When couples decide to go through a divorce, it is not just their children (if they have any) who are affected of the situation, but even their pets. An expert in animal behavior explained on March 18 that pets could also suffer from separation anxiety once their owners decided to split up.
In an article published by She Knows, the publication wrote what animal behaviorist Kate Mornement has to say about this subject. Based on her observation, pets could be affected emotionally in whatever it is that their owners are going through, which is why they are also prone to depression once a couple decides to file for divorce.
During an interview with ABC News, Mornement explained that she has observed how animals respond to their owners when they go through a divorce. Apparently, they experience separation anxiety and majority of the animals affected by this are dogs. Mornement also said, "Any big disruption to their normal routine or breaking of attachment bond affects them a lot."
I believe I can fly. Photo by @elysekrism #dogsofinstagram #dog
A photo posted by Dogs of Instagram (@dogsofinstagram) on Mar 19, 2016 at 7:45am PDT
In addition to this, when couples fight and scream at each other, kids get to have that traumatic experience. Believe it or not, pets feel the same way. This is why divorce creates a huge impact to your pets whenever you have a conflict with your partner, especially when the day comes that you and your partner just decided to end your relationship that your pets have been a part of as well.
Based on this report, it is best for couples to think of the welfare of their pets before they make any huge and rash decisions affecting their relationship. But if you really must split, make sure that your pets would be able to adjust gradually to the situation. It would help if you two would act as if co-parenting your pets first so they would feel like nothing has changed.
