30 Quotes About Losing a Dog & Coping With Grief
Updated: October 23, 2023
By Puppy Leaks
The hardest part of having a dog is having to say goodbye, and it always feels too soon. When you lose a dog, it’s like losing a cherished family member. Research shows that losing a pet can cause severe emotional pain, and for many, the sadness can be overwhelming.
Grieving can make us feel isolated, and it’s a difficult topic to discuss. During these tough times, I’ve often found solace in the words and wisdom of others.
Hearing from others can remind us that we’re not alone in our grief. Words can’t erase the pain, but knowing that others have experienced similar losses can offer some comfort.
If you’re mourning the loss of a pet, I hope these quotes provide some small relief. They won’t erase the pain, but knowing you’re not alone can make it a bit easier to cope. Here are 30 quotes about losing a dog and dealing with grief:
1. “Nobody can fully understand the meaning of love unless he’s owned a dog. A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes.” – Gene Hill
2. “The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
3. “The misery of keeping a dog is his dying so soon. But, to be sure, if he lived for fifty years and then died, what would become of me?” – Sir Walter Scott
4. “There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.” – Aeschylus
5. “The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be.” – Konrad Lorenz
6. “Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” – Mark Twain
7. “I have sometimes thought of the final cause of dogs having such short lives and I am quite satisfied it is in compassion to the human race; for if we suffer so much in losing a dog after an acquaintance of ten or twelve years, what would it be if they were to live double that time?” – Sir Walter Scott
8. “Sometimes losing a pet is more painful than losing a human because in the case of the pet, you were not pretending to love it.” – Amy Sedaris
9. “If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” – James Herriot
10. “I guess you don’t really own a dog, you rent them, and you have to be thankful that you had a long lease.” – Joe Garagiola
11. “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” – Will Rogers
12. “They say time heals all wounds, but that presumes the source of the grief is finite.” – Cassandra Clare
13. “If there is a heaven, it’s certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own, it would take more than an archangel to detangle them.” – Pam Brown
14. “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” – Roger Caras
15. “Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs your heart is very big.” – Erica Jong
16. “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” – From an Irish Headstone
17. “Dogs leave paw prints on our hearts” – Author Unknown
18. “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” – Anatole France
19. “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.” – Washington Irving
