Allowing Pets to Mourn the Loss of Their Friend

Last week, a dear friend of mine lost one of her beloved bunnies. Having been through this before—many times, actually—since her home is basically a little animal sanctuary, losing a furry friend wasn’t new to her. But as she walked me through how she handled her bunny’s transition, tears overflowed.

Working in pet bereavement, I’m well-versed in different rituals and ceremonies to honor our animal companions. My friend had reached out to me for some suggestions, but in the end, she did all the things—and then some. One thing that really stood out to me, something I hadn’t even mentioned but that she instinctively knew to do, was allowing her other pets the space to mourn.

She first left her bunny where he had passed so that his best friend could say goodbye. Then, she gently placed him in a cozy setup—a basket with blankets—and laid him in a spot where all the other animals in the home could come and say their goodbyes. One by one, her cats and dogs approached, some grooming him, others simply lying beside him.

After some time, she brought him back to his pen so that his husbun (his bonded bunny friend) could also have a chance to process the loss. She told me he groomed his friend and stayed close to him for almost an entire day. Later that evening, when the time came to remove the body, she noticed that the husbun was no longer grooming and laying beside the dead body. She left behind the towel he had been resting on and also gave the husbun a small stuffed bunny. The next morning, she noticed that he seemed chirpy again, and later found him snuggled up to the stuffy throughout the day.

I remember one of my teachers in our *Death and Dying* course telling us that animals can smell death, and that scent helps them process what has happened. What my friend did here isn’t something everyone would feel comfortable with, and that’s completely okay. But I truly believe we need to bring back mourning practices—not just for ourselves, but for our furry family members as well.