Several case reports clearly reveal pathological mourning reactions after the death of pets and serve to remind us of the hazards of pet ownership when the need for an animal companion assumes pathological proportions. The patients suffering from the mourning syndrome described in this article were all women. The pet dogs which had died had been under the care of the owners for at least thirteen years. On an unconscious level the pets represented a target relative for the patients, none of whom had a previous history of psychiatric illness. The psychiatric symptoms occurred immediately after the death of the animal, with somatization a predominant feature in all of the patients. Psychiatric treatment brought about early resolution of the illness in a period varying from one week to three months. Interestingly, all of the pets were of the toy dog variety.