Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am having so much trouble taking all in. I knew that at 15 years old ea, my two girls would not be with me for very much longer. I saw Pippin declining slowly over the past 6 months or so, so it wasn't too much of a surprise when she stopped eating and over the course of a few days I knew it was time to let her go. It was still very hard. The vet said she had a mass in her chest and that was that. So I saif goodbye to my Pip who had been with me since she was 10 weeks old. My litttle heart dog. The one who slept with me every night of her little life. Gone.
So I had my other old girl Merri left and she seemed sort of sad and lonley. She had spent 13 of her 15 years being bossed aorund by my tyrant Chihuahua. They were best friends and were always together. They even shared the same crate.
Still she seemed to be doing well and we continued going for long walks in the park a few times a week. Long like 2-3 miles of leisurly sniffing. She just loved that. Merri wasn't a very independant dog and has always porefered the company of dogs over people so after several weeks, I decided to adopt another older dog from a local rescue.
I had seen him on a rescue site some time ago and just kept thinking about him. I felt like he needed us and we needed him.
So after a complex 2 week process I adopted a sweet 10 year old Shiba Inu. I was so excited to find him and could not wait to bring him home. Then he was here and I jsut felt like it was meant to be. He came along jsut at the right time.
He and Merri seemed to get along okay and we continued going for our walks in the park. That was last week. Kioshi has been here for a whole week and over this past weekend My Merri suddently went downhill and a trip to the vet ended in her Euthanasia due to kidney failure and severe anemia. Essentially her body just quit. Very suddenly. One day we go for a walk as usual and other than seeming a bit tired she was fine, the next she is gone.
I am reeling.
Suddently my two girls that have shared my life for 13 aqnd 15 years are gone. And there is this new fellow. I love him already but we are still gettting to know each other.
People comment that at least I have the new one to help me feel better. I know they mean well, but no. He does not help me feel their loss any less. I am thrilled to know him. He is loving life here. But my girls are still gone.
So sorry for your loss . The only trouble with having pets is that they don't live as long as we do unfortunately . im glad you have the fellow to ease your sadness but I know what you are saying it will be a long time before you feel normal again . I still miss my big boy that passed over ten years ago on my kitchen floor . I understand your sadness we are never prepared for the end with our pets . God bless you .
It's so hard to lose them—my heart goes out to you. I believe that they're back together; they're young, healthy, and full of life. You'll be with them again.
Losing two long-time companions in such a short period of time is tragic. So very sorry for your losses. I hope your new dog will help get you through the grieving process easier.
I love animals, but because their lives are so much shorter than our own, it is a guaranteed heartbreak waiting to happen. Animal lovers know this when getting a pet, but it doesn't make it any easier when they pass.
It sounds as though your little ones had a very good life.
Shadowfax, I lost my little 14 1/2 year old girl on April 8 of this year. On the 19th of this month I lost my beautiful 15 year old boy.
I know what you are feeling. It is so difficult to go from having two very loved animals to none in two short months. I grieved my little girl, but I have to say that losing my boy has devastated me.
I am so sorry for your loss. And, no, people do not understand. I have already had several people try to talk me into getting another dog but it has only been 9 days since my boy died. I am not ready now, but I will be some day. People mean well, but most do not understand the grief we feel.
I feel that grief every time I move and I look for one of my "kids" to make sure they are not underfoot. I feel it every time I wake up in the morning and they are not here to greet me. I feel it every time I walk in the front door because neither one of them are there waiting for me.
Thank you all. It was a really hard few weeks. Life i so very different.
I am Woman, I know it is hard to think of another dog in your life and when and if it feels right I am sure another will come along. While the pain of losing them is great, the joy's we have while they are with us do outweigh it. We have so much love to give, it would be a shame to not give it to another animal when so many desperately need a home. You can't make it happen but be open to the idea and listen to your inner self.
