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I lost my 12 year old dog very suddenly last February. 8 months earlier my dad passed away. In between a span of a year I have moved twice. I know some people will not understand why I am still grieving over my dog's loss. I got a kitty 6 months ago and while I love him, I still miss my little furboy desperately. He was more like my child than a pet.
I did go to grief counseling after my dad passed and it helped a little. I suffer from depression and having a pet seems to help. I love animals and between my roommate and I we have 2 cats. No dogs are allowed in my development, which I was upset about. I am trying to move on but I still think about my little guy every day with a heavy heart. I am single, no husband or children. I work with dogs as a pet sitter and I get very attached to them. Has anyone else gone through this?
Oh so sorry for your losses.... very sad time for you.
All us animal lovers understand your predicament...it hurts as they are so innocent and devoted to us and we to them.
It's normal to take months, especially with the death of your dad too. It takes as long as it takes...there is no set time for mourning, for dad or your dog.
Since you have had depression, have you considered antidepressants for a temporary time? Or do you already take them??
I've posted this before but...
One idea of heaven...when you arrive, all the animals you have ever loved come running to greet you.
Oh hon, yeah, I get you. My point with regard to pets has been that when you lose a friend or family member you generally mourn as part of a community, while with pets it is a very private kind of pain. Also, you are currently without a dog, which is hard for a dog person, especially if you rely on them to help you deal with something like depression.
I lost my big male Catahoula very prematurely a year ago. I adopted a kitten for my remaining dog and that helped with our grief, but then I ended up getting another Houla mix. She's a great little dog, but my heart still hurts. It will fade eventually. Your pain will too. Hugs.
My grief over losing both my dogs three weeks apart in January/February 2017 has just now begun to lift, but it is still present. For a while I thought it wouldn't ever lessen, that I would carry this heavy grief forever. I always thought I'd adopt another dog right away, but at this point I still feel like I don't want a new dog, I want my old dogs back. They were my best friends, and a part of my heart went with them when they passed.
I always say that each beloved pet, like each person we love, creates a special place in our hearts, a place shaped and sized just for them. When they pass, we feel that emptiness so deeply it hurts inside our hearts, and no one else can fill their special place. But the space they left will be filled again, forever, when we cross over and reunite with them on the other side.
Oh so sorry for your losses.... very sad time for you.
All us animal lovers understand your predicament...it hurts as they are so innocent and devoted to us and we to them.
It's normal to take months, especially with the death of your dad too. It takes as long as it takes...there is no set time for mourning, for dad or your dog.
Since you have had depression, have you considered antidepressants for a temporary time? Or do you already take them??
I've posted this before but...
One idea of heaven...when you arrive, all the animals you have ever loved come running to greet you.
Yes, I have been on medication for depression for a long while. It helps only so much. I also see a therapist. It's true there is no set time for grief. I think the depression is mostly grief. I also had a dear friend of mine move away and that hit me hard too.
I loved the last line you wrote. I pray that will be true.
If your furbaby was small, then 12 is way too early to say goodbye. My two are 13 and limping along. One is small and one sort of medium. I dread the day. But what would life have been like without them? I can't imagine. And thank goodness you were able to provide so much love, not in vain. Yep. Like losing a child. I'm so so sorry.
My dad died in 2009 and 3 weeks later I had to put my 18 yo dog to sleep. I mourned my lost dog for EIGHT YEARS. I finally broke down and got another, from a shelter, only to discover (TOO LATE) that the shelter lied to me about her medical condition and had no intention of living up to their promise to take care of any existing health problems.
Adopted 8/27/2017
Gone by 2/24/2018
She would have been 11 this month.
Just last week I found one of her whiskers in the bottom of one of my laundry baskets. She used to love to stick her head in the laundry when it was fresh out of the dryer. Must have lost the whisker then.
Missing the one, I miss the other again as well. I sympathize completely.
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