(In)visible sorrow: Mourning companion animals in contemporary society

This study investigated the experience of grief following the death of companion animals from the perspective of bereaved guardians, emphasizing the relational and existential dimensions of this process. It employed a qualitative, exploratory, and intervention-based study, conducted through an online support group comprising seven weekly sessions facilitated by psychologists with clinical and group experience. A phenomenological-existential framework guided both the facilitation and the analysis, grounded in hermeneutic phenomenology inspired by Heidegger. Among the thematic categories identified, two were particularly salient: (1) Grieving companion animals in contemporary society: challenges and barriers; and (2) Relational and existential dimensions of grieving for companion animal. Reflections on these themes reveal the socially disenfranchized nature of the grief for companion animals, its implications for shared being-in-the-world, and the participants' efforts to resist silencing and affirm the legitimacy of their suffering.