Loss of a pet

Morpheus

Sadly I’ve had a dog and a cat pass away in the past few months. I had another dog pass away back in 2016 so three pets in the last two years. My dog that passed in 2016 at 8 years old had bone cancer. My two that passed recently we’re both seniors and had lived good long lives. I was wondering if anyone wanted to share experiences and how they coped with the loss of a pet.

cuddlebugTM

I cry a lot , usually donate to local animal rescue in their name . My grandma Would get little stuffed dog or cat and put their collar on it with their names put on it then put on a shelf as a reminder of loved and lost pets

BlueIris

Two of my cats had to be put to sleep two years ago, including my velcro kitty, Miss Daisy, who I was strongly bonded to, who had cancer. And a third had to be put to sleep four years ago, due to aging and failing health. There is no other way I know of to cope except to allow myself to cry whenever I need to. I grieved and cried over Miss Daisy for over a year. I truly believe that keeping it bottled up is the worst thing to do.

I'm sorry for your loss, @Morpheus.

@morpheus My condolences in your loss. Non-pet owners don’t always understand the depth of a pet owners love and mourning. I have had dogs most of my adult life, with two at once for more than 20 years. By design, when I adopt a new rescue, I try to have dogs of very different age. All things going as expected, you won’t lose them both in close times. But the last two losses left me thinking I could live with just one. But after a few weeks, the surviving pooch tells me that it is time to bring in a new family member. This is all well and good, but rather than a loss say, in 14 years, you may loose one ever 7 years, on average Castillo, it helps me in mourning a pet to have that pets kennel mate mourn with me. Again, my thoughts are with you in your recent losses.
Michael

Morpheus

This was our Dia de Los muertos alter for our pets this past October/November 2017.

Lovelight

I am not sure what to say, I just hope you get through and you will be okay. Hugs

We all deal and react differently. For me, it's more in the awareness of the inevitable. Not sure how to word how I feel about it nor can I really even if I had the words. Basically living on, staying strong, keeping happy soon enough. Kind of also follow the our loved who passed away would want us left behind to stay happy and well. So in a way living as if they were here. There I was able to pretty much say how I feel, I rarely every had to explain so thanks for making the post. At some point when the sadness subsides, I would say becoming thankful for the experiences we had and sharing on our love with those who are still there and around is key. Personally although I never had this exact experience with pets, though soon enough I would just adopt others and give them the love and care they deserve.

Lovelight

This does make me wonder if there are two pets especially Cats or Dogs maybe a Cat and a Dog (as they're most common) if one passes away and they were close what æffect would this have on the pet left behind?

Would it help to soon after introduce other companion(s)?

I am interested to research on this too though I wonder what you all noticed and did in such a case if ever there were one. Noting that I never really had such an experience myself. Except a Cat I had as a child that we had to leave behind when we moved. To this day I love her so much and think back to the memories, it's been 10+ years. Haven't had another pet yet...

I'm sorry. I had a 21 year old cat that passed away last April. It was harder than I thought it would be.

respectful

@Morpheus That's really sad ...

I get very attached to my pets, and have cried at their loss when it was unexpected.

You asked about coping with the grief. For a rabbit I loved, I went over in my mind all the things he did that made him unique - including times he got into trouble! I remembered the feel of patting him, the way he acted crazily when he was very happy, and how I gained his trust over time.

Remembering those kinds of things can be bittersweet, but I think it still helps to process everything.

@morphes so sorry
I lost my 2 drags lately, impossible to explain the pain u feel.

My dogs had grown old and infirm and eventually one ailment or another led to euthanasia. David, a 16 year Lhasa Apso, was an exception. From the time I adopted him at about 2 years he had a heart murmur that was mild and consistent But now he was having fainting spells. He would collapse but get up in a few seconds. The vet sent me to a canine cardiology$t and we were working with her. One morning David collapsed and didn’t get up. He was breathing but not responsive. I quickly put him in the car and drove to the vet, 2 miles away. As I turned into the parking lot, he let out. One big sigh and was no longer breathing. They were waiting for us at the vet office and he was seen immediately, but he was gone.
Sad, yes of course, I’m tearing up a little as I type, but there was a peace in his passing different than others I’d held in my arms as the vet gave those two final injections. Whenever I go , I hope it is that easy.

cuddlebugTM

Today we said goodbye to our Annie . We found her at a shelter . Plan was to get a small lap dog but she stole our hearts . And she thought she was a lap dog . She was so sweet and gentle even with our ducks and chickens . Today she licked my nose for a last goodbye and I held her as she fell asleep in my arms forever . She will always be in our hearts , our memories , we have many stories and pictures to remind us how blessed we were to have her in our lives . Goodbye sweet Annie

AshleyCuddles

Awe she is beautiful. So sorry for your loss.

annalie

My dog of 12 and half years passed away the beginning of this year. Grief is sadly something that everyone goes through. With pets, you just have to be grateful for the time you had with them and know you gave them the best life you could.

