The Difference Between Pet Loss and Pet Grief
The two concepts are often verbally interchanged yet most people nod knowingly that a change has occurred.
In the 1800 hundreds widows would go into mourning for six months or more and wear black clothes and a black veil to signal that a loss has occurred. Men would sometimes wear a black armband for the same reason. Today, men often wear a black armband to signal the loss of a son, daughter, soldier, or president.
The loss is still a private loss but the way of mourning is some kind of action taken to observe it, i.e. armband, veil, poem, music, cemetery marker, etc.
The action taken can be private or public, i.e. flag lowering, or parade i.e. New Orleans parade through the streets.
For pet loss, the action can be cremation, cemetery burial, urns, jewelry, music, poems, pictures on a blanket and movies.
Pet loss is permanent and devastating but appropriate grieving can help alleviate the pain.
For more information: http://www.digitaldataplease.com/PetLossAndGrief.htm