Content warning: Animal death

I’ve noticed that society usually invalidates grief over the death or suffering of animals.

Two examples:

  1. Personal grief. When my dear dog Rizzo passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, which remains the single worst day of my life, the vet who was overseeing things (and who was a lovely and considerate person) told me, after Rizzo had just died, “Go home and have a glass of red wine.” I’m not sure if this is advice you would receive after the death of a human child.
  2. General grief over the suffering of non-humans in the world. On a typical work day, I might work my butt off trying to make the lives of farmed fish or chickens a little bit less awful. Then to unwind, I’ll go and visit family (who are lovely and considerate people), only to have to sit there and watch them cook and eat one of the animals I was trying to help.

In both cases, the person is totally lovely and wonderful person whom I’m grateful to have in my life, and in neither case is the person deliberately trying to cause harm. Both are consequences of the way that society and its values are set up.

Fortunately (or not?), grief about non-human suffering is receiving more attention and validation in the context of environmental grief—a topic that my dear friend and I wrote a paper about.