upvoted for having such a stone cold unpopular opinion haha

Start a ghost pets crusade.

"My dead cat came back last night..." and see how it goes.

This is why I unsubscribed from r/pics years ago. Too many sob stories. I’m assuming once more migrants make it to lemmy I’ll have to start wedding out the places where sob stories are bound to happen again.

I support your opinion wholeheartedly. I get why people do it I guess but it just makes others feel sad when they could post the picture and tell the story later in the comments or something.

There was one directly above this in my feed, so that's a fun coincidence. Ofc my feed is sorted by upvotes so it looks like your opinion is coming in 2nd place to a dead cat.

I agree. For pretty much all pet memorial pics/stories.

Except for that one recently with the guy that painted his stairs but dedicated his puppers spot to him. That was freaking sweet and more than "I miss my buddy."

Fucking fully agree. I feel like shit enough elsewhere without hearing about dead pets in an otherwise feel good place

I despise these posts. The day my cat dies, I pledge to post some sort of post about him, but it won't say he died. It'll be some trash post like "LOOK AT THIS DUDE, HE HAS NO BRAIN CELLS" and it'll be him like, chewing plastic or going goblin mode on a toy.

I think it’s more cathartic to post pictures of my departed pets in the present tense. I get to share my little beauties when I'm feeling sentimental, others get a dose of cuteness, and nobody has to think about how short of a time they're with us.

It’s like those cute Youtube videos with adorable pets and the comments are just like “yeah he/she’s dead now RIP”

Sounds like someone needs to start a c/CatsAliveAndWell.

It doesn't personally bother me, so long as it remains in the minority of posts. Couple of reasons:

a) It often reminds me of some of the good boys I've lost, and of the good times we had. It's a bit bittersweet, but it doesn't have to be a mood kill. I acknowledge if you've lost a pet very recently, it'll hit a lot harder, but this is going to happen regardless as you process your grief.

b) I'd prefer to be part of a community that's not continually mood-checking each other. Life has ups and downs, and everyone is better off if the community can occasionally offer some consolation in the hard times. Expecting only happiness from everyone always seems like toxic positivity to me.

c) Offering a word of support can make me myself feel better. It can be a good deed for the day, and it'll make me feel closer to the community.

d) I don't think having a bit of a memento mori is necessarily bad. Being reminded that our time with our companions is limited can also remind us to cherish that time all the more.

I do think there's a caveat, though. While loss is an inevitable part of animal companionship, it's very unfair if I only share my grief. If I enjoy the community and want to keep it healthy, then I should be proactive in generally posting uplifting content before I ever consider asking the community for their sympathy.

Also, personally, if I'm going to share a memorial post, I think it'd be best if it can be a celebration of my pet's life, and show how they had a good, and happy one.

I subscribe to chicken subs and not only are there memorial posts but also a lot of gore pics where people are asking whether a gruesome wound/infection can be treated or asking to guess what predator ate half of their chicken. I think this is fine, death is a part of owning pets and shouldn't be shoved under the rug. Ideally there could be a tagging system like others mentioned.

Im with you that they’re sad posts for a beastie I never knew. I don’t mind taking a moment “to pour one out for a lost homie that was loved and prolly a great boi” though.

I like the pet memorial posts and I like that we're allowed to post them. Imagine the terrible feeling that to express grief, mourn, and celebrate the life of a cherished innocent with a beautiful photo being against the rules.