UKGuy

Sorry to hear of your loss. Here is a photo of me and my cat Bounder, taken over 30 years ago. I had to find a new home for him when I got married as my future wife was allergic. That was a big loss for me as he was my first and only pet. I never went to visit him in his new home because I did not want to confuse him. Several years later I heard from his new owner that he had to be put to sleep. I still have a 10x8 photo of him on my wall, and many happy memories of our time together.

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AbbyCuddles

Hugs. I heard a radio show about how it's perfectly natural to mourn the loss of a pet like the loss of a human family member because we often spend more time with our pets than we do with, say, our cousins. My roommate lost her 2 Chihuahuas of 12 years one month apart and was heartbroken...but for her the answer was not to wait and mourn alone, after a few weeks she said, "the house is just not the same without a Chihuahua," and she bought another dog, which is not the same, but it helps to distract you from the loss a little bit. Then she bought a mate, and now we have four Chihuahuas. That's how she reacted...get not only 2 more pets but 4 more pets. Everyone mourns in different ways. Sorry to hear. Big hugs.

I'm sorry for your loss. When my grandad passed away, my mum adopted a hamster from the RSPCA a few days later. We'd already had hamsters and the hamster responsibilities became mine, but it was my mum's way of coping - by saving the life of a smaller animal, after the loss of her dad.

I always suggest waiting a month or so before getting another pet, just to make sure it's not impulsive and that you're ready - as many of us think about it a couple of weeks after, so it's good to wait another couple of weeks before doing it, if you feel the same way.

I lost my female hamster of almost 3 years (long time for hamsters) late last year, then adopted two males after about 7 weeks or so. I didn't use the same cage, as it wouldn't have been big enough (it's just a spare now, in case they need to be separated). She was a hamster my friend and I got when we were a couple. She stayed with me because his uni housing wouldn't allow pets, but she was the only living thing I had to hold on to my connection with him, so it was even more sad when she passed. She was very old, still pretty active, then took a turn one day and I just knew. I'd been sending cute pictures of her to him, when she was sleeping on me earlier in the day, but did let him know she wasn't well. We texted about hoping she'd live a week longer, as that's when he was visiting - so telling him when she'd passed away that same day was difficult. Though, he said he'd done his goodbyes last time he'd visited (about a month or two before), as he knew she could pass of old age any day.

WARNING, A LITTLE GRAPHIC: On this particular day, I'd brought her cage downstairs, so I could keep an eye on her, and she started struggling to breathe at about 6pm. The local vets is only a couple of minutes drive from me, so I held her in my hands whilst my mum drove us. I didn't want her to suffer or be panicking, so they euthanised her. It was horrible, particularly because I'd had to argue with my dad about taking her. He told me to leave her in peace, but I couldn't let her go on her own, probably in pain. This may sound odd to some, but one of the hardest parts was having to pay for the euthanasia because it's difficult enough losing a beloved pet, without taking a mild financial hit for easing their journey

Many who understand the attachment to cats/dogs don't understand the attachment to hamsters/rabbits/fish/birds/etc. It's definitely different, but it's still a very sad loss.

I lost my the first cat I ever owned (Sugarland) a few years ago. It was extremely hard for me. I grew up with this cat and he was also a therapy animal. It took me a good amount of time to recover from the loss.

I now have six cats that are all rescues. I rescued the mom Boots. Boots gave birth to six kittens: Cookie, Sugar, Cupcake, Cinnamon, Pancake, and Muffin. I found homes for Sugar, Muffin, and Cookie. I kept Cupcake, Pancake and Cinnamon, so I had four cats including Boots. Then Cinnamon gave birth to two kittens; Powder and Toffee.

I love all of my cats very much. I don't know how I will cope when they pass on. Getting over the loss of an animal is really tough. I am still getting over the loss of my first cat in many ways.

So I can understand where you are coming from.