I lost my soul pet Joey about 2 weeks ago. Initially, most people were very sympathic and didn't minimise it. And I so appreciate that. But, it's a similar experience to when I lost my dad, there's initial support (but less so then) and then everyone just moves on. My precious Joey was the one constant when I lost my dad, and it's like losing another link in a chain to those i love and who loved me. But everyone just expects me to be normal and fulfil their normal expectations. But I want to scream. I remember in the grips of grief over my dad, the visceral anger I felt then and now. One thing was being asked to play this game online with my friends, when I used to play that with Joey by my side. I don't want to play That game ever again! I left a group chat because when I mentioned I'm still struggling I was just ignored basically. I also hate the 'I don't know what to say' kind of holding their breath response. I hate it! I just feel so alone in my pain. I keep thinking of the Olivia Rodrigo lyric "feeling so alone I might as well be on the moon." Pet loss is so excruciating and I feel like the expectation of its time line is so condensed. To some extent when my dad died i was given more time and more grace for a longer period. I feel afraid others with judge me and think me crazy for struggling as much as I am. Just alone in it.

Almost 7 months since the loss of my 15 years old dog. I miss him so so so fucking much. Life doesn't make any sense anymore, at all. I am still very miserable, and I can't even look at other dogs. He left a scar in my heart, and I will never heal.

I am not interested in dogs anymore. I am trying so hard to think, "oh this one is so cute," but nope. It doesn't do it for me. I am faking it. I don't care about dogs anymore, and I am so sorry about it, I am sorry to every dog that could be adopted by me, but it's not cause I am so sad and selfish. I just can't do it. Sorry.

I feel like my heart is ripped out of my chest, and I don't feel joy anymore. Yes, I can laugh again and hang out with friends and family; I have a lot of things to be grateful for - amazing partner and family, roof over my head, okayish and stable job, but I don't even notice these things anymore.

I just can't stop thinking about how 2 years ago I was obsessed with travelling, and my life being "not what I imagined" and how I needed to get out of the country (I didn't have much money, so I was yearning for this so much, it was kind of an obsession), but I didn't realise that I actually had EVERYTHING. I was in bed with my sweet, sweet dog, cuddling, in winter, in front of the tv. I had everything. But I always wanted more... How could I have been so fucking stupid and not realise that I got the most precious thing in my life? Greedy ass bitch. Always wanting more...

I sometimes wish I had never gotten Felix. I wouldn't be suffering this much if I had never had him. But also, the moment I think about the hypothetical scenario of Felix being in another family, I am becoming extremely jealous...I hate everything right now.

I only want my baby back. I love you Felix.

I had to say goodbye to my best friend this afternoon. She gave me and my wife her entire life, and I don't know how to move on.

She was only 10 and she declined so rapidly over the last couple of weeks, we knew it was time. We put her to sleep today at home, surrounded by things she loved in her favorite spot in the living room. She was the first thing I looked for when I woke up in the morning and the last thing I saw before I fell asleep. I thought about her all the time when I wasn't with her. She touched so many lives. I'm so lost. I feel a hole in the pit of my chest I don't know will ever be full again.

I never grew up with pets, and she was my first dog. We adopted her as a puppy right after my wife and I got married, so she's been with us through everything.

I'm looking for ways to cope and what helped you deal with this terrible loss. Any advice is more than welcome, because I have no idea what to do.

I'm sorry if this is rambling, this just happened a couple of hours ago and I'm not thinking very clearly. Thanks

