pet death, like other losses, requires that the bereaved adjust to the often severe consequences of that loss. Previous research suggests there may be specific owner characteristics and situational variables that can affect how individuals adjust to the loss of their pet (Thomas, 1982). The present study investigated the influence of a number of variables on how one adjusts to companion-animal death including: Cause-of-Death (euthanasia versus natural death); Attachment; Gender; Age; Time-Since-Loss; Type-of-Pet; Replacement-of-Pet; and Household-Make-up. Voluntary participants (N = 103) completed the Grief Experience Inventory (Sanders, Mauger, & Strong, 1985), the Companion Animal Loss Scale (Stallones, Johnson, Garrity, & Marx, 1989), and a General Information Questionnaire. Major findings indicated that: 1) owners whose pets died naturally experienced significantly more total grief, social isolation, and loss of control compared to owners who had their pets euthanized; 2) female owners experienced significantly greater depersonalization, death anxiety, and rumination compared to males; 3) younger owners experienced significantly greater anger/ hostility and despair than elderly owners; and 4) owners who lived alone experienced significantly greater somatization than owners who lived with others. Results of the present study suggest reasons why some owners may be "at risk" for excessive grief reactions due to the loss of their companion animal. The importance of providing bereaved owners with a source of mental health counseling is discussed, and directions for future research are suggested.