Comment on “Who am I now?” Loss of identity after pet bereavement by Carol Maietta.

I have been thinking about this exact experience of losing part of my identity since the loss of my dog a week ago. She was an Irish Wilfhound mix that I rescued 9 years ago. Her and I completed training to visit people in hospitals and nursing homes. This aligned with my retirement as a nurse. She was so beautiful, smart and loving that she was recruited to be in a ballet fund raiser called The Mutt Cracker Suite in Birmingham Alabama. She was also named as DoDah Days Queen and was in the lead car in a parade. I always knew she wouldn’t live much longer than 10 years old but made it to 11 in spite of lung cancer. No matter how you prepare, it’s this relationship identity loss you have articulated so well! Thank you