Why Your Pet Is More Than Family—A Therapist Reveals the Surprising Emotional Bond You Didn’t Know You Had
He said that sometimes, the intensity and the effect of a lost pet affected his clients the same as the loss of their primary family members. This is because our pet buddies, in the sense of attachment, are actually our real family members.
Josh explained that they provide us with stability and security, and there are plenty of examples where pets can be absolutely life-changing for people working through difficult times in their lives.
According to the therapist, the grieving process that we go through after losing a pet is identical to that of losing a close human being. However, our society often doesn’t see it that way and expects us to drop a couple of tears and keep going.
In the end, Josh urged people to let themselves take time to grieve their pets because, after all, they’re an equal part of our family. He also shared pictures of his own four-pawed family member.
People in the comments were moved by these posts, and they, too, joined in, sharing pictures and stories of their beloved pet friends and talking about the effect left by the loss of some of them.
Image credits: The_Weed
Image credits: The_Weed
To get some additional insights on the subject, Bored Panda reached out to an animal behaviorist, Julie Bond, who was happy to lend us her expertise.
According to her, there are some excellent reasons why we and our pets form such strong bonds with each other. Many animals, especially cats and even more so dogs, have shared their lives and co-evolved with humans for a long time.
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