Is it possible to get PTSD from the death of a pet?

[eveningprimrose]

I was just wondering...because there was a website which claimed that you can, indeed, get PTSD from the death of a pet. There was a news agency that kind of made fun of the website's claim, saying that there is this "trauma gold rush" in which everyone claims that anything can cause PTSD.

This is just my opinion, and I posted this thread to see how far from the truth my opinion is, but I believe that you can get PTSD from the death of a pet. I witnessed the euthanasia of my 10 year old dog late in 2013, and although it didn't cause me any PTSD, it was not pleasant, and I still feel a bit sad nowadays.

I don't want to offend anyone, or say that ANYTHING can cause PTSD. I'm just saying that, in my opinion, you can get PTSD from witnessing the death of a pet, especially a pet as complex as a dog. But once again, I'd like to see whether or not my opinion is true.

[Dogshavefeelingstoo]

Also I'm a male not a female don't know why it won't it won't let me change that.

[Dogshavefeelingstoo]

I had a dog I lost to parvo. I didn't witness his euthanasia. I was too busy cleaning up all the blood off of my floor and bed while my sister took him to the vet because that's how serious it was. I didn't see him again. Now I'm taking care of one of his puppies and everyday i tell myself "i could have done better" even though I had nothing to do with him getting parvo. Shortly after his death i started having dreams about killing people. In one of these dreams I even died and went to heaven, where I saw him. I think about it everyday.i can't stop thinking about it. I've tried and tried, but I can't. It always comes back eventually. Anyone who says you can't get ptsd from losing a pet is a liar. Soldiers get it from losing buddies, not from killing or having their life endangered. So how is it any different from when someone loses a pet?

[flysquad]

On March 1st 2010 at around 7pm, I got a call saying someone had found my dog, unfortunately she had been hit by a car. The guy brought my dog over and instantly when I grabbed her, all i could smell was blood. He said she looked like a possum on the side of the road, so people kept driving past. We got in the car and drove immediately to the 24 hour vet. The smell of blood was so strong, I will never forget the smell. She licked my face the whole car trip so I was so certain she would be fine. When we got to the vet I handed her over and as I did I noticed her leg was not completely attached to her hip. I looked away and ran out of the vet surgery to the car. An hour later my mum came in with "that look". My dog was still alive and we were going to have to put her down. When we went back inside we held her tiny paws as the vet injected her. I watched her looking at me then all of a sudden her look was distant. She was gone. I screamed so loud, i had to be basically carried out. We took her lifeless body for a drive to my grandmothers to be burried. I never stopped hugging her that whole drive. I refused to let them bury her, i kept saying she might come back to life. Eventually we did bury her and I didn't speak for a whole week. I never let go of the towel for that week either, even though it was covered in her blood. This happened over 4 years ago, I was very mentally stable prior to this but the trauma of the entire experience caused me to suffer depression and anxiety, which i'm still battling. I still have nightmares and wake up crying my eyes out. I am shaking so hard while writing this. Whenever someone mentions dogs being put down or I smell blood, i completely shut down and go into shock. So if someone says you can't get PTSD from a pet, they are naive as hell. I am diagnosed by two doctors as having severe ptsd from this experience.

[drifter0213]

the best thing I can do is lend support to you I have PTSD from combat im sorry you had to go through that I have two dogs I love the most one is near life expectancy I dunno what I WOULD DO AFTER THAT

[Flip101]

My wife's going through it PTSD and  it's been 7 to 10 in the last 6 years either by coyotes , dogs, cars or people or genetic problems she has had to put them to sleep or see them die in her arms. It's  so sad all her cats live to be 15 to 20 years old. It's sad for me to watch her cry.

[Doglover2020]

My brother and I watched the dog that we grew up be put down right in front of us. We watched her die in front of us and I felt her stop breathing. I felt... her leave us.