When a bonded animal companion dies, surviving pets frequently show behavioural changes consistent with grief. Understanding and supporting grieving animals is an underappreciated dimension of companion animal welfare.
Animal grief is a welfare issue that is easy to overlook because grieving animals cannot describe their experience and grief is not a conventional disease or injury. But the evidence that social bond disruption following companion death causes genuine psychological distress in many species is strong. Supporting grieving animals involves maintaining routine, providing additional social interaction and stimulation, monitoring appetite and behaviour, and in severe cases seeking veterinary support. The decision to acquire a new companion animal for a grieving pet should be made carefully and not as an immediate replacement — introduction of unknown animals to a grieving individual carries its own welfare risks.