# Dog loss vs. human loss



## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

I don't understand something. It actually makes me feel very guilty. I'm pretty sure I'd take the loss of my dog(s) much harder than I would the loss of a close family member or friend.

Would you take it much harder as well? Why? Does it make you feel guilty? 

Does this mean we value the life of a dog much higher than a human being? Isn't that so very very wrong?


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

Zeeva said:


> I don't understand something. It actually makes me feel very guilty. I'm pretty sure I'd take the loss of my dog(s) much harder than I would the loss of a close family member or friend.
> 
> Would you take it much harder as well? Why? Does it make you feel guilty?
> 
> Does this mean we value the life of a dog much higher than a human being? Isn't that so very very wrong?


My dogs are my friends and they are part of my family. I don't feel guilty at all to be devastated when my canine friends die. In fact, in a way, I feel sad for people who don't understand my devastation because obviously they have never experienced that special love and bond. Isn't that sad?


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## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

I don't think you could just flat out say it is wrong. Some people have had very bad experiences with humans, have been very let down by family/friends and their dogs are the only source of consistency, love, trust and companionship so it would make sense that these people would take the loss of a pet worse than a human.
Personally for me it would not compare at all to loosing friends or family but I consider myself very fortunate to be able to feel that way........to have people in my life who mean much more to me than my dogs......many don't.


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## Ellimaybel (Mar 16, 2014)

I think that in some cases the loss of a pet can be so much more devastating because the pet can't take care of itself. You are the sole caretaker for that animal, often times you have to make the choice to put the animal down and you are left wondering if you waited too long or didn't wait long enough, there are so many questions that you may never know the answers to in the loss of an animal. Animals also (like children) are pure and innocent. I don't think it means we value life of animals over humans, just that it's an entirely different kind of loss. Comparable to losing a child over an adult.


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## MustLoveGSDs (Oct 31, 2008)

"Right" and "Wrong" are man-made concepts and are subjective from one individual to the next. What's right in my eyes could be wrong in yours, and vice verse. A loyal friend is a loyal friend, and some beings just have more of a profound affect on our lives than others, no matter if they walk on 2 legs or 4. So don't ever let another individual's version of what is right and what is wrong intrude on what you feel in your heart and make you feel guilty.

There are many dogs and humans I would not shed a single tear for if they left this earth. There are some dogs and humans in my life that every bone in my body would break for if they left this earth.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

I lost my first Boxer/Mix (Stewie) in an accident that was my fault! I was clinically diagnosed with PTSD. I was on drugs for years and afraid not to take them, was suicidal. That was 9/9/2001. When we moved to NV in 2003, I dug him up and he's in a box in my office! We will get him cremated this year and put him on the shelf with his buddies.

I have lost dogs since them but it's not the same, if it's your fault that can be pretty bad. All of us handle loss differently, there is no right or wrong.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

That is a tough one. I love my mom more than anything in this world so when my mom does die I will be beyond devastated, I cannot imagine life without her nor would I want to live without her. Sinister is the 2nd thing that I love the most, I will mourn his loss more than any other person in my life.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Zeeva said:


> I don't understand something. It actually makes me feel very guilty. I'm pretty sure I'd take the loss of my dog(s) much harder than I would the loss of a close family member or friend.
> 
> Would you take it much harder as well? Why? Does it make you feel guilty?
> 
> Does this mean we value the life of a dog much higher than a human being? Isn't that so very very wrong?


I've lost dogs and I've lost a brother. For me, nothing compares with the wrenching loss of my brother. It was a physical pain that stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move and I couldn't comprehend what my sister was telling me. This was something that happened to other people, not us.

I don't think there is a right or wrong. It's all very personal and depends on your attachment to your animal.


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## petite (Apr 5, 2014)

I've lost an aunt as well as a dog and I was devastated by both in very different ways. I was in shock when my aunt arrested and died hours later. It took me a good two weeks of seeming "fine" to everyone else as I comforted family, did chores while others were mourning, etc. for it to actually hit me. I'm not really a crying type but I did feel the intense sadness and loss belatedly.

