Grief counseling after losing a pet: when it's worth it and how to find it
Counseling helps most when pet grief isn't easing after several months, when guilt is running your days, or when the loss has stirred up older ones. It's not a sign you're grieving wrong: 7.5%[1] of UK adults bereaved of a pet met the criteria for prolonged grief disorder in a 2026 study.
By the Pet Loss Grief Support Resources editorial team · Updated September 24, 2026 · 6 min read · Sources
- Clear signs it's time to talk to someone
- Who to look for, and what to ask them
- Ways to lower the cost, including free sessions
The honest threshold
When should you see a counselor about pet loss?
Most grief doesn't need a professional. It needs time, a few people who understand and something to do with your hands. Counseling becomes worth it when grief stops moving: when the loss feels as raw in month six as it did in week two, or when you can't function at work or at home because of it.
- You can't stop replaying the end. The vet visit, the decision, the moment you weren't there, looping for weeks.
- Guilt has hardened into certainty that you caused the death or failed your pet.
- Your life has narrowed. You've stopped seeing friends, stopped eating properly or can't sleep most nights.
- This loss opened an older one. Your pet was the last link to a parent, partner or a whole chapter of your life.
- Months in, the longing is getting stronger, not softer.
None of these mean something is wrong with you. They mean the grief could use a guide. If you'd like a private starting point, the grief check-in sorts where you are into "Raw and early", "Riding the waves" or "Finding your feet", with suggestions for each.
Free tool
Pet loss grief check-in
A private, two-minute check-in on how you're coping, with ideas that match where you are.
What the research says
What is prolonged grief, and can it happen after a pet dies?
Prolonged grief disorder is a recognized pattern where intense yearning for the one who died, and difficulty accepting the death, keep disrupting daily life long after a loss. The international classification, ICD-11, uses at least six months as a marker; the American manual, DSM-5-TR, uses twelve for adults. Both were written with human loss in mind.
A 2026 study of 975 UK adults[2], published in PLOS ONE, applied the same measures to pet loss. The rate after a pet's death was 7.5%, close to the rates after losing a close friend, sibling or partner (7.8% to 9.1%)[3]. Losing a pet carried a 27% higher[4] chance of showing symptoms than not having lost one.
8.1%[5]
Put simply: for a minority of people, pet grief behaves exactly like human grief that has got stuck, and it responds to the same kinds of help. Only a licensed clinician can assess this. For a sense of scale, our calculation applies that 7.5% rate to the number of US pets cremated each year: by our estimate, about 110,000 American owners a year[6] may reach the threshold for prolonged grief after a pet dies. Our pet grief timeline explains what the more ordinary course of grief tends to look like.
Credentials
Which kind of professional should you look for?
Specialists in animal loss exist, but they're few. One count, cited in a 2024 peer-reviewed study of pet bereavement support, found just about 80[7] accredited pet bereavement counselling therapists in private practice in the whole UK. In practice, a licensed therapist with bereavement experience who treats animal loss as real grief is usually just as helpful.
| Professional | What they're trained for | Good fit if |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed counselor or therapist (LPC, LMHC, LMFT) | Talk therapy, including bereavement | You want regular one-to-one sessions |
| Clinical social worker (LCSW) | Therapy plus practical and family support | Grief is tangled with family stress or work |
| Psychologist | Assessment and evidence-based therapy | You're worried about prolonged grief or depression |
| Veterinary social worker | Support around illness, euthanasia and loss at vet hospitals | Your vet hospital has one, especially before a goodbye |
| Certified pet loss coach or companion | Peer-style support after a short training course | You want structured support, not clinical care |
Titles differ by country: in the UK, look for BACP or UKCP registration; in Australia, a registered psychologist or an ACA or PACFA counsellor; in Canada, a registered psychotherapist or psychologist. Coaches can be kind and useful, but they aren't licensed to treat depression or prolonged grief. In England, adults can also refer themselves to NHS talking therapies without seeing a GP first, as the NHS page on grief after bereavement explains.
Before you book
What should you ask a counselor before the first session?
A short phone or email exchange tells you a lot. You're looking for someone who answers plainly and doesn't flinch at the word "dog" or "cat". Five questions cover it:
- Have you worked with people grieving an animal? How do you approach it?
- What does a typical course of sessions look like for bereavement?
- What is the fee per session, and do you offer a sliding scale?
- Do you take my insurance, or give receipts I can claim back?
- Can we meet by video if leaving the house is hard right now?
If someone jokes about "just a pet" or pushes you to get another animal to fix it, keep looking. Around a third of bereaved owners, 34.5%[8], have already been told it's just a pet. You shouldn't pay to hear it again.
Money
How much does pet loss counseling cost, and what lowers it?
Private fees depend on country, city and qualification. As one published example, a Calgary psychology practice charges CA$220/hour[9] for a pet-loss session, not covered by the provincial health plan. Fees elsewhere vary just as widely, so ask for the per-session price in writing before you book, and ask whether a sliding scale exists.
- Employee assistance programs usually include a handful of free, confidential sessions, and bereavement is covered.
- Health insurance may pay for therapy if a clinician diagnoses a treatable condition, such as depression or prolonged grief. Grief alone isn't always billable.
- University training clinics offer supervised sessions with trainee therapists at reduced fees.
- Veterinary hospital social workers sometimes support clients free of charge around a euthanasia.
If money is tight, a free helpline or group can carry you a long way. Our pet loss support resources guide lists free lines by country, and support groups are often free or ask for a small donation.
