Determinar la asociación del duelo y acompañamiento veterinario con características del tutor, mascota y circunstancias de la pérdida en Guayaquil.

Abstract

The bond between people and their pets has taken on increasing emotional significance; therefore, the loss of a pet can trigger a grieving process accompanied by responses such as sadness, anger, and guilt. The objective of this study was to determine the associations between grief over the loss of a pet and veterinary support, and variables related to the pet owner, the pet, and the circumstances of the loss in Guayaquil. A quantitative, observational, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 123 pet owners who sought funeral services for their companion animals. Data were collected via Google Forms, using the Pet Bereavement Questionnaire (PBQ) to assess the dimensions of grief, anger, and guilt, and the CARE Measure to evaluate perceptions of veterinary support. The results showed a significant association between the owner’s age and the grief dimension (p = 0.03). Likewise, the type of pet was significantly associated with anger (p = 0.02) and guilt (p = 0.04), while the type of loss was associated with both dimensions (p = 0.02; p = 0.01). Regarding veterinary support, 64.2 % of pet owners reported a high perception of support, while 35.8 % reported a moderate-to-low perception; no significant associations were found with the variables analyzed. These results highlighted the importance of considering the pet owner’s emotional well-being during the process of their pet’s illness, death, and final farewell.