With my dog I was sobbing immediately and it lasted for days. I felt so lonely and like a huge chuck was missing out of my life. My bed was empty. There was all this free time that was empty. Just a horrible, guilty and empty feeling.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Having to part with WD was much harder than when my father died. WD was part of my being, my father was my father, that's all. 
It does surprise me but not to the point of guilt.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

I think it depends on how healthy your relationships are, human or animal. If you have a loving, close relationship with your family, then of course you will feel their loss deeply when they're gone. Same with your pets. However, troubled relationships sometimes mean you cling closer to your pets and invest more in them because that relationship is uncomplicated.


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## lovemygirl (Jan 19, 2014)

Good timing on this post as I am currently experiencing this....

Eva's death has hit me harder than any human's death. I think partially it's because she lived with me - other deaths, like a family member who passed away suddenly and at a young age, I have been able to compartmentalize and deal with in chunks. But Eva... we spent every moment together when I wasn't at work. Literally. I didn't even shower or use the bathroom alone!  There is a huge absence in every moment, from not being greeted at the door to stepping out of the shower to an empty bathroom to not needing to fill up her food bowl to missing (!) our 4AM walks...


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

When Heidi passes, it will be the worst thing that ever happened to me. I hated losing my parents too. With people since we have so much longer with them, lots of times, we lose them little by little, especially if they live to an old age, so we are kind of ready for it. Of course not always, but often. With dogs, everything is speeded up and it seems like we have them for such a short time, even if they live their entire lifespan.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

It really depends on your personality.

For the most part, the loss of my dog would hit harder for me. She is my constant companion and a part of my everyday life. I trust her, she doesn't want anything from me, but two square meals a day and love. Her affection for me is unflappable and unchanging. There are no strings attached and I love the simplicity of it.

I lost my mom to cancer about a year and a half ago. That was brutal. Everything about it was like getting a knife in my heart and I miss her terribly. Besides my mom, my dad and my two sisters would devastate me to lose them.

Other than those people, my dog is a bigger part of my life. It doesn't mean I wouldn't be sad or feel a sense of loss for others, but I don't think it would hit me nearly as hard.

I really think some people have the same connection, or sometimes even stronger to their pets than to people. 

I for one, have some trust/anxiety issues with people. I'm actually really uncomfortable letting people get close to me, and that even goes for some of my closest friends. I am introverted and shy. To me, my pets are safer, and less complicated than humans. So I think I allow myself to become more attached to them, vs people.

So I think your personality has a lot to do with it. They say people get breeds to suit their personality, well the GSD aloofness, certainly matches my own! 

I also don't think it's wrong to love your dog more than you love most people. Your dog is someone who is always happy to see you, they don't nag (well, not much!), they are happy to just hang out and enjoy a comfortable silence.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

lovemygirl, your post is perfect. And I'm so sorry for your loss.

You're right, it's missing them at every moment that really hits you hard. They are never anywhere but at your side (like it or not!), how many people can you say that about? None, likely.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

blackshep said:


> I really think some people have the same connection, or sometimes even stronger to their pets than to people.
> 
> I for one, have some trust/anxiety issues with people. I'm actually really uncomfortable letting people get close to me, and that even goes for some of my closest friends. I am introverted and shy. To me, my pets are safer, and less complicated than humans. So I think I allow myself to become more attached to them, vs people.


Yes, this is me as well.


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## jafo220 (Mar 16, 2013)

I think it's different situations. With people, their loyalties, truthfulness and deceptions among other traits force fellow humans to kind of keep an arms length. Also there are exceptions to the rule with humans. But with dogs, you pretty much know where you stand in the relationship. I think this no nonsense primal connection allows humans that care opportunities to become closer to their dogs than other humans especially when the dog lives inside in close proxcimity.

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