anyone scared

of how they'll react if their pet dies? i know my dogs won't live forever but i think i'll go a little mental. i spend all of my time with my dogs right now (i'm unemployed and 8 months pregnant) and before this, the way i got my first dog, i don't think i'll ever have another love like that (at least with a pet) i got him when i was living in florida by myself lonely while DH was living in NY in the police academy. he was my everything at the moment and the only thing i looked forward to at the end of the day. i can't even really think about o'malley dying because i just start crying hysterically even though he's healthy as can be and only 6 years old (he's a jack russell and they tend to live between 15-20 years) i seriously think DH will have to put me through therapy or some kind've grievance program :-/ it scares me so much i have nightmares about it sometimes and end up crying for like half the day. i sound crazy, i know.

Re: anyone scared

We lost all three of our dogs in four years - it sucks.

Re: anyone scared

Let me tell you- yes, I was ALWAYS scared of this before I had a pet die.
I was so in love with my cat that I thought about it and obsessed about it all the time.

And then it happened. Suddenly. And she was young too.

It was by far the most horrible day of my life thus far. I still have vivid memories of it all, it still haunts me months later... I don't think I'll ever be 100% ok with it.

I reacted far worse than I even imagined I would when I used to worry about it.

I really think there isn't a way around it- you give your heart, you risk getting it broken. Just like with the humans in your life...

Message edited 6/5/2009 4:35:15 PM.

Re: anyone scared

I think about it very very very often.

Re: anyone scared

totally understand how you feel ...
i CAN NOT imagaine a day w/o Jack
when i read of pets passing i tear up
when i watched Marly & Me i was a case
to be committed.. i know the day will come...
but i rather NOT think of it... ... i never thought
a pet could be so loved .... and now i see my Jack

Message edited 6/5/2009 10:11:47 PM.

Re: anyone scared

When I lost my first pet, which I had since I was 5, I was heartbroken.

Then a few years alter I lost my two cats within one month of each other. These were two more cats I grew up with.

I now have two more cats and I will be heartbroken when they die as well. I love them and they are my life.

But that is the way it is when you get pets. Nothing lasts forever. Sorry if that is harsh, but I try to look at so that you enjoy the time you DO have together. It doesn't make sense to get sad about something that hasn't happened yet. You can only do so much and I'm sure you've given them a great life thus far. Enjoy the time you have now.

Re: anyone scared

I seriously think about this all the time. I don't think that i am going to react very well not that i think many people do but I know i will lose my mind. I go nuts when i go away for a week or so and leave her with my mom or my sis (where she is very happy) so when that day comes i have already pre-warned DH that i will need to be committed. Petunia is a child to me. She isn't just a dog. She is at my side 24/7 i even trip over her sometimes. She sleeps with me every single night. So yes i know exactly how you feel

Message edited 6/6/2009 5:52:17 AM.

Re: anyone scared

Its not crazy at all and I'm so sorry you're going through it When Syd was getting older I woud make DH go see him first thing in the morning to make sure he ws ok because I was afraid of finding him dead When the day finally came, it was beyond devastating and I'm still not over it. I had to take off from work for a few days and couldn't speak to anyone. They play such an important part in our lives and its so hard to imagine it without them

Re: anyone scared

Re: anyone scared

I can't even seriously think about it, which I'm sure will make me completely unprepared when the time comes. It's been less than a year, and he is so much a part of our lives and family. He's changed our relationship for the better, he's changed ME for the better, and he has a wide circle of friends himself.

He is the way that I try to make up for all the suffering or neglected animals I've known in my life. We give him everything we can think of to make him happy because he's given us so much in such a short period of time.

Forgive the sentiment. We just got back from our first vacation with him and he made it pretty great.

Re: anyone scared

I get emotional just thinking about it... I love my 3 to pieces. I try to cherish the time I spend with everyone in my life - furry or not - because our time is precious.

Re: anyone scared

Even though I have a human baby now, despite what people have said about how I will "forget" my dogs, that has NOT happened. My dogs are my furry children. I am their mom and Dh and I always talk about how much we love them, can't wait to see baby enjoy them (she's starting to notice them and laugh at them). I actually still feel bad when we go out with baby and they can't come.

I can't imagine them being sick or frail or dying, it upsets Dh and I too much to think of that. But I have lost pets before so I know how painful it is, I don't want to think about it now...

Re: anyone scared

Sometimes I used to sit on the couch with Schultz laying half on my lap (that's all that fit!) and pet his head and wonder how I could ever handle losing him.

I've lost pets before, dogs and cats. It was always difficult, it always sucked. But this one was way harder than anything I have done, besides my miscarriages. It is now 6 weeks since I lost him and I still find it difficult to be without him. The house is so quiet. The first week afterwards I didn't want to be at home because he wasn't there.

I do have Zoey, I love her, but she's always been "Daddy's girl". Since her ACL surgery almost 2 weeks ago, we have spent alot more time together which has been great.

But I really just decided that losing Schultz was something I'm never going to get over, and for me, I had to accept that first. He had a piece of my heart, and unfortunately, it still feels like it's a part of me I'm never going to get back.

Re: anyone scared

We don't talk about it. We joke around that Cooper and my grandfather will live together forever!

Re: anyone scared

My dog passed on February 23, 2006 and it was the worst day of my life. I have had bad things happen so don't think I am that sheltered. My dog meant everything in the world to me, we grew up together, we participated in many events together on a regular basis, I spent all my free time grooming him, playing with him, walking him, and later on caring for him in his old age. He was a part of who I was/am and letting him go was the most difficult decision I ever had to make. I still miss him every single day and think about him all the time. I vowed that I could never go through the loss of another dog again. It took me over a year to even look at a dog of his breed without crying. (Sometimes I still well up a little though.) I have recently decided I am ready for a new puppy and I will be getting him in mid-August hopefully. My DH has been reminding me now, even before I get him as a baby that someday he will need to leave this world because I handled it so badly the first time. Hopefully this is an extreme situation and others will get through it easier than I did.

Re: anyone scared

If I even think about losing my dogs, I cry right then and there. I'm going to be a wreck when the time comes. It terrifies me.

Re: anyone scared

I've never been as close to another animal as I am to Katie. When I've lost other pets I had a really hard time but losing Katie would probably push me over the edge. She's my best friend.

Re: anyone scared

I thought about this for quite a few years before I lost my dog of 15 years. I can honestly say it was the most devastating and hardest thing I ever went through. I sometimes don't know how I got through it. I really had a hard time with it and even now still do. She was my everything, always there for me. She is forever in my heart.

Message edited 6/8/2009 5:01:55 PM.

Re: anyone scared

I started crying at the vets office one day when i saw someone there with their old dog & i knew they were there to put it down...i felt like a freak...i just love animals so much..and have two dogs myself...i cry sometimes thinking about when their time will come..but mostly try to enjoy every day I do have to share with them. I think anyone with a pet can relate!

Re: anyone scared

My God- I can't even imagine. I think both me AND DH will lose it.

We got our pup after I had a miscarriage in 2007 and he quickly became our "baby." He is the biggest mush EVER and just loves to cuddle with us. Luckily, he is only 2 years old, so we've got lots of time with him!

Re: anyone scared

We had Barney for just a little less than 4 years (he was a rescue dog). He was around 4-5 when we got him (or so they say).
We had to put him to sleep May 7.
I was an emotional basketcase. To this very day when I look at a picture of him or think about him, I cry. I was in such a funk for like a week afterwards. It sucked- it was so hard- and that was having him for 4 yrs.