The Human–Animal Bond and Grief and Loss: Implications for Social Work Practice

Abstract

The human–animal bond (HAB) is a powerful emotional attachment which often elevates pets to the status of a family member. Because companion animals typically live much shorter lives than humans, grief and loss is a problem that is frequently encountered. Disenfranchised grief over the loss of a companion animal is an area that is often overlooked by mental health professionals. Sife has developed a model for the stages of grief and loss specific to companion animals. Questions about pets should be a part of every initial assessment done on a client. Effective interventions include understanding the significance of the HAB and grief and loss; bibliotherapy; psychoeducation; the importance of rituals; and the use of pet loss support groups.

All Creatures Great and Small: A Review and Typology of Employee-Animal Interactions

“…As a consequence of difficult working conditions and unmet expectations, the work can manifest in guilt, grief, and anger (Anderson, Brandt, Lord, & Miles, 2013;Andrukonis & Protopopova, 2020;Whipple, 2021). Animal shelter workers (Anderson et al, 2013) veterinarians (White, Yeung, Chilvers, & O'Donoghue, 2021), and animal protection administrators (Wu, 2022) report emotional distress when caring for sick, injured, and dying animals.…”

“…Service animals live with their owners (Lindsay & Thiyagarajah, 2021), and most police dogs, live with their handlers (Haverbeke et al, 2008). While intimate bonds can benefit human workers both personally and professionally (Hart et al, 2000), they also intensify the loss when that relationship is severed (Whipple, 2021). Individuals who collaborate with service animals report severe and long-lasting bereavement when their service animals retire or pass away (Schneider, 2005).…”

“…They might choose to work from home or experience stress in trying to manage a full-time job while caring for their pet (Lima, Mateus, & Silva, 2022), causing time-and strain-based workfamily conflicts (Black et al, 2011;Christiansen, Kristensen, Sandøe, & Lassen, 2013). Pet owners unavoidably experience intense grief and bereavement upon animal loss (Schneider, 2005;Whipple, 2021). However, while companion animals are widely considered to be cherished family members (Fifield & Forsyth, 1999;Volsche, 2018), most workplaces provide no accommodations such as paid leave and may thereby exacerbate stress and distress.…”

Multispecies Families: Pets, Community, and Social Action

“…2 Related research and scholarship in Australia (Fraser & Taylor, 2017) and New Zealand (Yeung et al, 2020) further supports social work’s growing recognition of the role of pets to human physical and mental well-being and including them as members of the family (Irvine & Cilia, 2017; Laurent-Simpson, 2021; Rauktis & Hoy-Gerlach, 2020). For example, Whipple (2021) examines the implications of human grief over the death of a companion animal for social work practice. Hageman et al (2018) explore the perspectives and concerns of practitioners serving clients with pets who have experienced intimate partner violence.…”

Environmental social work through the African philosophy of Ubuntu: A conceptual analysis

“…Fears over environmental destruction and a general sense of disconnection from nature are finding traction in the social work knowledge base, activism and training (Jeffery, 2014). Concomitantly, there is need for social workers to know about the significance of companion animals in the lives of their clients (Whipple, 2021). Several aspects of human–animal interaction are relevant to social work, including the social support roles of animals, therapeutic benefits of animals and compassion fatigue among veterinary staff (Hoy-Gerlach et al, 2019).…”