Steve Greig is no stranger to pet loss. In 2012, the Denver retiree was devastated when his 12-year-old dog Wolfgang was hit by a car and killed.
After months had passed, Greig found he still had profound grief from Wolfgang’s death, so he channeled that grief into action. He went to the shelter and adopted the oldest dog they had, knowing it might not otherwise find a home.
Over a decade later, Greig has taken in close to 40 senior dogs — and a few non-dog companions, including Bikini the pig, Betty the chicken, and Cranberry the turkey. The majority of his adopted pets have passed away, from illness or age, but he prides himself in making their “twilight years” comfortable.
“I did it originally, because I was in pain from a dog that had passed away,” Greig told Good Morning America earlier this year. “So I did it to kind of relieve that pain and to give the dog that had passed away to give his life … a meaning.”
Greig is just one of an estimated 86 million pet owners in the U.S. And for many people, their cats and dogs extend far beyond just “pets;” they’re a constant companion in their lives, a source of comfort and joy.
And when they pass — young or old, suddenly or slowly — the impacts can be devastating. According to Heathline, people who have recently lost a pet are three times more likely to report depressive symptoms compared to the general population.
Fortunately, a new field is emerging in healthcare, a career that bridges the gap between social worker and vet tech: veterinary social workers. Their job involves helping pet owners as they await news after surgery, consider euthanasia, and navigate loss in real time.
“I used to go home and genuinely wonder what happened to a client,” Dr. Amy Heuberger, the head of MedVet’s Chicago emergency department, told the New York Times. “[Now] I can take care of more animals in a shift, because I know that the clients are still getting taken care of.”
Today, over 175 people have earned a certification in veterinary social work from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. IndeVets estimates that roughly 200 people in the United States have the unique role of easing stress and grief within the walls of animal clinics across the country.
In time, some owners may be ready to adopt another pet — or 40, in Greig’s case — to lessen the sting of the loss.
But on that one, awful day, as people sit by their pet under the fluorescent lights of the animal hospital and pet their fur, giving one last “good boy,” more and more veterinary social workers will be there, making sure that the people are good, too.
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2024 Animals Edition of the Goodnewspaper
Header image via Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels
