People recently bereaved derive greater comfort from their pets than they do from their priest or spiritual adviser, according to a study published today.
The survey found that a third of people mourning a loved one turned to their family, with a quarter relying friends and one in five getting support from children.
However, lower down the list, pets ranked ahead of priests and spiritual advisers, books and films and professionals.
The study into the innovative bereavement care service at Dublin's Beaumont Hospital was undertaken by researchers from Trinity College Dublin.
About a thousand people a year die in Beaumont, which is one of Ireland's busiest acute hospitals and has a large number of patients referred to it for neurosurgery and brain injury.
It was the first Irish hospital to appoint a bereavement co-ordinator.
PA