Fido Forever
Pets are part of the family. And when they die, owners are devastated.
July 21, 2004
by Pierre-André Normandin
La Presse
Diana Moisan took the death of her dog Rocky
very badly. On October 19th, 2002, the Saint-Lin resident
euthanised her huge schnauzer that suffered from devastating
cancer. Unable to part from it, she cremated it to preserve its
ashes. Even today, she sometimes greets the box containing her
dog’s ashes, which she keeps on the shelf of her office.
It took many months for Mrs. Moisan to
overcome the death of her pet. “I arrived home in tears, I had
lost something irreplaceable”, she confesses. “I even found this
more difficult than when I lost people whom I knew.” This
reaction does not surprise Psychologist Annique Lavergne, who
studied the question of animal mourning during her doctorate in
the University of Laval. In a study conducted with 281 owners
who had plunged into mourning, she discovered that an animal is
an integral part of the family. Some people even treat their dog
as their child. The high degree of devotion and the suddenness
of the death can increase the level of misery.
Make mourning commonplace
Loved ones of a mourning person often have the
tendency to trivialize their pain. They often think that it is
enough to purchase a new animal to alleviate the pain. However,
the purchase of a new schnauzer in Diana Moisan's family first
created shock. “I rejected him in the beginning. I thought that
Chopin wanted to replace Rocky, but he only filled an empty
space”, she says now. Due to the lack of information, Diana
Moisan and a friend founded a help group on the Internet. Every
month, a person sends them a distress call.
The Internet allows them to mourn privately.
For the past six months, the site ILovedMyPet.com has provided
the possibility of creating a free online memorial for a
deceased pet. More than 5000 cats and dogs from everywhere in
the world, now have a virtual monument consisting of photographs
and poems.
(Translated into English from the French language article
which appeared in La Presse, Wednesday, July 21, 2004)
For More Information Contact:
ILovedMyPet.com
Email: support@ilovedmypet.com
Internet: http://www.ilovedmypet.com
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