Though I have pets, I probably won't ever run any dead pet threads, because it crosses a line I haven't really defined, and consequently I usually also don't often read dead pet threads. Your mileage may vary, so to speak, on what you think is a bit too personal or off-subject. I suppose, for example, if the famous pet of a famous mudcatter dies, that could change my decision to read about it. (Right now I'm not aware of any famous pets of famous mudcatters.)

This is not to say that I don't understand perfectly how excruciating it can be to have a beloved pet die.

How we interact with pets is something over which Western culture is still in conflict--for all that there is a $billions industry that caters to people and their pets, there is a sense that since pets aren't humans (though they're certainly treated like "people") they're not worthy of the attention. This may be one of those Germanic property rights hand-me-downs, or a Puritan ethic of some sort, when contrasted to cultures that worship animals, pets or not, and treat them with great reverence and even (historically, as with cats and birds) embalm them with great pomp and bury them alongside kings.

SRS