The most difficult part of grief over the death of a pet is that probably no one except you understands your grief. Somehow or the other, the death of an animal is hard for people to compare with the death of a human being. It is only you and your family who understand how close a companion the pet had been. Grief on the death of a pet is normal and the extent largely depends upon your bond with the pet. Children are especially fond of pets and it affects them the most.
How the child is affected by the death of a pet also depends on the age of the child. Up to a certain age, children are unable to understand the permanency of death. They are likely to keep asking questions about the absence of their loved pet when they do not see him around. It is only after they are explained that they realize that the pet is gone forever. Managing pet grief in children is all about explaining irreversibility of death if the child is old enough or simply by hugging and holding just as you would when the child is disturbed due to another reason.
