Reflection

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK IN END-OF-LIFE & PALLIATIVE CARE 2017, VOL. 13, NO. 4, 215–218 https://doi.org/10.1080/15524256.2017.1385568

Grieving the Loss of a Pet Needs the Health System Recognition Bidhu K. Mohanti

Department of Radiation Oncology, FORTIS Memorial Research Institute (FMRI), Gurgaon, Haryana, India

ABSTRACT Globally there is increased presence of pets in the households. This non-human relationship, with its dimensions of physical and emotional bonds, can get severely jolted on the death of the companion animal. It sets a feeling, ‘our life is now left with a void and the house feels utterly empty’. Unlike the loss of a child, spouse or parent which become a shared tragedy; others may not understand the depth of sadness and a sense of void in a grieving pet owner. Emotional pain and physical distress due to the loss of a companion animal are likely to be pronounced. A big challenge for the medical community is to anticipate, identify and address physical and psychosocial symptom burdens in a timely manner.

KEYWORDS Grief; medical attention; non-human relationship; pet loss; symptom burden

Personal narrative

For several months now, a friend of mine, who lives in Hertfordshire County in UK between London and Cambridge, is in profound grief after the loss of his pet dog named Raja. During a few short visits in the last few years, I had strolled with both of them in the greens of the English countryside. My friend is a psychiatrist and a painter. He sent a small note to a few of his close friends with a painting of Raja, “His name was quite apt, as he really lived like a king. He was probably the only dog in the village, who roamed in public places without a lead. We were so fortunate to have him for 11 years, three months and eleven days. After a brief illness, while playing with the ball in the park he suddenly collapsed and died. Our life is now left with a void and the house feels utterly empty. For he was more than a child to us; unlike the children, he never grew up!” (Figure 1).

This brought back the memories of two family tragedies which struck within 1 week, 20 years ago. Father was a police officer and we always had dogs and other pets in the house. In our house at Cuttack, India, we had an open courtyard and a water well, and my father steadfastly opposed the idea of closing these immovable assets for the sake of modernizing the layout.

none defined

CONTACT Prof. Bidhu K. Mohanti drbkmohanti@gmail.com; bk.mohanti@fortishealthcare.com Department of Radiation Oncology, FORTIS Memorial Research Institute (FMRI), Sector 44, IN front HUDA Centre

Metro Stn., Gurgaon 122002, Haryana, India. © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

One afternoon, my father died while shaving his face. His body was taken out of the house and cremated. Three days later, unnoticed by the grieving family members, father’s pet dog Roamy climbed the stairs, jumped down into the courtyard quietly and was found dead.

Context of pet loss

In my professional career as an oncologist over the last 30 years, I have been sensitive regarding terminal illness, death, and bereavement. The family caregivers’ loss and grief at the death of a cancer patient contribute immensely to our professional comprehension and to understand the physical and emotional aspects of relationships (Granek, Tozer, Mazzotta, Ramjaun, & Krzyzanowska, 2012). In contrast, the above two junctures bring out our non-human relationships. This bond has the potential impact on our perception of health within the dimension of a family.

The biological concepts of human to pet relationship get strengthened by the oft quoted sentences, “man’s best friend,” and “pet is family.” In their shared space within a house, pets influence the day’s routine, fostering uniquely separate bonds with members in the family. A recent survey by The Humane Society of the United States (2017) showed that nearly three in five Americans have at least one pet in the household, with ownership highest among the younger generations of Millennials and Gen-X. The earliest

Figure 1. Portrait painting of Raja who died at Hertfordshire, UK on 21 April 2016.

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known evidence of a domesticated dog is a jawbone found in a cave in Iraq and dated to about 12,000 years ago (Gascoigne, 2001). Mahaprasthanika Parva of the Mahabharata, a chapter in the epic Indian mythology, describes the dog who accompanied Yudhisthir to the Gate of Heaven. It was probably a pariah dog, a breed common to Indian subcontinent. National Geographic states that over the centuries, different domestic dog breeds have been nurtured depending upon the geography, climate and social environment. All these are members of the same species, Canis familiaris. Although they have domestic temperaments, these dogs are related to wolves, foxes, and jackals.

Effect of bereavement

People who have pets narrate the benefits to having a companion animal. The considerable emotional stakes of sharing the space and privacy appear to be intrinsically rewarding. One young man, with two small boys and the couple as working parents, said about his pet dog, “he is a big stress buster for the four of us”. Here, his pet is the common denominator that helps the four to connect. Scientific and psychosocial studies reveal proven impacts on physical and mental wellbeing of pet owners irrespective of the age group (McNicholas et al., 2005). However, it is common knowledge that people do not own pets to enhance their health, they simply look to fill the house with warmth and joy. Advancing an appreciative understanding of human- animal relationship, medical and veterinary researchers delineate improved social connection, higher physical activity, and longevity in life for pet owners (Matchock, 2015).

The grief in the loss of a parent, child, and spouse makes us cry, talk and carry out solemn offerings. In our grieving process, we get sympathy and condolences. Whereas to face the feelings and emotions in the death of a pet quite often become an individual’s lonely burden. Others may not under- stand the depth of sadness and a sense of void. The pet owner will go through a bereavement which can remain unnoticed. This grief is not exactly binary and can be a spectrum to recollect the bond, gestures, playfulness and moments of success and failure she/he shared with the lost pet. It is time to realize that households with pets show exponential growth, in most countries of the world. Pets will die in these houses affecting the sleep, appetite, social and role functions of the family members. Emotional pain and physical distress due to the loss of a companion animal are likely to pronounce the health issues in the elderly and similarly upset the work life of the Millennials. The society needs to acknowledge these disenfranchised grievers and the medical community has to engage with their health care aspects (Selby et al., 2007). A big challenge is to timely anticipate, identify, and address physical and psychosocial symptom burdens of a grieving pet owner in the

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community. A separate paradigm of pet loss and grief in primary care is increasingly important.

“Me and you and dog named Boo; travellin’ and livin’ off land….”

-words from a song of Lobo, American singer and songwriter.

References

Gascoigne, B. (2001) “History of the domestication of animals” HistoryWorld. From 2001, ongoing. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=1813& HistoryID=ab57&gtrack=pthc

Granek, L., Tozer, R., Mazzotta, P., Ramjaun, A., & Krzyzanowska, M. (2012). Nature and impact of grief over patient loss on oncologists’ personal and professional lives. Arch Intern Med, 172(12), 964–966.

Matchock, R. L. (2015). Pet ownership and physical health. Curr. Opin. Psychiatry, 28(5), 386–392.

McNicholas, J., Gilbey, A., Rennie, A., Ahmedzai, S., Dono, J. A., & Ormerod, E. (2005). Pet ownership and human health: a brief review of evidence and issues. BMJ, 331(7527), 1252–1254.

The Humane Society of the United States.(2017).Pets by the numbers. Retrieved from http:// www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/pet_ownership_statistics.html

Selby, S., Jones, A., Burgess, T., Clark, S., Moulding, N., & Beilby, J. (2007). Disenfranchised grievers-the GP’s role in management. Aust. Fam. Physician, 36(9), 768–770

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