Grief for the Loss of a Pet: A Scoping Review on the Grief of Dog and Cat Owners

Abstract

The objective of this study was to synthesize the scientific literature on grief related to the loss of a pet. This is a scoping review conducted with no time restriction in the Scopus (Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands), Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics, Philadelphia, PA, USA), PsycINFO (American Psychological Association (APA), Washington, DC, USA), and PubMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA) databases. The research question was the following: “How does the literature address grief for the loss of a pet?” A total of 78 studies from 17 countries produced between 1977 and 2022 were retrieved, predominantly by North American authors (62.82%), with records concentrated in 2016 (10.25%). The studies validate the grief experience for the loss of a pet, highlighting risk and protection factors and rituals carried out by the pet owners when facing their loss. While this grief is often referred to as “illegitimate grief,” the scientific literature is increasingly challenging this terminology and advocating for its revision.