Pet loss causes genuine grief in humans — and animals may also grieve the loss of companions.
The grief humans feel when losing companion animals is real and often profound. Animals may also experience something analogous to grief — behavioral changes, reduced appetite, and altered social behavior following the loss of companions have been documented in dogs, cats, birds, and horses. Recognizing animal capacity for grief strengthens the moral case for taking animal social bonds seriously in welfare decision-making, including avoiding unnecessary separation of bonded animals and providing companion animals when individuals are housed in captivity.