Dogs and cats form strong social bonds and can experience grief following the death or loss of a companion animal. Understanding and supporting animals through bereavement is an important but often overlooked welfare concern.
Animal grief represents one of the clearest demonstrations of mammalian social bonding and its welfare importance. Animals that have lost a bonded companion are not 'just animals that need a replacement' - they are individuals processing genuine social loss, showing physiological and behavioural indicators of distress that parallel human grief responses. Supporting a grieving pet requires patience, routine maintenance, increased attention and time before making decisions about new animal companions. The welfare of bereaved animals is directly relevant to decisions about multi-animal households - understanding the likely grief cost of loss is part of responsible pet ownership.