Survey spotlights support gap after pet loss
Bottom line
More than one in four people grieving a pet’s death received no support at all, according to a new survey highlighted by Pet Age, underscoring how often pet loss is still treated as a lesser form of bereavement. While the trade item did not appear to link to a full methodology, the broader pattern is consistent with veterinary and grief-care literature showing that pet loss is frequently “disenfranchised,” meaning grief isn’t always recognized or supported by family, friends, or workplaces. AAHA recently noted that veterinary teams are often the first, and sometimes the only, people to validate the depth of that grief for pet parents. (aaha.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is less about sympathy etiquette and more about care delivery. Research and expert guidance suggest bereavement support can shape how families experience euthanasia, whether they feel emotionally cared for, and even whether they return to the practice with other pets. Best practices don’t require teams to become counselors, but they do point toward consistent acknowledgment of grief, clear end-of-life communication, and routine referral to outside resources such as pet loss groups, hotlines, or veterinary social work services. (aaha.org)
What to watch: Expect more practices, aftercare providers, and end-of-life services to formalize grief-support workflows as demand for bereavement resources becomes harder to ignore. (petparentgriefsupport.com)
A new survey finding that more than one in four people mourning a lost pet received no support is putting fresh attention on a long-standing problem in animal care: pet grief is common, intense, and still often socially minimized. Pet Age reported the result as a sign that bereaved pet parents receive less support than people grieving a human loss across measures such as cards, calls, flowers, and meals. Although the underlying survey details were not readily available in the reporting we could verify, the finding aligns with a growing body of research and clinical commentary on the isolation many grieving pet parents face. (aaha.org)
That context matters because veterinary medicine has been moving, slowly, toward a more structured view of bereavement support. The AVMA’s long-standing pet loss support guidance describes companion animal loss as a legitimate source of grief that may be met with social disapproval, and veterinary social work programs have expanded in academic and specialty settings to address exactly that gap. Cornell, for example, has described veterinary social work as part of a more comprehensive care model that supports pet parents through serious illness, euthanasia, grief, and bereavement. (ebusiness.avma.org)
Recent reporting from AAHA adds a practical layer for clinics. In a June 9, 2026 article, AAHA wrote that veterinary professionals are often the first people to acknowledge the depth of pet loss grief, and sometimes the only ones who do. The article quotes hospice and palliative-care clinicians who argue that teams don’t need to function as therapists, but they should normalize grief, prepare families earlier for decline and end-of-life decisions, and make support resources easy to access. (aaha.org)
The clinical rationale is backed by published evidence. A national survey on coping after euthanasia found that many bereaved pet parents mourn privately and that the profession should work to identify accessible support resources. Separate newer research has also suggested that prolonged grief after pet loss is not rare: a UK study of 975 adults, published in PLOS One in January 2026, found that 7.5% of people who had lost a pet met criteria for prolonged grief disorder, and 21% of participants who had experienced both human and pet bereavements said the pet’s death was more distressing. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Industry response is increasingly focused on standardizing support rather than offering it only when grief appears obvious. AAHA’s reporting describes experts recommending universal bereavement resources because teams can’t reliably tell which clients are struggling most. That same article points to a business case alongside the human one: emotionally supported families may perceive the practice more positively, and post-euthanasia experiences can affect retention, trust, and future engagement with care. (aaha.org)
There’s also a growing ecosystem around this need. Pet Parent Grief Support Resources, a Gateway-backed site, presents educational articles, youth and senior grief materials, and aftercare brand connections across the U.S. and Canada. That doesn’t replace independent counseling or peer support, but it does show how aftercare companies are positioning grief support as part of the service continuum rather than an optional add-on. (petparentgriefsupport.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary teams, the survey’s headline takeaway is straightforward: many pet parents leave one of the hardest moments in their lives with little or no support outside the clinic. That raises the importance of simple, repeatable systems, including anticipatory guidance for aging or terminal patients, staff training on validating grief, take-home bereavement materials, and referral lists for counselors, support groups, or veterinary social workers. In a profession already strained by emotional labor, the goal isn’t to ask clinicians to absorb more grief alone, but to build care pathways that recognize bereavement as part of good medicine. (aaha.org)
What to watch: The next step will likely be better measurement, including more transparent survey methods and stronger clinic-level data on which bereavement supports actually improve client experience, team wellbeing, and continuity of care after a pet’s death. (aaha.org)