What happens
What does a first counseling session for pet loss look like?
Expect questions about your pet, how they died and what the weeks since have been like. Many counselors ask you to tell the story of the relationship, not only the ending. You can bring a photo. You can cry for most of the hour. Nobody expects you to arrive with an agenda.
Over a few sessions, the work often focuses on the thing that's stuck: guilt about a decision, anger at a vet, the loss of routine, or a feeling that moving on means betraying your pet. Research suggests how close you were matters far more than what species you lost[10], and good counselors work from that. If guilt is the main weight, our article on guilt after putting a pet to sleep is a gentle place to start before your first appointment.
Which kind of support have you tried since your loss?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Next step
Want help finding a counselor near you?
Searching directories while grieving is draining. If you tell us where you are and what you're finding hardest, we'll email a short list of counselors who say they work with animal loss, plus low-cost alternatives. We're a guide, not a practice, so we don't provide therapy. You can also compare groups versus one-to-one support before you decide, read our overview of pet loss support services, browse counseling and groups by area, or see which kinds of help other readers tried on the live poll results page.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
Which kind of support have you tried since your loss?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If your pet was put to sleep, which thought keeps coming back?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What helped you most in the first weeks?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Questions people ask
Is it silly to see a therapist because my pet died?
No. Grief is shaped by closeness, not species, and research on pet loss shows rates of prolonged grief similar to losing a close friend. Therapists see people for bereavement of all kinds. A good one will treat your pet's death as the significant loss it is, without asking you to defend it.
How many counseling sessions do people usually need after pet loss?
It varies. Some people find three to six sessions enough to untangle guilt or get sleep back on track. Others, especially if the loss has reopened older grief, continue for several months. Ask the counselor at the start how they usually structure bereavement work, and review progress together after a few sessions.
Will insurance pay for grief counseling after a pet dies?
Sometimes. Many health plans cover therapy when a clinician diagnoses a condition such as depression, anxiety or prolonged grief, but ordinary grief isn't always billable. Employee assistance programs are often the simplest route, with a few free sessions and no diagnosis needed. Ask your insurer directly what mental health benefits you have.
What's a veterinary social worker?
A social worker based at, or linked to, a veterinary hospital who supports families through serious illness, euthanasia decisions and loss. They're more common at university and specialty hospitals. If your pet is still alive and facing a hard decision, it's worth asking your vet whether one is available.
Is a pet loss coach the same as a counselor?
No. Coaches and grief companions usually complete a short certificate course and offer structured, supportive conversations. That can help a lot. They aren't licensed to assess or treat depression, trauma or prolonged grief, so if you're struggling to function, see a licensed therapist or your doctor.
Can I do grief counseling by video?
Yes, and many people prefer it. Video sessions spare you the drive and let you talk from home, sometimes with your pet's blanket or photo beside you. Check the counselor is licensed in the state or country where you live, as rules on practicing across borders differ.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] 7.5% of UK adults whose bereavement was the death of a pet met criteria for prolonged grief disorder (PGD). Hyland et al., 'No pets allowed: Evidence that prolonged grief disorder can occur following the death of a pet', PLOS ONE (2026), 2026.
- [2] The 975 UK participants in the 2026 PLOS ONE pet-grief study averaged 46 years old and were 52% women. Harvard Health Publishing — Losing a pet can trigger grief as intense as human loss, 2026.
- [3] PGD rates after a pet's death (7.5%) were close to those after the death of a close friend (7.8%), other family member (8.3%), sibling (8.9%) and partner (9.1%). Hyland et al., 'No pets allowed: Evidence that prolonged grief disorder can occur following the death of a pet', PLOS ONE (2026), 2026.
- [4] Losing a pet made people 27% more likely to have prolonged grief disorder symptoms than those who had not lost a pet. The Conversation — One in five Britons say losing their pet was worse than losing a person, 2026.
- [5] Pet death accounted for 8.1% of all prolonged grief disorder cases in the population (population-attributable risk), second only to parental bereavement. Hyland et al., 'No pets allowed: Evidence that prolonged grief disorder can occur following the death of a pet', PLOS ONE (2026), 2026.
- [6] Each year about 110,000 U.S. pet owners may go on to meet prolonged grief disorder criteria after a pet dies. Our estimate: 1.5M pet cremations (proxy for pet deaths with an engaged owner) x 7.5% PGD rate. How we calculate.
- [7] About 80 qualified, accredited pet bereavement counselling therapists were in private practice in the UK (Sadgrove, 2021, cited in a 2024 peer-reviewed study). Coping with Animal Companion Loss: A Thematic Analysis of Pet Bereavement Counselling (PMC11017691), 2021.
- [8] 34.5% of bereaved pet owners were told 'it's just a pet'. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
- [9] A Calgary psychology practice charges CA$220 per 60-minute pet-loss counselling session, which Alberta Health Care does not cover. Trio Psychology – Pet Loss Counselling (Calgary), 2026.
- [10] A Death Studies paper comparing pet and human loss found closeness to the deceased was overwhelmingly the strongest predictor of grief severity, whatever the species. Europe PMC abstract — Eckerd, Barnett & Jett-Dias, 'Grief following pet and human loss: Closeness is key', Death Studies (2016), doi:10.1080/07481187.2016.1139014, 2016.
Find a counselor who takes pet loss seriously
Tell us what you need and where you are. We'll reply by email with clear options and prices so you can decide in your own time.