The loss of a pet

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  • 3ball
    3ball Posts: 338
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    Great name, love it. Pets are definitely family. I have 2 dogs myself, including a Golden.
  • Pineapples
    Pineapples Posts: 246 Member
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    My deepest sympathies. You are not crazy, I haven't lost any of my pets but I cannot even begin to imagine what it will be like when they do. :(
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,121 Member
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    With time you will heal. I'm old enough to have lost several animals. :flowerforyou:

    It does get easier, but they will never be out of your heart. Just know your dog is not suffering anymore and that he was lucky to have lived with you in love. I know he loved you as well.

    Exercise actually helps your mood, though, so if you can get outside and walk you will find it lifts a little. He would want you to keep walking - for him. He'll be with you when you are outside. I'm sure he loved walks.
  • bluegirl10
    bluegirl10 Posts: 695 Member
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    I am so sorry for your loss! I know how hard it is to lose a beloved pet... They are more than pets, but rather part of our family. All I can say is that in time it will get easier... It will take awhile as I still think and miss my past dogs, but overtime the heartache gets less....Just take it one day at a time!
  • ShannonE1978
    ShannonE1978 Posts: 13 Member
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    :( I am so sorry for your loss. I lost a pet very close to my heart a few days before Christmas. It was devastating but luckily I was off of work for a week because I would randomly just start crying. Sometimes I still get sad and have an ache in my heart. After the first week, I was sick of moping around because it just made me more sad and that is when I started being more active. By February, I was signed up on here and have continued to be more active and lose weight. I think you will find a point where you just don't want to sit and stare at everything that reminds you of your pet and you will just start doing more so that you won't cry as much. I wish you the best.
  • RMinVA
    RMinVA Posts: 1,085 Member
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    No you are not!! IMO there is something wrong with people that don't mourn the loss of something that they care about and that has loved them unconditionally.
  • CooCoo
    CooCoo Posts: 14
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    I am so sorry to hear of your loss! You are not nuts at all..... Pets become members of our family and their passing can effect us in the same manner as a human loss. We lost our dog last year and it was very hard to take. Just take it one day at at time and keep her/him close to your heart.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    I've lost two this year, it hurts. I'm sorry.
  • time2runnn
    time2runnn Posts: 252 Member
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    Oh hon, I understand too, I don't have a dog, but my cats are my babies too. Last summer I lost my cat Cody, the 1st part of my adult family, to cancer. He was my first buddy/family/companion I had when I moved out on own. He was the coolest cat, could open doors, and acted like a dog (long story). Anyways I and my kids still miss him to this day. You obviously have a huge heart and that IS beautiful! I'm so very sorry for your loss. xx
  • summer601
    summer601 Posts: 23
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    I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, losing a pet is really hard. We had our dog for 17 and a half years and when she passed away it was the worst day ever. Your pet is a big part of your life so its nomal to cry and grieve, believe me I went through days of being upset.

    Mourn your loss, and your memories of your beloved dog.

    I feel for you......
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
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    I am so sorry! I had to have one of my cats put down a couple of months ago (I had him since the day he was born) and I didn't worry about eating right or exercise for a few days either. All you can do is take it one day at a time and it does get better. <3
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    *hugs* I'm so sorry for your loss.

    It's not crazy to be as upset as you are. It just shows you to be a wonderful caring person. I had a one month downward spiral after my cat died last year. In some ways, it was as hard as losing my parents, and I was really, really close to my folks. It was different with my pets, because they were completely dependent on me, and I felt like I failed them. Not so much when I had to put my 18 year old cat with kidney and heart failure to sleep, because I knew I did everything I possibly could for her, and euthanasia was the kindest option. But with my 2 and a half year old cat who seemed healthy as a horse and only had a few days where he was sick, and I took him to the e-vet as soon as I couldn't get him to eat at all, and still died the next morning, I felt like I let him down.

