Saying goodbye to a pet

The life expectancy of most pets is a lot less than that of a person. While cats can live for up to 20 years, dogs can live approximately 10 to 17, budgerigars and canaries up to 12 years and smaller animals and rodents even less. Animal lovers are thus often confronted with the death of a furry friend several times in life. What is the best way to deal with this? The experts from Maxi Zoo give their advice.

As painful as it is to imagine the death of your dog, cat or other pet, you should think about it as early as possible. Most pet owners don’t feel like asking about things such as burial options when it comes down to sickness, an accident or, as is usually the case, old age. In many cases, animal bodies are disposed of in a way that some owners later regret.

Burial on your property

It used to be common practice to bury your pet in the garden. Today, this is restricted by regulations or only possible with the approval of your county or local government. There is often one general rule for being allowed to bury small animals like dogs, cats, birds, guinea pigs or mice on your own property. Animals must be buried at least 50 cm deep (19.7 inches), the garden may not be in a water protection area and they must not have died from an epidemic.

Dealing with grief

Some people display a lack of understanding to a person mourning the death of an animal, but don’t let that stop you from grieving. Find someone to talk to who also has animals to help you deal with your feelings. Some people buy a new animal straight away after one dies, others prefer to wait. This is completely up to you. The new animal should not look too similar to your previous pet, a different colour is often enough to avoid the new animal being seen as just a replacement and being constantly compared to the deceased one. One way to help deal with grief, especially for children, is to collect your animal’s favourite objects such as toys, collar etc. in a small box. You can keep this in the house in memory of your pet, or bury it with them in the garden.
