A NEW STUDY from Maynooth university has found that grief following the death of a pet can be as distressing as grief following the death of a person.

The research – ‘No Pets Allowed’ by Professor Philip Hyland from Maynooth’s department of psychology – showed that people can experience prolonged grief disorder (PGD), a disorder that causes symptoms including intense emotional pain, following the death of a pet. 

PGD was officially classified by the World Health Organisation in 2018. Those who meet the diagnostic requirements for PGD experience a longing for and preoccupation with the deceased and associated symptoms including feelings of guilt or sorrow and difficulty accepting the death.

Current medical guidelines do not allow PGD to be diagnosed following the death of a pet.

A survey by Maynooth of 975 adults in the United Kingdom showed that 7.5% of people who had lost pets met the diagnostic criteria for PGD.

This figure is only slightly less than PGD rates among those who have lost a close friend (7.8%), a non-immediate family member (8.3%), a sibling (8.9%), and a partner (9.1%).

The only categories that showed significantly high proportions of PGD were the death of a parent (11.2%) and the death of a child (21.3%)

The research also asked participants to compare their experiences of bereavement of a pet versus a person. 21% said the death of their pet caused them more distress.

Respondents also reported “feelings of shame, embarrassment and isolation as a result of expressing their grief for their deceased pet”. 

The phenomenon known as disenfranchised grief, negative social reactions to displays of grief, was particularly relevant to those mourning a pet.

The cause of death can also influence someone’s likelihood of suffering from PGD. This can be amplified by the unique challenges pet owners often face, such as deciding whether to euthanise their pet.

Hyland has called for PGD in the case of pet bereavement to be “recognised in the scientific literature so that mental health professionals can communicate with the public in an appropriate and accurate manner”. 

He believes this recognition would allow “people who need and desire clinical care” the opportunity to access it, and that the lack of recognition of PGD in pet loss is both “scientifically misguided” and “callous”.