    Which isn't true, by the way. You gave Fletch a wonderful life, just like I did with my old Sheba and my young Fergus. You hurt because you loved. And that's a good thing. :heart:

    Take care of yourself. Let yourself mourn. The exercise and all that stuff will still be there in a few days or however long it takes for you to feel up to it again.
  • jewels319
    jewels319 Posts: 72 Member
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    I am so sorry to hear about Fletch. Our pets are a member of our familys so hang in there....celebrate the life he had not his lose. Remember all joy he brought to your life and the lives of others. Some of us are such animal lovers I wonder how people sleep when they say things like its just a pet........I guess for those who really don't like kids they can say to someone if they had lost a child.....its just a kid.........or would they? My thoughts and prayers are with you. I don't even want to think of the time when losing my shepherd might happen......she's 2 1/2 yrs old......I have two boys that are gunna be 14 & 8.......thats going to be one tough life lesson for them to learn. I was 12 when we put my shepherd down.....it was the saddest day of my life.....something I will never ever forget. I swore i would never get attached to an animal again......4 cats and a dog later......
  • GreenGablesJes
    GreenGablesJes Posts: 50
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    everyone handles death differently, i've had dogs and cats my entire life and so have gone thru 4 dogs who all lived 10-13yrs each. we have 6 cats from ages 1-20yrs currenly. ofcourse it's hard when they pass away .I don't cry because i miss them, I cry because they are in pain. i've always been right there when the vet comes to our house and puts them asleep, I then cry because they aren't in pain anymore then i'm fine and just think of all the great times i had.
  • peteyTwang
    peteyTwang Posts: 250
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    Oh my! So so sorry to hear about your loss! ...of course, you're grieving! i have friends more devastated by the death of their pets than they were by the death of their parents. So often our animals are closer to us than anybody else on earth -- and when they go it's not just the pet but a whole chapter out of your life that has passed along with them. Personally, I have never been able to go more than about 48 hours before finding a new kitten after one of my beloved cats has died and despite loving the new ones, every bit as much... i remember each and every one of them for the very special friends and loveable characters they were.
  • suzyqs4
    suzyqs4 Posts: 20 Member
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    So sorry for your loss. We had to put down our beloved Cookie on May 26 and it was horrible. I cried for an entire day and night. We are waiting to get another (long story) but really miss our beagle. I still cry when I tell people I haven't talked with or seen in awhile. I guess it will get easier. You are not nuts. Take care!
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
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    Sorry, about your dog. Yes other pet owners take it just as hard. My Golden has been gone for 6 years and I still miss her. Even having two just as awesome dogs as her right now.
  • Iamgiam
    Iamgiam Posts: 38
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    I am sorry for your loss. I hope that soon enough you will be able to look on your photographs and memories with a smile rather than a tear.
    I know where you are as I have been in the same place and I metaphorically hold your hand in this time as we walk through life together.

    Be strong. (Hugs)

    Gary.
  • VixFit2011
    VixFit2011 Posts: 663 Member
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    I totally understand what you are going through. I've lost pets over the years and grieved every one of them. They are like my children and very much my family. My advice....get yourself another pet as soon as you are able. That refills the space in your heart with love and joy. It won't replace the one you lost but it will bring back the joy and you will be giving that same joy and love to a wonderful new pet that needs you.

    On Monday I had to put my Golden Retriever, Fletch, down. I am completely crushed. I feel like I could burst into tears at any moment.... and everytime I'm alone, I do. I'm just heartbroken.

    Paying attention to eating right and exercising is totally out the window. What little energy I have is focused on just getting throught the day.

    Am I nuts?? Do others take the loss of a pet this hard.
  • mosneakers
    mosneakers Posts: 343 Member
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    You are not alone. I lost my best friend to cancer 2 years ago. Since he was a puppy, we would do a doggy 5K - ok, so, we'd do more like 10 minutes of walking and then he would want to stop and we'd turn around, but he loved being by the beach and it was a lot of fun.
    I've completed that 5K twice since his passing. I think of him everytime I run that course and although it hurts so badly that he's not there next to me, I know that he is in a way. Plus, the event is for the Anti-Cruelty society. The money I raise goes to shelter animals that are not as fortunate as my Sneakers was.
    You might not be able to get back on track for days or even weeks. That's ok, you lost a part of you. You might not be able to get a new pet (I haven't been able to), that's ok. Just remember that your doggy will always be in your heart. So so so sorry for your loss.

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