Some Companies Are Offering Paid Time Off After A Pet’s Death

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Losing a pet can be like losing a family member, and your grief can be just as heavy.

In times of mourning, showing up to work can be a difficult feat. Fortunately, some companies are beginning to recognize this, and they have begun offering “pet bereavement days”—paid time-off for employees to mourn the death of a pet. Although the practice isn’t currently mainstream by any means, companies such as Maxwell Health, Trupanion, and Kimpton have begun to enact these policies, according to the Huffington Post.

Per the Humane Society, it’s perfectly normal to experience the same sorrow after a pet dies as you would for a human, even if other friends and family don’t quite understand it. You might even go through the same stages of grief. The stages of grief typically look something like this:

  1. Denial and Isolation
  2. Anger
  3. Bargaining (Thinking “if only…”)
  4. Depression
  5. Acceptance

If you’ve experienced the loss of a beloved pet, you can probably relate to the grieving period that follows. For those in the midst of it, there is an organization called The Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement that hosts support groups in a number of states.

Hopefully other companies will start catching on and offering paid days off to all employees who have lost a beloved part of their family.

Photo by pocketwiley

Animals, Work
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About the Author
Carina Wolff
Carina is a health and wellness journalist based in Los Angeles. When she’s not writing, doing yoga, or exploring mountains and beaches, she spends her time cooking and creating recipes for her healthy food blog, Kale Me Maybe. Carina is also an ongoing writer for Bustle, Reader's Digest, FabFitFun, and more.

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