The title makes a bold claim but the article does not back it up, the main argument about it being harder is that you are losing a companion that provided uncritical unconditional love. I suppose humans can be quite critical. That aspect may be true but I have lost my dad and my dog and the loss of my dad is infinitely more harder, no question - I still think about him every single day, I don't do the same for my dog, who I also loved very much.

One aspect of the death of my dog that was very hard was that I had to make the decision to go ahead with euthanasia at the vet, because he could not longer get up and was in pain (he just lay on his side due to his extreme stage of cancer). That was hard, knowing that I made the decision to end his life at that moment, that haunted me and I wish he had just died by himself. That is hard, but it's the complexity of a human relationship and the critical feedback and love that we get from a human loved one that allows us to grow and learn and a big reason I think why I miss my human relatives more than my dog.