Even months later, the pain of losing a pet can still hit without warning.

The trigger might be noticing 91裸聊视频� again, for the umpteenth time 91裸聊视频� how empty the house feels since your cat died, without the pitter-patter of padded paws. Or stumbling across the leash of the dog you lost and remembering how it used to set off tail-wagging glee.

Grieving owners can feel doubly lonesome if the humans in their lives don91裸聊视频檛 quite know how to help, perhaps because they91裸聊视频檝e not themselves or feel awkward around grief.

How can owners and their friends with pet bereavement? Experts in pet loss offer these ideas:

Recognize that feeling awful is normal

For some grieving owners, pet loss can feel worse than a human death. That doesn91裸聊视频檛 make them monsters. Instead, it reflects the potential depths of human-animal bonds.

For some people, a pet is their most important relationship, 91裸聊视频渢he being that they see every single day, that maybe sleeps on their bed, that they cuddle with on the couch,91裸聊视频� says E.B. Bartels, author of 91裸聊视频� .91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭here are people who feel more comfortable with animals than with people,91裸聊视频� she adds. 91裸聊视频淪o losing those relationships can be really, really difficult.91裸聊视频�

Offer a sympathetic ear

People who haven91裸聊视频檛 experienced pet love may struggle to understand what it91裸聊视频檚 like to lose it. They may think they are being helpful by saying, 91裸聊视频淚t was just an animal,91裸聊视频� or 91裸聊视频淭hey were lucky to have such a loving owner.91裸聊视频� But pat phrases, no matter how well-meaning, can make grieving owners clam up and feel alone.

91裸聊视频淵ou feel like you can91裸聊视频檛 talk about it because people aren91裸聊视频檛 really empathizing,91裸聊视频� says Annalisa de Carteret, who manages a telephone helpline and other pet-loss support services for Blue Cross, a U.K. animal welfare charity.

91裸聊视频淛ust allow that person to talk about how they91裸聊视频檙e feeling, and you don91裸聊视频檛 need to comment,91裸聊视频� she says.

Avoid clich茅s like, 91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频極h, you can get another pet91裸聊视频� or 91裸聊视频楬e had a good life, he was a good age,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� she says. For the owner, 91裸聊视频渢hat doesn91裸聊视频檛 make you feel any better, because you knew all of those things. You just feel sad and just want someone to listen and to understand.91裸聊视频�

Bonds can run deep with any kind of animal

Another tip: Don91裸聊视频檛 assume that an owner91裸聊视频檚 grief is commensurate with the size or type of animal they lost, or the length of time they had them. The death of , can be as painful for some people as losing the cutest of fur balls for others.

91裸聊视频淢y friend91裸聊视频檚 dad has a koi pond and he loves these koi. And he was so upset when a raccoon got in and killed all his koi one summer,91裸聊视频� Bartels says. 91裸聊视频淪ome people would be like, 91裸聊视频極h, they91裸聊视频檙e just fish.91裸聊视频� But he loved these fish, you know?91裸聊视频�

She suggests that friends can offer practical help: A grieving owner who no longer has a four-legged reason to leave the house might appreciate the offer of a walk with a two-legged companion.

91裸聊视频淧eople can really feel they lose their community,91裸聊视频� Bartels says. 91裸聊视频淚n the morning you get up, you bring your dog to the dog park and you get to know the group of people who are there every morning really well. And that91裸聊视频檚 your social community. And so then if you lose your reason for going 91裸聊视频� you91裸聊视频檝e lost a lot more than just a dog.91裸聊视频�

Guilt often compounds pet loss

Up to 30,000 people contact Blue Cross each year for . Many aren91裸聊视频檛 simply sad but also are fearful that they may somehow have been responsible for their animal91裸聊视频檚 death or disappearance, de Carteret says.

91裸聊视频淕uilt is a really big part of pet loss,91裸聊视频� she says.

91裸聊视频淭hey maybe think, 91裸聊视频極h, if I91裸聊视频檇 done something differently, maybe they91裸聊视频檇 have stayed alive a little bit longer,91裸聊视频� or if they were stolen: 91裸聊视频業f I didn91裸聊视频檛 put them in the garden.91裸聊视频� Or, 91裸聊视频榃hat could I have done differently to change the inevitable?91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

For bereaved owners who feel more upset about the loss of a pet than about a family member, that can trigger more guilt, de Carteret adds.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 really normal,91裸聊视频� she says. But 91裸聊视频渋t feels wrong to say, doesn91裸聊视频檛 it? And people don91裸聊视频檛 want to share that.91裸聊视频�

Can a new pet help ?

Possibly. But it91裸聊视频檚 not a magic bullet. Each animal has its own personality and a new one won91裸聊视频檛 necessarily fill the void left by another. And if your previous pet was full-grown, you may no longer have the patience for kittens91裸聊视频� litters or puppy-training again.

Bottom line: Grieving can91裸聊视频檛 be truncated. The sadness and memories can be lasting.

Bartels lost her dog, Seymour, last June.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 sure I91裸聊视频檒l have a hard time again in June when it91裸聊视频檚 the year anniversary of when we put him down,91裸聊视频� she says.

De Carteret keeps her dog91裸聊视频檚 ashes by her fireplace, which was his favorite place to sit.

91裸聊视频淪ome people will think that91裸聊视频檚 weird,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淏ut, you know, that91裸聊视频檚 how I deal with it 91裸聊视频� You have to find the right way for you.91裸聊视频