Journaling Prompts for Grieving a Pet
Grief for a pet is real grief, and the frequent dismissal of it—the 'it was just an animal' responses—makes it harder, not easier. The relationship with a pet can be one of the most uncomplicated loves in a person's life: consistent, nonjudgmental, daily, physical. When it ends, it ends a routine, a presence, and a specific kind of unconditional company that can be very hard to replace. You are allowed to grieve this fully. The fact that it doesn't fit cultural templates for major loss doesn't make it smaller—it just makes it lonelier. Writing gives it the space it deserves.
Journaling Prompts
Write about your pet—not the loss yet, just them. Who were they? What were their specific habits, their quirks, the things that were only them? Let yourself remember them in detail.
What did your daily life look like with them in it? What routines are now different or empty? Name the specific absences.
What did this animal give you—emotionally, practically, in terms of connection or comfort—that is now missing? Be honest about what they meant to your daily inner life.
What do you wish you could tell them, or show them, or do once more? Write it.
What does this grief tell you about your capacity to love, your need for connection, the specific ways this relationship mattered? Let yourself sit with the size of it without diminishing it.