I really thought I would never get another dog. For various reasons I felt that it would be bettter not to have dogs in my life excepth through other dog owning friends. But then a funny thing happened. After Pippin passed, a little dog that I had seen posted on Facebook kept coming to my mind and I realised that I needed to give a home to another dog in need. After a long process process, I adopted a 10 year old Shiba Inu that has a few minor difficulties. He is a hard to adopt breed and after 6 months or so in shelters and foster homes was having trouble finding a home. Something about his picture made me feel like he belonged here with me. It just clicked. My home and life are jsut the right fit for his special needs. So he came to live here a week to the day before my Merri passed.
Having Kyoshi here has been a tremendous help in coping with the loss of both my girls. He is nothing like them. Our routine is very differrent. He has blossomed in his short time here and his joyfulness is infectious.
I still reallly miss my girls but, for me, geting another dog quickly has been a huge help. He fills in that empty place so that it is not quite so painful.
Now my girls are together again. Their ashes will share the same special container made just for them by a woodworker friend of mine. Part of Merri's will be scattered in her favorite park as well because she just lit up everry time we went there for a walk in the woods.
I recently read a book called A dog's Purpose. It was pretty painful in parts but I have to tell you that book really helped me with this process. I think the author really nailed the dog's perspective on why and how they come and go in our lives and the value they give to our lives.
Sorry for your losses.
What happened to oyou is not unheard of. Two weeks after we lost our 17-year-old cat, Oscar, the cancer in our dog grew by 30%. It was grieving. We were able to keep him around for another 5 months before he was taken by anal gland adenocarcinoma after a 26 1/2 month fight, the month before his 12th birthday.
Additionally, my hairdresser told me that he lost his 2 cats a couple of weeks apart.
Personally, I think Merri waited to go until she saw another furry soul was there to take care of you.
Sorry for your losses.
What happened to oyou is not unheard of. Two weeks after we lost our 17-year-old cat, Oscar, the cancer in our dog grew by 30%. It was grieving. We were able to keep him around for another 5 months before he was taken by anal gland adenocarcinoma after a 26 1/2 month fight, the month before his 12th birthday.
Additionally, my hairdresser told me that he lost his 2 cats a couple of weeks apart.
Personally, I think Merri waited to go until she saw another furry soul was there to take care of you.
I started out by adopting my porch kitty, and for ten years and a couple of generations, her kids were my family. There were some times of sickness and loss, but everyone seemed to feel it, even my dogs. And my kitties were eating well and playing and clearly enjoying themselves when father time came.
The oldes had passed on the year before, and the others showed changes. Sweety, my all black beauty with a personality to match, was pronounced as best option euthinesed. It was old cat infection and didn't respond to much. I gave her the meds from him for the month, and then started a homeopathic treatment which kept her alive and looking well, and feeling far better for some five months. But others of the older ones had already faded.
I just sat there staring at the room, feeling so empy, when the last one woke and ate a little and was too weak to stand up in a few hours. I sat with her, petted her and she purred as she passed. I am only now starting to be able to cry for them. But in what has to be a very odd rescue, I got two kittens who were part of todays porce kitties. I'm working on their siblings, who spend most of the day by the door. I hope to get some at least inside by full on winter.
But when I think of Sweety and her peaceful end, I am very happy I could give her some peace at the end. She came to eat her food then napped oh my lap. She knew she wasn't going to last much longer, I think, too. She visited the others and then found a peaceful spot. I just gently rubbed her until it was over. She only stopped purring then.
I think animals understand more about the end, the leaving, than us. We hand on to things and disress ourselves about other things. Cats and dog and most who can know when its its time.
My new little guys are so cute and already cuddling. The little girl is solid black and the male grey and red/brown stripes. The dogs are getting used to them too and my youngest gave both kisses before they snuggled together the other night. And also, don't hurt them or look like your going to... their dogs are on full guard keeping their little ones safe.
Those of us who have had the great honor of having a cat love you and choose you and let you in can be very beloved as these little creatures are to us. And their grief just as real. But looking down that road, I think they help us see the world in a different way too. One thing many older humans say is when the people that fill their life have gone, and the things they love are fading, is to live like it was golden and when the time to rest has come to be fufilled, they are ready. I think its like that with cats too.
Now, as my plans have again been more or less 'redefined' again, I think I too face tomorrow with something akin to the wonder we once did as children, but in ways we could never see before.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
