This is part 1 of WTOP’s “Pets: A Paw Print on Our Hearts” series, which explores the connection people form with their pets and the journey they take when faced with the loss of them.
There is an indescribable bond between a pet and a human.
These creatures bring many of us joy when they greet us at the front door after a long day and lift our spirits when they wait patiently to get belly rubs or pets.
It can feel like a connection that goes beyond words. A connection that can span years, if you’re lucky. But that bond comes with the sad, hard truth that most of us outlive our pets. And their time with us is never enough.
“I don’t know that there’s any other creature that loves unconditionally like dogs love,” said Laura Manatos, who lives in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Some people may even feel they have a stronger connection with a four-legged animal than with a two-legged human.
“The brain doesn’t differentiate between skin and fur,” Jessica Kwerel, a D.C. psychotherapist specializing in grief associated with pets, said.
She told WTOP the brain just knows about pair bonding and close relationships. And that creates high levels of the love hormone.
“We are going to have these really intense relationships that look like human relationships,” she said.
Pets have increasingly become a part of many of our lives.
Many American households now include a pet. Forbes reported in 2024 that 66% of households in the U.S. included a pet, up from 56% in 1988.
The popularity of owning a pet is on display during an annual event for pet lovers in Northern Virginia.
Super Pet Expo brings together all sorts of resources for different types of pet owners. And dogs are usually in tow with their owners.
Angela, from Gainesville, Virginia, brought along her cockapoo named Vinnie.
She said dogs have been a part of her life since she was a child.
“I just love how they only see you, and you are their whole world,” she said.
Another dog owner named Kim lives in D.C. and has had corgis, cats and horses. She said her world revolves around her corgi named Annie.
Her family will even change their vacation plans once they’re set if they can’t find the right person to take care of their pet.
Many of us get so attached to our pets that feelings of loss can be profound when our four-legged friends die.
The attachment between a human and an animal is not lost on Tyler Gleysteen.
He works for In Memoriam Pet Services in Chantilly, Virginia, a pet after-care and cremation services company.
Gleysteen said the amount of love an owner has for their pet comes through in how they memorialize them after the animal dies.
A pet can become an extension of the family.
“More and more people, including myself, decide not to have children. So, animals become that … I don’t want to say replacement,” Kwerel said, “but sort of fill that part of having a family.”
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