Human-pet bond -- Relationship of mutual benefit -- Human/animal dependency -- It's OK to mourn for a pet -- Responsibility -- Care providers -- Mutual bonding -- Pets and seniors -- Surrogate friend -- Grieving process -- Cultural influences -- Grief in all its varieties -- Allowing friends to mourn -- Shock and disbelief -- Defenses of the mind -- Shock and grief -- Acute grief -- Anger, alienation and distancing -- Objects of anger -- Healthy releases -- Reacting to those around you -- Denial -- Fantasy and other mechanisms -- Dropping defense mechanisms and accepting reality -- Guilt -- Guilt and bereavement -- Responsibility to ourselves -- Depression -- Phases of depression -- Feelings of suicide -- Withdrawal -- Healing stage -- Resolution -- Inevitability -- Cultural adjustment -- Duration of mourning -- Displaced grief -- Letting go -- Final stage -- Make a list -- Another pet? -- Readiness -- Taking the step -- Children and the death of their pets -- Our obligation -- Protecting children: how much is too much? -- Can children accept death? -- Explaining pet death.
