Grief over rabbits vs dogs

[BrunosMama]

Sorry if this is a weird post here, it didn’t quite fit elsewhere.

This weekend, my mother in law had to have her dog put to sleep. She was 17 years old, which apparently is very old for a pug. Obviously, MIL was devastated. But, she made a comment that implied her grief over her dog was more profound than the grief we feel over losing a rabbit because our buns don’t live that long (so we don’t get as attached or involved or something). I pointed out that I didn’t agree, and to be fair, we have had 10 year old buns pass away and that rabbits don’t have as long a lifespan as dogs and are far more fragile. And that I have had a few cats pass away at 15 years of age.

Has anyone else ever heard something similar or been told anything like that? Do you think its the length of time that makes a loss harder to deal with?

Personally, I feel any loss of a pet is equally difficult. Although, some may take longer to adjust to life afterwards if they have had a long life. It doesn’t make the more brief lives any less impactful.

I wonder if bunny owners are viewed differently, even looked down upon, by strictly dog or cat people because we may have multiple bunnies versus one very old age dog or cat. Or that we are somehow bad pet parents because our bunny died at 3 years old while their cat is still going strong at 14. I think perhaps bunnies, along with their owners, are somewhat misunderstood by a lot of people.

[LBJ10]

I think it has more to do with the level of bond you have. People often think of the bond between a human and their dog is very strong. People often do not associate this bond with a rabbit, but people certainly can and do develop very strong bonds with their bunnies.

[Author]

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