Recently, my grumpy and unhealthy old chihuahua finally met his maker. To put it lightly, I’m emotionally gutted over this loss. I think about Chip all the time. I’ve had trouble sleeping and eating.
However, I’m certainly not alone in my “fur baby” grief. A quick glance at Facebook reveals that there are hundreds of thousands of pet lovers out there facing similar losses congregating in “Rainbow Bridge” groups and the like. When you browse their pictures of the then-vibrant decedents, the animals don’t always look like much. But it’s still easy for me to imagine the value that this motley crew brought to owners’ lives.
One emerging, counter-cultural strain of thought about grief suggests that “anything goes” when it comes to bereavement. Whatever you feel, no matter the duration and intensity, is fine. Grief knows no rules.
Despite its obvious appeal, I have reservations about this “anything goes” view on grief. I think grief can indeed be improper, excessive, or otherwise misfelt. So I find myself wondering whether some people, many people, now grieve their pets too much.
How did we get here?
Well, “do people grieve their pets too much?” is already a bit of a trick question. If we have control over how (and how much) we grieve, it is only an indirect, circuitous…
