No One Should Grieve Alone: Finding Support After the Loss of My Beloved Dog

Member Teenie shares her pet loss story.

I lost my English Springer Spaniel, Holly, on the 9th August 2025. Two months later, I joined this wonderful Pet Loss Support Group and have been so utterly grateful to be a part of this group. With this group, no one needs to grieve alone. 

Grieving is lonely and hugely difficult. 

Pet bereavement is a grief that is universally not given the understanding that it deserves. It is a disenfranchised grief, not acknowledged, validated, or supported by society. If someone loses a human family member, they usually get more support than if they lost a deeply loved pet. Pet loss is generally minimised. We are often told, "It's only a dog/cat/rabbit ...," "Get another." This lack of social insight into what their loss actually means to us is staggering and deeply insensitive to us. 

Other people's lack of understanding often makes us feel even more isolated and alone in our grief.

Often, people don't ask how we are managing without our loved animal. People often just have to go through this grief without much emotional support. This is so difficult because in many cases the animal that died WAS that person's greatest emotional support for years.

Holly was in my eyes, my wee furry daughter. I was ridiculed for talking in this way by a family member. I was told, "People die every day, get over it, it's only an animal." I was told that my dog wasn't important. The message was loud and clear that it's only an animal and they can be easily replaced. Well, our loved animals can NEVER be replaced. Holly was her own wee furry person. She had her gentle, loving heart and her own hugely expressive personality. She loved me deeply, and I loved her. 

Each animal is an individual, just like humans are. To suggest they can be 'replaced' is wholly absurd.

I shared my entire life with Holly for 13.5 years. She was with me through good times, bad times, and everything else in between. As a single person, she was my deepest emotional support for all those years. As the years went on, I cannot even put into words how our Love grew. It just got deeper and deeper every day. As the years went by, we just lived for each other. When I was sad, one look of love from her golden brown eyes was all I needed to melt my sadness. If you know, you know. If you don't know, you're majorly losing out. 

The hardest thing in living now without her physically by my side is to live without her deep love. 

Those looks softened me, her warm cuddles relaxed me, her soft fur, a little paw given, a gentle lick. To live without her constant deep love now is crushing. Holly knew me. She knew me very deeply. She understood my emotions. She tried to help me when other humans hurt or disappointed me. When the world outside was tough, hard, and unrelenting, Holly was a safe space to go to. Holly was soft and loving and intelligent. As the years went by, Holly became a very wise, emotionally intelligent dog. She picked up on my emotions and feelings and reflected back as I did with her. We would also pick up on each other's sense of fun and joy. She made me laugh so often, and she would encourage me to relax when the world got too much for me. 

No one talks about the depth of emotional connection people have with their loved animals. 

No pet is just an animal. They are loving, emotional companions. They are often a constant in people's lives for years. They embody home for us. Their loss is HUGE. My house is no longer a home without Holly in it. Its walls feel barren and cold to me. I have lost my deepest source of love. No wonder I cry every day. 

People assume that because it's been six months, I should be over her by now. I WILL NEVER be over Holly. No other animal will ever replace her. I will, in time, learn to live in this world without her by my side, but there will always be a Holly-shaped hole where I wish she were still with me physically. I will, in time, love other animals deeply, but the relationship will be different. 

How can one animal replace another? One human cannot replace another human. It's no different with animals. Why is there such a lack of understanding and education about pet loss?

Thank you, Sonia, for this group, so we can be together as we navigate our deep Losses. It's imperative that people have the support, understanding, and care that they need. Pet loss grief is deeply debilitating and heartbreaking. This group gives us a soft place to land when we no longer have our loved animal physically here to comfort us.

No one should have to grieve alone. Reach out and join us.