Do Pets Grieve the Death of a Companion?

Many people are often all too well aware that if a pet owner dies, and that pet is given to another family member to take care of, they will notice that the pet, whether it'd be a dog or cat, will demonstrate a period of loss for its former owner. The pet may be lethargic, and no doubt could be viewed as going through a period of depression and even grief every bit as powerful as when a person experiences the death of a loved one.

What most people may not realize however, is that pets will demonstrate the same grief if another pet member dies, especially in a multi-pet household. Pets can develop ties and bonds of friendship between each other every bit as strong and as powerful as we humans can. I know this to be all too true, for within the past few months, several of my friends who have a number of pets and have had one of their beloved pets die, have told me that the surviving pet or pets, have very much sensed a lost in their lives. They have told me that their remaining pets have demonstrated such behavior as from going from room to room as if in search for their missing friend, to acting completely lethargic and listless, to outright vocal sounds similar to wailing, howling or whimpering.

I can also testify to the grief an animal can exhibit when one of their "pals" dies. I've had pets, particularly cats nearly all my life, so there have indeed been many deaths of my pets during the years, and one never gets really used to the death of their pet companion. But one incident has stood out more in my memory than anything else in all these years.