Ottoline SpearmanThe death of a pet can be as distressing as losing a person, new research shows. Of the people surveyed, 93 per cent had experienced both the death of a pet and the death of a person. The study found that people can experience clinically significant levels of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) following the death of a pet. Only the death of a parent (11.2 per cent), and in particular, the death of a child (21.3 per cent) were markedly higher. "The decision to exclude pet loss from the bereavement criterion for PGD can be viewed as not only scientifically misguided, but also as callous.”

Source: The Herald January 16, 2026 22:33 UTC