Pet Lovers - Anyone experienced this?

[nygurley]

Hi! I am so sorry for your loss. I know exactly how you are feeling I lost my beloved General"my cat" in Feb of this yr he was 18. It does feel like you are lost and a bus is sitting on your chest. But you did give your dog a very very good life 12 yrs is alot of yrs and I am sure he was your child as my cat was to me. It will get alittle easier as each day passes. I was doing the same (crying and not wanting to work out) then I remembered how General hated me to cry and be sad so I worked out harder and I still think about certain w/o's where I was bawling the cool down on SJP for some reason still gets me. Think of all the related things in your house as great memories his presence will always be there. Just remember he is picking out a place for you and he will be there waiting when you join him.

Deborah

 

[ivorygorgon]

Rhiannon you post really touched my heart. I'm not sure we ever get over the death of a loved one, but somehow the days do get easier. In the last two years I have lost a dear dog and three rabbits. They are such helpless little souls and it is gut wrenching when they get sick. It is also so hard that we must make life or death decisions for them, as they can't tell us what their wishes are. Please allow yourself time to grieve, but it is also important to take your life back up and not flounder in grief, as that too can be unhealthy. Your pets would want you to take care of yourself. Please know that I am thinking of you and wish you the very best.

 

[t_jania]

Rhiannon,

I think you're in mourning. I'm also very sorry for your loss. Pets are a huge part of my life and the last time I lost a pet, I was out of sorts for a couple of weeks. Give yourself some time to recover. It's probably the worst pain I can think of, too. Take it easy and you'll be back to a semblance of normalcy in a little while.

As to why you hurt? Because you have a heart of gold and loved a dog who loved you back that was part of your every single day. That's a strong bond. It's ok to hurt and not bounce back right away. It means your love is strong and good.

 

[naughtoj]

Oh Rhiannon, I am so sorry!!!

I, too, have experienced this. Unfortunately, I took it very hard and it took me months to feel normal again, and even then, I think it spiraled me into a depressive episode. I just couldn't get over it. But my cat was everything to me then, she was my "one and only". It was horrible. No one understood how I could be SO upset and I found people rather unsympathetic. My family knew how important she was to me and how hard I was taking it and tried to be sensitive. I had to put her to sleep (she had cancer and renal failure). I made a burial box for her with pictures of my family and her playmates. I memoralized her on a website and even had a plaque made for her. I purchased pictures of Siamese cats that looked like her. I was so consumed with the loss I would have done anything to bring her back.

Four years later I have a new beloved and I dread the day I lose her. I love my cats. They enrich my life so much but when they die, it is heartbreaking, especially when you have had them for so long. Take your time to grieve and don't let anyone tell you how you should be feeling or reacting. Grieving is a personal thing, everyone does it differently. Take your time and remember you doggie. Do something to memoralize him, I felt this helped me immensely. I think the website I went on was Rainbow Bridge, or something like that. I would read all the pet stories and CRY and CRY and CRY.

Take care, and again, so sorry about what you are going through..

 

[bestoutwest]

So sorry for your loss. Sometimes it seems like sudden losses of a pet are the worse, as you have very little time to prepare for it. Take all the time you need to mourn his loss. Someday soon you will be able to remember him and smile instead of cry. My thought are with you.

 

[fox2star]

Here is a poem that could help.. we love them for as long as we have them and that time is too short:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...