Study suggests pet owners can experience prolonged grief similar to losing a person

Research published in PLOS One suggests grief after the death of a pet can be as chronic as grief for a human family member, and that grieving pet owners can suffer from prolonged grief disorder (PGD). PGD is described as a mental health condition that can last months or even years and often involves intense longing and despair, and problems socialising and going about daily tasks.

The study notes that, at present, only those grieving the loss of a person can be diagnosed with PGD. Three owners who spoke to the Guardian described long-lasting grief. Chris Mason and his wife Mireill, originally from Worcester and now living in Carpentras, France, befriended Julot, a cat born in 2004, in 2017; after a trip to the UK in April 2024 they returned to find Julot lifeless on their terrace, buried him in the garden and say "we haven’t finished grieving really".

Paul Kane and his wife adopted Walter, a French bulldog, in the San Francisco Bay area in 2017; Walter died suddenly aged eight late last summer from a fast-moving cancerous growth around his heart that ruptured and Paul says the family continue to mourn and look to his corner of the living room.

Key Topics

Health, Prolonged Grief Disorder, Pet Bereavement, Pet Owners, San Francisco Bay, Carpentras