The DOI matches its Crossref record.
Pet Parents and the Loss of Attachment
Abstract
This chapter seeks to define pet parents; understand how the individuals experience the loss of a pet; and provide guidance to the clinician with a foundation for supporting grieving pet parents in practice. Far from images of trendy “pet parents” conjured by advertisements and marketing campaigns, invested pet parents are highly devoted individuals who emphasize welfare and quality of life for their pets. An ethnographic study of childfree pet owners found that terms such as “mom,” “dad,” and “the girls/boys” are frequently used to convey relationships between pets and owners in these homes. In 1984, A. Harris stated that “nonconventional human-animal bonds” put pet owners at risk for mental health concerns, particularly when euthanasia was imminent. Pets exist in a liminal space — not quite human, yet no longer “just an animal”. The presence of pets has been found to have mitigating influences on the loss felt during the bereavement of a child in the home.
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In the citing paper
“In particular, many people view their pets as children [84,85,86,87] and think of themselves as ‘pet parents’.”
From Disenfranchised Guilt-Pet Owners' Burden. (2022) · cites this paper as [85]
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Still being checked.
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Adkins, S. , & Rajecki, D. (1999). Pets’ roles in parents’ bereavement. Anthrozoös, 12(1), 33–42. · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Disenfranchised Guilt-Pet Owners' Burden.
Kogan, L. R., Bussolari, C., Currin-McCulloch, J., Packman, W., & Erdman, P. (2022) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani12131690 · Cited by 52
“, someone responsible for the physical, psychological, and financial support for those they care for [85].”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Volsche, S.
- Corresponding author
- Volsche, Shelly
- ORCID
- Volsche, Shelly
- Venue
- Pet Loss, Grief, and Therapeutic Interventions
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Published
- 2019-08-13
- Pages
- 55-69
- OpenAlex
- W2970486201
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 3.57
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Routledge eBooks (publishedVersion)
- ScholarWorks (Boise State University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
- Keywords
- pet loss, grief, human-animal bond, euthanasia, bereavement, pet welfare, mental health, clinician support
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Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Pet Parents and the Loss of Attachment. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.4324/9780429505201-5
- The paper
- Volsche, S. (2019). Pet Parents and the Loss of Attachment. Pet Loss, Grief, and Therapeutic Interventions. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429505201-5
