Re-Imagining Disenfranchised Grief as it Relates to Animal Companions and Its Importance to Social Work

This major research paper looks at the negative impacts of disenfranchised grief, specifically in relation to the loss of animals and what that means for social work. I conducted four interviews with participants where I used an arts-based narrative study to explore the stories of losing their animal, using music to help people to frame their grief. I found that all the participants experienced similar disenfranchised grief and lack of support from institutions as well as some people in their life. The participants all enjoyed the opportunity to tell their stories and explore their grief through music which helped me notice the differing ways in which people frame their grief. Some participants simply grieved the loss of their animal, while others saw it through the context of their own mortality. Social work should consider people’s connection to animals in policy design and when working directly with service users.