For some people, an animal is much more than a pet. They might be company when the house feels very quiet, a reason to get out of bed in the morning, someone to talk to when talking to another person feels too difficult, or simply a warm body curled up beside you when you’ve had a terrible day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Animals can’t make difficult experiences disappear, and having a pet isn’t a treatment for mental health difficulties. But the relationships we form with animals can sometimes become an important part of how we experience comfort, connection and everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Relationships with animals can be deeply personal. For some people, being around an animal feels easier than being around other people. There may be no need to find the right words, explain how you’re feeling or make conversation; you can simply be together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Animals can also bring routine and structure to our days. A dog still needs to go outside, a cat will probably let you know when dinner is late, and animals need feeding, caring for and interacting with. For some people, that sense of being needed can provide purpose and connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There can also be something comforting in the sensory experience of being with an animal \u2014 the warmth or weight of them beside you, stroking fur, hearing a cat purr or simply noticing an animal breathing peacefully nearby. For some people these experiences feel calming or grounding. For others, an animal provides companionship during periods when loneliness or being with other people feels particularly difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Animals can sometimes give us a way of connecting with other people too. Walking a dog, visiting a stable or simply talking about an animal can create small moments of interaction that might not otherwise happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is another side to living with animals that we don’t always talk about. They still need us on the days when we have very little left to give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you’re struggling to get yourself out of bed, your dog may still need a walk. Food bowls need filling, litter trays or cages need cleaning, medication may need giving and veterinary appointments still need arranging. There can also be the financial responsibility of food, insurance and unexpected veterinary bills, which can create considerable worry when money is already tight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes an animal can provide the reason someone gets up and goes outside. On another day, exactly the same responsibility can feel overwhelming. Both things can be true, and finding caring for an animal difficult when you’re struggling doesn’t mean that you love them any less. Sometimes it simply means you’re having a difficult time too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are struggling to meet an animal’s needs, asking somebody you trust to help with a walk, feeding or practical care can be one way of looking after both of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some people describe feeling particularly safe with animals. An animal doesn’t require you to explain yourself in words, and there may be something reassuring about their presence and familiarity, particularly for somebody who has found relationships with people difficult or overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Animals can also draw our attention towards what is happening in the present \u2014 the feeling of fur beneath a hand, the movement of a horse, the sound of a dog breathing or the practical task of filling a food bowl. For some people, this can provide a gentle point of connection when thoughts or feelings are overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important, though, not to assume that animals are calming for everybody. Some people are frightened of particular animals, while barking, licking, smells, fur or unpredictable movements may feel uncomfortable or overwhelming for others. Allergies, cultural experiences and previous experiences with animals can all shape how somebody feels around them. There is no right way to feel about animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Animals are sometimes included in therapeutic, educational and care settings. Animal-assisted approaches can take different forms depending on the setting, the person and the animal involved. Rather than simply having an animal present and calling it therapy, thoughtful animal-assisted work considers the needs of the person, what they hope to gain from the experience and how interaction with the animal forms part of that work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some people, interacting with an animal may offer opportunities for connection, communication or confidence, or simply the experience of being alongside another living being without everything needing to happen through conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Animal-assisted approaches won’t be right for everybody, and an animal’s presence shouldn’t be assumed to be therapeutic simply because someone likes animals. The welfare and comfort of the animal matter too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Horses are also sometimes involved in therapeutic work. Equine-assisted therapy<\/strong> can take different forms and doesn’t necessarily involve riding. Depending on the approach, somebody might spend time alongside a horse, groom them, lead them or take part in activities together, supported by appropriately trained professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For some people, working alongside a horse can offer a different way of exploring things that may be difficult to put into words. Noticing how it feels to approach, build trust, set boundaries or simply share space with another living being can sometimes provide opportunities to think about relationships, confidence and how we respond to one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There can also be value simply in the experience itself \u2014 being outside, noticing the horse’s movements and behaviour, using our senses and having something other than ourselves to focus upon. As with other animal-assisted approaches, equine-assisted therapy won’t suit everybody, and research into its effectiveness is still developing. Appropriate professional practice matters, as does the wellbeing and welfare of the horses involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If animals can become important relationships in our lives, then losing them can bring very real grief. For some people, the death of an animal means losing a companion who has been beside them every day for many years. It may mean losing the one who greeted them when they came home, slept beside them, accompanied them on walks, sat with them when they were upset or was simply always there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yet grief following the death of an animal isn’t always recognised in the same way as other bereavements. This is sometimes described as disenfranchised grief<\/strong> \u2014 grief that isn’t fully recognised, understood or supported by the people or society around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Someone may hear \u201cit was only a pet\u201d<\/em>, when the reality is that the animal may have been an enormous part of their life. For somebody who lives alone, has limited relationships, finds human connection difficult or has relied heavily on the companionship and routine an animal provided, the animal may have been at the centre of their everyday world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their death can therefore mean much more than losing the animal itself. Someone may also lose their daily routine, companionship, physical affection, reasons for leaving the house, connections with other people and the familiar presence that helped their home feel like home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There can be other complicated feelings too. Making decisions about veterinary treatment or euthanasia can leave people wondering whether they made the right choice. There may be guilt, relief that an animal is no longer suffering, anger, loneliness or memories of their final days that are difficult to think about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There isn’t a correct amount of grief for an animal, and you don’t need to minimise the importance of a relationship simply because the one you loved wasn’t human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps one of the reasons animals can matter so much is that the relationship doesn’t always need words. They can become part of our routines, our homes, our families and our memories, and can be there during some of the happiest periods of our lives and some of the most difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes they make us laugh or get us out of the house when we would rather stay under the duvet. At other times, looking after them can feel like one more thing than we have the energy to manage. And when we lose them, the grief can sometimes hurt far more than the people around us understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Relationships with animals are individual, just like our relationships with people. They don’t need to improve our mental health to be valuable, and we don’t need to describe them as therapeutic for them to matter. Sometimes they are simply an important part of our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cover image courtesy of Ancaro Project.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For some people, an animal is much more than a pet. They might be company when the house feels very quiet, a reason to get out of bed in the morning, someone to talk to when talking to another person feels too difficult, or simply a warm body curled up beside you when you’ve had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198,"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions\/198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.centredcounselling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}When an Animal Dies<\/strong><\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
More Than \u201cJust a Pet\u201d<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n