Losing a pet.

[Hippobatman]

Always keep the pet's best interest in mind. If it is suffering the best thing to do is to let it rest, no matter how hard it is. I cried as hell over my dog, but I got over it. I have two dogs now which I love and they more than return that feeling. I will most likely outlive them as well, but that's not important now. I've also lost a budgerigar and cried over that one too, yet he was a terrible pet. Always flying about making noise and biting my ear and fingers. Named him Rocky for a reason.. Still, I loved that bird, even though he pooed on my shoulder.

If your dog needs to rest, let her. I am truly sorry about her situation, but if there's no other option, you must not deny the inevitable. I speak from personal experience. Time will heal your emotional scars. Just think about your good times together and things will get better.

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.

This is a very important point. Also keep in mind that no dog is alike, so don't go out there when you're ready expecting a dog with a similar personality as your last.

 

[Locust]

You could let your dad know that, were he to do this out of sheer cruelty, you would endeavor to make his life a living hell.
I mean, fire ants can get into some uncomfortable places when one is sleeping.

That's just me, though. Get an expert opinion on the state of her health, make it clear that it's your decision whether she is put down or not, and make the decision that's best for her.

My dad wouldn't really care. Around half a year ago he drove me so far into depression that I ended up cutting myself and considered suicide. He didn't really care and made everything out to be my fault, it took me a month to pull myself out of it.

Like I said before though, I don't really think she even needs to be put down. She is a bit old but she's still pretty energetic and jumpy, she hasn't stopped eating, she isn't constantly crying or being sick. All that really happened was she tripped down steps and hurt her legs a bit, but she managed to walk all the way back home in the snow. I don't see why she can't get better from it.

If your dog needs to rest, let her. I am truly sorry about her situation, but if there's no other option, you must not deny the inevitable. I speak from personal experience. Time will heal your emotional scars. Just think about your good times together and things will get better.

I guess. If she actually is sick and nothing can be done, I'll just accept it and let her go.

This is a very important point. Also keep in mind that no dog is alike, so don't go out there when you're ready expecting a dog with a similar personality as your last.

Yeah, like I said earlier, probably won't for the sake of convenience. I've got a pet gecko so I suppose I'll just look after that better.

Thanks though guys. My life is a fairly big mess and I hoped I wouldn't need to deal with this for a long time. Admittedly I did originally register here because I was trying to deal with the depression of breaking up, I can see it wasn't a bad decision.

 

[WeedWorm]

Aww man, thats pretty fucking shitty. My dogs betting old too, had him for about 11/12 years now at this stage. Gonna miss him like fuck when hes gone.

 

[Alphabeties]

I lost my pet last christmas.
it was awful, i know how you feel..probably.
he was a great friend and I just have to think about the good stuff, he lived a great life
and im sure your dog did too. Happy Thoughts.

 

[Haddi]

When my first cat was hit by a truck, I was devastated. I made a pretty stupid decision to just try and bury my obvious emotions after that, as a way of coping. That decision still affects me to to this day.

And my second cat had to be put down, because he had a fatal disease we weren't told about.

I was devastated, but not nearly as bad as with the first. I still loved the little guy, but I grew up with the first, George being my second birthday gift.

My current cat is lasting fine, and I'm happy beyond relief because of it.

 

[fedpayne]

I just lost my dog a couple of weeks ago. It hit me hard. I went home a couple of weeks ago and the empty space was just terrible. Even worse was dropping by my aunt's and seeing that that's where her bed had been donated to, and to see another dog sitting there.

Cry it out, man. It's shitty, it's terrible, but it happens. And you'll get over it. Don't listen to people who say that it was just a pet. That dog to me was a loving constant, and it's a fucking tragedy that she's never going to wander in and put her head on my leg, or wake me up in the morning by jumping on my bed. But she still did all those things a hundred times, and that's something that I'll have forever.

 

[gamebrain89]

Well, my first experience with losing a pet was pretty tough for me. It took me 16 years to finally get my parents to let me have a cat, mostly because of allergy problems (which I seem to have grown out of) and the money issue. They finally caved and allowed me to go the the shelter and pick out a kitten ( people who buy 600 dollar cats and dogs are retarded, when you can save an animal from the shelter for only twenty five bucks). I selected a little calico kitten that I named Skittles. Sadly, a week after I got here, she died of the Parvo Virus. I took it really hard, and almost didn't get my current cat because of it.

You can't replace your dog, but don't dwell on your loss. I know this is a bit cliche, but remember all the good times you had with your pet, and think about what is best for him. He has had a really long good life, so be happy that you gave him that. And when you feel you are ready, go find you another friend to add to your life. You will be happy you did.

 

[Maze1125]

If there is as little wrong with your dog as you make out then there is no reason to have her put-down.

