Losing a pet.

[Locust]

Well, I just got told my dog might be getting put down. She's around 12 years old and today she fell off some steps, can barely walk. I've never really had to deal with death above anything other than hamsters so I can't say I'm experienced with the subject. I'm not sure how to take it, or if I can even accept the news. I'm just wondering, have you guys ever lost a long-time pet, and if so, how did you deal with it? I have a lot of issues in my life and my dog's like my best friend, I'm not sure how to get over it or if such a pet's replaceable like that.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

Yep. I have lost a dog and a cat. It's not easy but you just have to get through it. Whenever you get one of these animals you have to remember they don't live as long as humans do, and thus one day you have to say goodbye. But the pain of loosing her will subside in time.

12 is a good age for a dog though. Shes had a happy life, and will live on in your memories. Try to focus on that rather than the loss to yourself.

 

[iain62a]

My gran died last week. When actual people around you die, you'll realise that pets don't matter.

 

[Kodlak]

I know how you feel, a relative of mine recently passed away. I know it's extremely hard to accept but (not wanting to sound like I'm talking to you like you're a child.) she is going to a better place, if she is finding it hard to walk then she must be in great agony most of the time. This is really going be about giving the dog peace, they wouldn't say it's best for her to be put down unless that is what is best for her. But the one thing you can do is make the most of the time you have with her count, and make her last few days happy as can be. Then keep her in your heart and she will live on forever in you.

 

[kommando367]

11 of my pets died (half of them dogs, 1/4 goldfish, 1/4 cats) with 2 MIA, the 2 oldest ones were ladybug (dog age 9) and midnight (cat age 5 1/2), and as for advice; don't harbor an emotional connection to a pet.

 

[mokes310]

I grew up with dogs and have out lived three of them. It hurts each time that you lose one, and over the years I've learned that remembering the good times that you've had with them can help you get over the loss. Also, try spending as much time with the dog as possible before it's her time. It sucks, it really does, but just think about all of the times that she made you smile.

 

[implodingMan]

My dog of 14 years died back in October. It was honestly one the of the most emotionally distressing things that has ever happened to me. My parents called me and told me, and I basically went in to emotional withdrawal for about 4 days.

Every now and then I think about him and I feel down. The best advice I can give is that you have to keep living. Don't stop going to class, don't stop eating. Keep going and you will get through it.

 

[Souplex]

Animals are like people, it stinks when one you like dies but there are plenty more.

 

[EeveeElectro]

When I was little, I had a dog called Prince who had to be put down because he was blind in one eye and his back legs stopped working. We waited a while and got another dog but that wasn't meant to replace him.
My cat Chester got ill and we had to have him put down. I remember laying in front of the fire and doing weird things with it's face, it was spewing some sort of mucus. I wrapped him in a blanket, put him in a box and took him to the vets with my mum and sister. I remember the vet was checking him and had some sort of green thing on his thumb which I thought was his bogeys (I was only young, lol) but my sister later told me was Chester's excrement.
My most recent cat, Lulu has been missing since November which is really upsetting me. I stayed up till 5AM looking for her for the first few weeks and left the kitchen light on, just in case she wanted to come home.
Pretty pathetic and childish, but pets are family.

 

[iain62a]

My gran died last week. When actual people around you die, you'll realise that pets don't matter.

Yeah, that's not really true. It depends on the person who dies and it depends on the person who survived them.

Ok, I'll rephrase it then.
When actual friends or relations die, you'll realise that pets don't matter.
Satisfied?

 

[Andalusa]

Well, recently I witnessed my own kitten (6 months) getting hit by a car. The kitten in question was called Gandalf and he was epileptic (yes it can happen in cats) so he wasn't aloud out of the house, somehow he managed to escape and the family were out looking for him. We found him crossing a road, before we could get to him a car came speeding down the road and hit him, he died instantly. Gandalf couldn't have moved fast enough as he had broken his leg previously and had a bad limp. So, he got smooshed and I had to watch it and it's not nice.

EDIT: I don't really know how I dealt with it, I don't even think I have properly, I just try to not think about it.

 

[MarsProbe]

Well, I know how it can feel, we had a Golden Retriever who lived for 15 years. Unfortunately, he had a stroke and eventually had to be put down. I wasn't aware he had actually been put down until after it was done as my dad and sister were taking him down to the vet for a checkup. Unfortunately, that was it and he never came back. It was hard at first and it was strange for a pet that's been around for so long to suddenly go, as after that time, they do become part of your life.

Whne you've had a pet for such a long time, they basically become part of the family too, so losing our dog was just as hard as it would have been to lose a family member as well (and yes, I have experienced that as well). Oh, and if someone gives you the "it's just a dog" angle, it's probably just due to the fact that they've not had one, or at least not for long enough...

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

Ok I have lost 2 pets, both dogs. The first ran away when I was 8 or 9, I think I was in either 4th or 5th grade. It sucked, and yeah I sobbed for a bit. Unfortunately, during the summer between my 9th and 10th grade year, my other got sick. I didn't get a chance to spend some last moments with him, because he got sick (we think someone might have poisoned him) while I was on vacation, and he was gone the day after I got back, so it was sprung on me.
It sucked like no other, I was so furious.
Granted, no the pain of those two together didn't equal when I lost my grandfather, but that doesn't mean my dogs didn't matter. For some people, pets are a member of the family. Heck, I will fully admit there were times I preferred Luke to my "real" family.

