PetReunion: A Preliminary Interview Study to Understand User’ Opinions on Using Mixed Reality to Support Pet Bereavement

Ningchang Xiong; Kening Zhu

doi:10.1145/3706599.3720183

PetReunion: A Preliminary Interview Study to Understand User’ Opinions on Using Mixed Reality to Support Pet Bereavement

Ningchang Xiong
, Kening Zhu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works › RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication) › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Pet ownership brings emotional well-being. However, when a pet dies, the emotional bond can result in grief that is not socially acknowledged. This disenfranchised grief often leaves bereaved pet owners without emotional support. While human-computer interaction (HCI) research has explored technologies for human bereavement, pet bereavement remains underexplored. Mixed reality (MR) can help bridge this gap. It allows users to create immersive and personalized spaces to reconnect with deceased pets. This paper presents findings from a preliminary study involving 10 participants who experienced pet loss within the past three years, investigating their emotional needs and coping behaviors. The study shows the limitations of current approaches and highlights the benefits of interactive, multisensory experiences. Based on these insights, this paper provides design considerations for MR systems tailored to reduce owner sadness and support pet bereavement. The long-term research goal is to develop immersive, user-centered systems that provide meaningful and long-term emotional support. © 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CHI’25
Subtitle of host publication	Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Print)	9798400713958
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3720183
Publication status	Published - 2025
Event	2025 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025): IkiCHI - PACIFICO Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan Duration: 26 Apr 2025 → 1 May 2025 https://chi2025.acm.org/

Publication series

Name	Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference	2025 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025)
Abbreviated title	CHI'25
Place	Japan
City	Yokohama
Period	26/04/25 → 1/05/25
Internet address	https://chi2025.acm.org/

Funding

This research was partially supported by the Centre for Applied Computing and Interactive Media (ACIM) of School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong. This work was also partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 62172346), the CityU Contract Research Projects_RMGS (Project No. 9231581), and the Innovation and Technology Fund (Project No. ITS/106/22).

Research Keywords

continuing bonds
emotional support
mixed reality
pet bereavement
virtual pet interactions

RGC Funding Information

RGC-funded

Access Output

10.1145/3706599.3720183

Other Access Options

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Permanent Link

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Cite this

Xiong, N., & Zhu, K. (2025). PetReunion: A Preliminary Interview Study to Understand User’ Opinions on Using Mixed Reality to Support Pet Bereavement. In CHI’25: Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Article 432 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3720183

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title = "PetReunion: A Preliminary Interview Study to Understand User{\textquoteright} Opinions on Using Mixed Reality to Support Pet Bereavement",

abstract = "Pet ownership brings emotional well-being. However, when a pet dies, the emotional bond can result in grief that is not socially acknowledged. This disenfranchised grief often leaves bereaved pet owners without emotional support. While human-computer interaction (HCI) research has explored technologies for human bereavement, pet bereavement remains underexplored. Mixed reality (MR) can help bridge this gap. It allows users to create immersive and personalized spaces to reconnect with deceased pets. This paper presents findings from a preliminary study involving 10 participants who experienced pet loss within the past three years, investigating their emotional needs and coping behaviors. The study shows the limitations of current approaches and highlights the benefits of interactive, multisensory experiences. Based on these insights, this paper provides design considerations for MR systems tailored to reduce owner sadness and support pet bereavement. The long-term research goal is to develop immersive, user-centered systems that provide meaningful and long-term emotional support. {\textcopyright} 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).",

keywords = "continuing bonds, emotional support, mixed reality, pet bereavement, virtual pet interactions",

author = "Ningchang Xiong and Kening Zhu",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1145/3706599.3720183",

language = "English",

isbn = "9798400713958",

series = "Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery",

booktitle = "CHI{\textquoteright}25",

address = "United States",

note = "2025 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025) : IkiCHI, CHI'25 ; Conference date: 26-04-2025 Through 01-05-2025",

url = "https://chi2025.acm.org/",

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Xiong, N & Zhu, K 2025, PetReunion: A Preliminary Interview Study to Understand User’ Opinions on Using Mixed Reality to Support Pet Bereavement. in CHI’25: Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems., 432, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings, Association for Computing Machinery, 2025 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025), Yokohama, Japan, 26/04/25. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3720183

PetReunion: A Preliminary Interview Study to Understand User’ Opinions on Using Mixed Reality to Support Pet Bereavement. / Xiong, Ningchang ; Zhu, Kening.
CHI’25: Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery, 2025. 432 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings).

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works › RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication) › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - PetReunion

T2 - 2025 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025)

AU - Xiong, Ningchang

AU - Zhu, Kening

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Pet ownership brings emotional well-being. However, when a pet dies, the emotional bond can result in grief that is not socially acknowledged. This disenfranchised grief often leaves bereaved pet owners without emotional support. While human-computer interaction (HCI) research has explored technologies for human bereavement, pet bereavement remains underexplored. Mixed reality (MR) can help bridge this gap. It allows users to create immersive and personalized spaces to reconnect with deceased pets. This paper presents findings from a preliminary study involving 10 participants who experienced pet loss within the past three years, investigating their emotional needs and coping behaviors. The study shows the limitations of current approaches and highlights the benefits of interactive, multisensory experiences. Based on these insights, this paper provides design considerations for MR systems tailored to reduce owner sadness and support pet bereavement. The long-term research goal is to develop immersive, user-centered systems that provide meaningful and long-term emotional support. © 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

AB - Pet ownership brings emotional well-being. However, when a pet dies, the emotional bond can result in grief that is not socially acknowledged. This disenfranchised grief often leaves bereaved pet owners without emotional support. While human-computer interaction (HCI) research has explored technologies for human bereavement, pet bereavement remains underexplored. Mixed reality (MR) can help bridge this gap. It allows users to create immersive and personalized spaces to reconnect with deceased pets. This paper presents findings from a preliminary study involving 10 participants who experienced pet loss within the past three years, investigating their emotional needs and coping behaviors. The study shows the limitations of current approaches and highlights the benefits of interactive, multisensory experiences. Based on these insights, this paper provides design considerations for MR systems tailored to reduce owner sadness and support pet bereavement. The long-term research goal is to develop immersive, user-centered systems that provide meaningful and long-term emotional support. © 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

KW - continuing bonds

KW - emotional support

KW - mixed reality

KW - pet bereavement

KW - virtual pet interactions

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105005769477

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105005769477#tab=impact

U2 - 10.1145/3706599.3720183

DO - 10.1145/3706599.3720183

M3 - RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication)

SN - 9798400713958

T3 - Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

BT - CHI’25

PB - Association for Computing Machinery

Y2 - 26 April 2025 through 1 May 2025

ER -

Xiong N , Zhu K. PetReunion: A Preliminary Interview Study to Understand User’ Opinions on Using Mixed Reality to Support Pet Bereavement. In CHI’25: Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery. 2025. 432. (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings). Epub 2025 Apr 25. doi: 10.1145/3706599.3720183

PetReunion: A Preliminary Interview Study to Understand User’ Opinions on Using Mixed Reality to Support Pet Bereavement

Abstract

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Funding

Research Keywords

RGC Funding Information

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ITF: Development of Attention-Aware, Immersive, Collaborative Video Teleconferencing System with 360 Video and Mixed Reality

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