I always find it absurd, with humans, even if they're in pain and asking to die, people won't let them, but with other animals, if they're still perfectly happy just in a bit of discomfort everyone's like "Put them down, it's the best thing for them."

If an animal's happy, there is no reason for them to die.

 

[lgrayson]

Can only sympathise - I was crushed when I found out our family dog wasn't coming back from the vet's. And I still feel guilt over having to re-home my dog before emigrating to Australia.

Giving that your relationship with your parents sounds a little strained, I'm not surprised that you've formed a strong emotional bond with your dog. It's gonna hurt like hell if and when it happens, but try not to dwell on the pain. Keep in mind the times you've had, and there will come a time when you look back and smile.

 

[samsprinkle]

Death is not bad. Just consider this philosiphical point of view: Death is merely the final stage of life. Afterwards anything could happen. and just wait. You'll develop this point of view after you start losing stuff WAY more important than pets...

 

[Owned by 3 year olds]

I lost my dog in October of last year.It was hard to see a friend that grew up with you go.It takes a while to recover. Don't forget to reflect on happier times.It helps.

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

You could let your dad know that, were he to do this out of sheer cruelty, you would endeavor to make his life a living hell.
I mean, fire ants can get into some uncomfortable places when one is sleeping.

That's just me, though. Get an expert opinion on the state of her health, make it clear that it's your decision whether she is put down or not, and make the decision that's best for her.

Or army ants! Oh wait you want to make his life hell, not strip him to the bone!

 

[Locust]

If there is as little wrong with your dog as you make out then there is no reason to have her put-down.

I always find it absurd, with humans, even if they're in pain and asking to die, people won't let them, but with other animals, if they're still perfectly happy just in a bit of discomfort everyone's like "Put them down, it's the best thing for them."

If an animal's happy, there is no reason for them to die.

Yeah, you're probably right. I spoke to my friend and he said the vet's only going to put her down if she's dying or dangerous, neither of which I believe are the case. People do exaggerate with animals and pain, humans go through the same and much worse, and very rarely is letting them die considered an option.

Suppose for now I'll just be hopeful. I guess there's no reason she can't have a few years left, I'll see what the vet says and keep you guys updated.

 

[Pingrash]

We had to put down our 19 year old cat a few months ago. This was particulary hard for me because I'm 18, the cat was older than me and she was always there.
Her death hit us hard but you start to get over it. Though I must admit I sometimes look at the couch and expect to see her sleeping there.

While we thought we wouldn't replace her for a while we ended up getting a puppy (who is currently chewing on my shoes) a few months later, mainly because the house felt empty without a pet.

EDIT
The reason why we put her down was because she was suffering from kidney troubles which were becoming worse and worse. It got to the point where antibiotics weren't working and the vet gave us the choice to either put her down or try more antibiotics. We chose to put her down because the antibiotics clearly weren't working and she looked miserable. It would have been cruel for us to try and keep her alive longer.
The day after we put her down we got a call from the vet. They had gotten the results for a blood test they did and it turned out that the infection was immune to every type of antibiotic available. So in the end she would have been put down anyway.

 

[Stryc9]

I've been through more cats than I care to count and I've had to put a few of them down myself because it's too expensive to take them to the vet to do it and it doesn't really get any easier. I've just found creative ways of dealing with it, like killing the raccoons that got my last kitten. In fact it really sucks to lose a pet that you care for.

Just hope that your dog isn't as bad off as it's being made out to be and try to make sure that you're there when she goes into the vet. I don't know about the laws\rules where you live but if your dad is as much of an ass as it sounds like he is he could go behind your back and have the dog put down anyway.

 

[thiosk]

its tough

i am quite attached to my little catbus. I cried like a 2 year old girl when I got the news she had leukemia.

 

[bmf185]

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.

My great grandmother just died. She was ninety years old, clever and funny as hell, and still mobile until her last days. That was made easier by the fact that one can't really expect much more out of life than that; it's pretty tough to live any longer without totally falling apart at the seams. Apply that to your dog maybe.

I am already becoming so attached to my pup that I've had for six months (she's nine months now) that I can't even imagine what it's like for you.

 

[Arachon]

Our cat (first one ever) died last summer, Got hit by a car, I don't cry very often, but then, I cried my fucking eyes out, felt alot better next day. We got a pair of new kittens a few months later, and whilst i occasionally still miss our first cat (he was such a charming fellow), it's nothing I get depressed over anymore...

 

[CaptainREBell]

I went on holiday once, and my older sister forgot to give our budgie some water. Dehydration must have been a pretty bad way to go.
I don't believe I forgave her, though the fact that she didn't agologize didn't help.

Everything has it's time. Don't do anything you'll regret, like putting down your dog when you believe he can be helped, or keeping him around when he's clearly suffering.
Best of luck )

 

[Mr Fatherland]

Losing one of my cat's was probably the saddest I've ever been. He had to be put down because he caught something or he ate a poisoned mouse.