Bad Hand Dealt

How long is too long to mourn for something? This is a common question that people will not dare to answer. Nor should it be answered as a form of a certain amount of time for every situation. It should be looked at from that person’s perspective and nothing else. This is because of the factors that play with how each person copes with the death. A lot of times these factors are relationships, time of happening, and personality of the person who is mourning and the one that is dead.

First is relationship, and sadly this plays a major role. If you have a close relationship with the being who has died, then you will probably mourn longer than if you had disliked that person or animal. For example you have a dog that was very close to you. The dog slept in the bed with you, walked with you, and protected you. When that dog’s time comes to pass away, the owner will miss the dog and all of its attributes. Although let’s just say you had another dog and all it did was bark at you, and bite you every time you tried to pet it. You will be more apt to say good riddance when it dies or you will try to sell it to another dog owner in hopes that the new owner will have better luck.

Second is the time of happening, or if you were expecting it. For example say that your dog has cancer, you know that it is a matter of time before you know you have to put down your dog rather than letting it suffer. This can allow the owner to cope just a bit better because they know it will have to be soon that the dog will die. This way the owner is able to cherish the dog, love the dog just a bit more than they would normally. This is opposed to a dog having a heart attack and their life is gone when you get home, and could cause more despair from the owner than it would have otherwise.

Also there is the type of person handling the death of the dog. Some people are more sensitive than others, and some have no sensitivity at all. Also if the person is a farmer of animals that are killed weekly, allowing them to cope better with death than others. Sensitivity plays a major role with the attachment to the dog. As does having no sensitivity play a role in attachment. Some people will look at the pet as it is just a dog, yet loving and taking care of the dog at the same time. While some are attached to the hips of their pet and treat them as their own child. While others have hope that maybe when it comes to their time to go, that they may see their pet again.

Finally how long is too long to mourn for something? I feel like this is a bad question, because who are you to say that a person is mourning for too long. Instead it should be “What can I do to ease their pain?”. No matter the person there will be death in this life! The way that people handle this death depend on many different factors, that can include something other than a dog.