Companion animals experience grief responses when social partners die. Understanding companion animal grief welfare helps owners and veterinarians support grieving animals through these significant life events.
Companion animal grief represents a welfare challenge that becomes acute during a life event that simultaneously affects the human owner. Grieving animals experience reduced appetite, disturbed sleep, and altered social behaviour that can persist for weeks to months. These changes indicate genuine psychological distress that merits owner attention and sometimes veterinary support. The owner is simultaneously managing their own grief while needing to support their grieving pet, creating a complex welfare situation. Clinical signs of grief in animals may overlap with physical illness requiring veterinary evaluation. Providing grief-supporting care including increased human companionship, maintenance of routine, and appropriate timing of any new companion introduction represents the welfare-positive response to companion animal loss.