Our pets are our most trusted, treasured companions. So when they die, our lives are never quite the same. We cry. We mourn. We grieve.
Perhaps that's why the "soulmated so hard" trend has been popping up on TikTok, where users are posting tributes to their dearly departed furry friends (and making people cry in the process). On one such video, the choked-up comments kept coming: "The worst part of having a dog. They’re just not here long enough." "Great, now I’m going to bed crying." "Remember that as long as (you) did your best as a pet parent, your pet had the best life possible!"
Grief experts often talk of disenfranchised grief, or a loss not openly acknowledged, socially mourned or publicly supported, according to Loree Johnson, a licensed marriage and family therapist. They say it is valid, and this trend highlights its possible impact and catharsis.
"This is a more modern reflection of how people are learning to tend to either deep anticipatory grief or a sense of disenfranchised grief," says Gina Moffa, LCSW, grief and trauma therapist in New York City, and author of "Moving On Doesn't Mean Letting Go: A Modern Guide to Navigating Loss." "It normalizes pet loss, and the importance of our beloved pets in our lives in a way society sometimes fails to recognize or honor."
