Reasons Behind the Decision

🌿 Financial difficulties

🌿 Life changes: separation, divorce, moving, the arrival of a baby, a career change

🌿 Health problems, either of the guardian or the pet

 🌿 Living conditions, incompatibility with other animals, behavioural issues

 🌿 Domestic violence or other difficult situations

An Act of Love

More often than not, this painful decision to give up your pet is made with love and the desire for a better quality of life for both your pet and your family as a whole.

Your Life After the Separation

Daily life may be challenging:

You may return home and feel the absence weighing heavily in the space

 🌿 You might find yourself waiting to see or hear your pet

🌿 You may seek information about whether they are doing well, adjusting, or if they remember you

🌿 You might feel the need to justify yourself to others or hide what happened, fearing judgement

🌿 You may wonder again and again if you made the right decision

🌿 You may feel that you have no right to grieve, as the pet hasn’t passed away and because you chose to give them up

There is no right or wrong way to grieve your loss.

Emotions You Might Feel

🌿 Sadness for their absence

🌿 Guilt & Self-doubt for the decision you made, wondering if there was another way

 🌿 Anger at yourself, the circumstances, or the people who led you to this point

🌿 Fear & Insecurity about your pet’s well-being in its new environment

 🌿 Doubt about whether you could have done something different

🌿 Shame for not finding another solution

🌿 Relief, knowing that perhaps your pet now lives in an environment that better suits them.

You might feel like you’ve acted selfishly, abandoned the animal, betrayed it, failed to live up to your expectations, your family’s, or the pet’s… you might feel like you’ve failed. Whatever you feel right now, it’s normal. Your love for your pet hasn’t changed, regardless of the circumstances that brought you here.

Even if you know your pet is still alive, you mourn deeply because they are no longer part of your life. Your grief is real and valid. Grief is not only about death; it’s about the loss of a loving relationship, a habit, a presence that meant—and still means—a lot to you.

The relationship with your pet was and remains important, regardless of the circumstances that led you here. The love you gave and received is real and will remain a part of you.