The Grief of Losing a Pet

Losing a pet is a grief the people around you often minimize. Discover why your loss counts, and how the God who made animals and called them good cares for them and for you.Losing a pet is one of those griefs the people around you tend to minimize. It was just a dog, they say. Just a cat. You learn to keep the grief to yourself, going to work with a hole in your day and saying nothing, because nobody hands out bereavement leave for a cat. But you know what that animal was to you. She was there when the house was empty. She lay next to you through the worst stretch you have been through, and she never once asked you to explain yourself. Losing her was losing something you loved, and grief is the reasonable response to that.This episode opens with Ryan Davis and his K-9 partner, Jethro, a German Shepherd who lived at home with the Davis family in Canton, Ohio, and slept on their pillows. Davis said he spent more hours with that dog than with his own family. One night in January 2016, they answered an alarm at a grocery store, and when a man inside opened fire, Davis turned Jethro loose and the dog went through the door first. Three rounds hit Jethro. Not one officer was scratched. Every bullet that could have struck a person that night struck a dog instead.People will tell you the Bible has nothing to say about a dog. Open it and you find otherwise. God made the animals and called them good, and Psalm 36:6 puts it plainly: "Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD." The God who runs the universe keeps the animals in His care. He made them on purpose, and He notices when a sparrow falls. So when you love one of His creatures and lose it, your grief makes sense. You are grieving something God Himself thought was good enough to make.The same verse that says He cares for animals says He cares for people. That is you. He stays close while you hurt over your dog, the way He is always close to the brokenhearted. He can handle a grief that other people wave off. You can bring Him the whole thing: the empty spot by the door, the leash you cannot throw away yet. He will not tell you it was just a dog.This episode gives you permission to grieve the animal you loved, and points you to the God who made it and cares for you now that it is gone.BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:Why grieving a pet is a reasonable response to losing something you lovedWhat Psalm 36:6 reveals about God's care for the animals He madeHow to grieve your pet before God, and how to comfort someone else whose loss is being dismissedYou do not have to pretend the loss was small. The God who made the animals and called them good cares for them, and He cares for you when you lose one.Share This Episode:https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/285Need Prayer? Leave me a voicemail:https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/voicemailWant to keep these devotions coming? Please consider supporting this podcast.https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/support/Rate and Reviewhttps://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/reviews/new/Connect with BartFacebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dailydevotionsforbusylivesWebsite: https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.comFeeling spiritually drained? Start here. Download your free copy of my eBook Making Time for Jesus here: https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/subscribe.