By Anthony Galindez
The loss of a beloved pet can be as devastating as losing a family member. Afterall, pets can be more lovingly unconditional than people. If only the amount of love showered on our pets can be equal to the amount of years added to its life, our pets would live as long as we want them too. But as everything else that has a beginning, so too, do they have an ending. Indeed the paradox of loss is at constant play with life: we are certain that everything ends but we are uncertain when it ends; we are certain how it will make us feel, but uncertain at how to deal with what we may feel.
So how does a man say good-bye to a beloved pet, companion and best friend who has given him its full attention, unconditional love and loyalty and even aid in daily living (i.e. blind people with their guide dogs and policemen with their canine friends, among others)? And once good-byes have been said, how does man cope with the grief and loss after? Needless to say, conditioning of the human mind even before a bond has been created between man and beast is essential and must be established. Man, the rational one in the friendship, and usually the bereaved survivor of the two friends, must keep in mind always that nothing survives forever, not even the ideal friendship of a man and an animal. Once the proper conditioning of the mind has been set, it is easier for man to face the reality of a future separation with his beloved pet.
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