 

[Lazy Lemon]

I was thinking about this today. Some woman at work lost her cat today and she didn't seem bothered at all. The only thing she seemed to care about was that the cat cost £300 in the first place. She was even cracking a few jokes about it.
I don't see how people can care so little about their pets. When my dog died I cried all day, and then some more the next day, and then some more a few weeks later.

My gran died last week. When actual people around you die, you'll realise that pets don't matter.

Yeah, that's not really true. It depends on the person who dies and it depends on the person who survived them.

Ok, I'll rephrase it then.
When actual friends or relations die, you'll realise that pets don't matter.
Satisfied?

I'm not.
I didn't cry at all when my Grandma died (although I was only nine). It depends on your relationship with the person. For me, the dog was a bigger part of my life than my nan, so it was a bigger loss for me when he died.

 

[Locust]

Ok, I'll rephrase it then.
When actual friends or relations die, you'll realise that pets don't matter.
Satisfied?

That's a hell of a cold thing to say. A pet, especially a dog or cat, can be as much of a friend or a part of your life as a family member. I'm someone who's always had problems with friends, parents or lovers and my dog's been the only one I can truly trust not to fuck me over. Hell, I even got broken up with around a week ago, and after trying to pull through it, this happens.

The worst part is I don't even know for sure if she's going to die. She's always been fine, today she ended up falling off some steps and busted her legs a bit, I managed to walk her all the way back home, she has a little bit of troubling walking but it's understandable. I don't even think that warrants being put down, but my dad's abusive and would probably like to see the dog dead so he doesn't have to deal with her. I don't know what to do.

 

[soren7550]

One time, this was a few years back, I found my dear Hannah dead under the tub after I just took a shower. I felt really horrible afterwords because her baby, Julia, kept looking for her long after we cremated her. (I felt even worse when I had to inform my mother that she died because it reminded me of when I had to tell her when her mother died about a year earlier from that.)

 

[SecretTacoNinja]

I'm sorry about your dog OP...

I've never lost a pet but I'm sure when my dogs die I'll be crushed. They're members of my family and sometimes they're almost human...

 

[Quaidis]

Disregarding fish, the last pet I lost was a fourteen year old cat that I adopted knowing he would die. He had heart and lung trauma and was ten when I adopted him. It wasn't that hard to get over it; not only had he died suddenly, but I was also expecting it and I helped him live a warm, comfortable life for the short time he spent with me.

This is one example, the other that goes against it like night and day was the lost of a cat I had with me for twenty-one years. He was old, emaciated, and when you get to year eighteen with a cat you slip into a death waiting period. When is this cat going to kick the bucket? How can he continue walking? When this cat eventually did have two strokes over a period of a week and could no longer use his back legs, I had to take him to the vet to be put down. That is the worst possible way to go about things. It took me a long time of grief and over a year before I finally came to terms with the fact that I would no longer have a cat like him ever again.


If you have this dog put down, I highly recommend you have a vet come to your house to carry it out. That way there is no 'death' car drive period, no large 'I killed him' sensation. The dog will not be terrified and confused before you eventually put him out and will instead be in the company of his house and family. Afterward, please, by all means, cry. Get it out of your system; be human. Collect all old photos of your dog and make a multi-part picture frame out of them then hang it up. Keep in mind that there will be no actual replacement, you will never come across a dog identical to the one you are right now loosing. So only remember and cherish the good memories you had with him as well as the long life you helped him share.

Do not get a new dog until you are through grieving. I cannot stress this enough. If you go to a shelter or pick out a new dog in a state of loss and despair, the future dog will feed off your emotions and become an ever living nightmare by trying to become the most dominant thing in the house. Then you'd have to go through a period of time training the dog to know better, which I'm sure you don't want.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

i lost 3 turtles this year cause of my tank doing stupid things. i lost a few fish too, tho 3 of them died in a cool way my turtles ate them, tho they weren't intended as food

 

[Locust]

If you have this dog put down, I highly recommend you have a vet come to your house to carry it out. That way there is no 'death' car drive period, no large 'I killed him' sensation. The dog will not be terrified and confused before you eventually put him out and will instead be in the company of his house and family. Afterward, please, by all means, cry. Get it out of your system; be human. Collect all old photos of your dog and make a multi-part picture frame out of them then hang it up. Keep in mind that there will be no actual replacement, you will never come across a dog identical to the one you are right now loosing. So only remember and cherish the good memories you had with him as well as the long life you helped him share.

Do not get a new dog until you are through grieving. I cannot stress this enough. If you go to a shelter or pick out a new dog in a state of loss and despair, the future dog will feed off your emotions and become an ever living nightmare by trying to become the most dominant thing in the house. Then you'd have to go through a period of time training the dog to know better, which I'm sure you don't want.

If she does get put down, my parents aren't nice enough to give her a comfortable death, I know that much. My father is a pretty abusive person and when he's not taking it out on me verbally, he'll beat the dog. If anything he's probably looking forward to it. It'll be at the vet most likely and I dunno if I want to see that. My friends are saying it's only fair I'm with her till the end, but it seems pretty cold of her to die in some vet alongside two people who despise her and a doctor she doesn't even know.

I don't know if I want another dog for a while though. I've been planning to go to the US or something once college is over, I've already got the means to do it. It'd just hurt if I got attached to another animal and had to leave it behind.