Sadly, I think the attitude of a lot of people in general is something along the lines of "It's just a pet, get over it" or "It's just a pet, you can get another one." They don't consider that, for us animal lovers, are animals are our friends and family members.

I have gotten, and continue to get, the "just get over it" attitude from my two sisters, even though they have cats, so you'd think they'd be sympathetic. I continue to grieve my dog, Sandy, who passed away over a year ago, because she was such a big part of my life. I don't believe that a true animal lover can just get over the death of a beloved animal friend in a matter of weeks, and it's cruel for someone to expect that of you.

This is one of the reasons why, when considering going into therapy to help me cope with Sandy's death, I've always changed my mind. I'm afraid that a counselor would say something like, "It's been over a year already, and she was just a dog..."