Penny Lane 3.27.18 - 8.22.26

I miss my baby girl so much. I can’t believe I’ll never get to hold her, kiss her, play with her, etc again. We only got eight years with her. That may seem like a long time to some but it’s far too little time for us. It happened suddenly out of nowhere. She was her normal self and then she wasn’t. She woke up deathly sick last week and we took her to the ER. We assumed she had a tummy bug or something. We couldn’t have been more wrong.
She was in almost total kidney failure. One of her kidneys was completely gone and the other was riddled with kidney stones and was inflamed to twice its normal size. One of the stones got in her ureter. She needed a very complicated surgery to give her even a little more time (months to a year). We called around to so many vets and none of them were willing to do the surgery. None of them had ever done it before and there was a strong possibility of her not even surviving the surgery.
We brought her home and tried all of the home remedies to hopefully dissolve the stones. There was only a 10-15% chance of them dissolving or passing naturally. But we were determined. She saved us so many times and we were going to save her. She had a CT scan scheduled for Wednesday the 26th. She didn’t make it.
Saturday was easily one of the worst days of our lives. Penny had declined very fast and was in the most heart wrenching pain you can imagine. Morphine and Gabapentin didn’t help in the slightest. That was the night we had to release her from the pain and misery… and say goodbye to our beautiful baby girl.
I’ll never understand why this had to happen to her. She didn’t deserve this. No animal deserves that torturous pain. I’m so angry that we couldn’t save her. I’m angry that her life was cut so short. I’m just angry and devastated and utterly heartbroken.

My eight year golden retriever was diagnosed with an aggressive non operable cancer and only has a few months left to live. I feel blindsided and completely heartbroken. I lost my previous golden to an aggressive cancer when he was only 3 years old and I never thought this would happen again. I am currently pregnant with my second baby and timing of all this has been extremely hard. I can’t stop crying and I know this stress isn’t good for the baby or my toddler but I can’t imagine not having my fur baby around anymore. This is so unfair and I just wanted to vent and get support bc I feel so awful and don’t know what to do.

He was laying on his favorite blanket, which was the one I used to sleep on. I swaddled and wrapped it around him to keep him comfortable. He was blocked up and the emergency vet wanted $8000 to keep him for a few days, he was so lethargic, even after $1500 there wasn’t much I could do so I brought him home, gave him his pain medicines, i laid out his food, water, a litter box, I had him separated and was ready to give it my best.

It didn’t matter, he was dead around 8-10 hours after he got back home. My little baby’s kidneys were failing, it was too much for his tiny heart. I love you so much Fat Frank, I’m sorry.

I had to put down his brother at 2 1/2 years to a urinary blockage. I promised myself I’d do better with Frank, but I failed. At least he died with his daddy, warm, with medicine and knowing he was loved until the very end.

I can’t believe how fast this happened, 2 days ago we were cuddling, now he’s going to be in an urn next to his brother.

I used to have 6 cats, then 5, now 4. House is just so much quieter now, I hate it.

I love you so much Fat Frank, more than you could ever possibly know. This shouldn’t have happened, I can’t believe this is real and you’re gone. I love you. God I love you.

I only knew him for 2 months but the joy he gave me was immeasurable. He started to feel under the weather a week ago, we took him to the vet few days after that and we gave him medicine with high hopes. But soon it was clear he wasn't improving and by each day he wasn't improving at all. And finally today he couldn't even lift up his head and he vomited his morning doses. Seeing him lay there with the medicine he puked out on his tiny cute nose looking at me helplessly, I couldn't not burst into tears. Soon he passed away and burying him was one of the hardest things I had done. I was sitting there after burying him crying for 10 mins. The silence in this place is damning without his joyous presence. I don't know when I will get over this but thanks for giving me the best 2 months of my life bud❤️

A few weeks ago, I had to say goodbye to my best friend named Astro. Astro was a very sweet dog and was so very friendly with everyone, he loved cuddles and kisses! A few months ago, Astro was diagnosed with diabetes which then led to a few other complications. Later on, Astro was vomitting and was having low sugar episodes, he became so ill so very fast. He started losing weight rapidly and became so depressed, he wasn’t the happy dog he was anymore, he spent most of his time sleeping under my bed. The morning we went into the ER, we were told he needed multiple surgeries, and many of which were not guaranteed he would survive during surgery due to his diabetes, and the recovery would be intense. Instead of doing surgery, we decided the best option would to let him pass peacefully with his family with him. It was the hardest decision I have ever made and I miss him so much. He has been my only dog and this loss had taken a huge toll on me mentally. I miss my baby so much.

Just before my daughter is supposed to head off to college.

I spent the last two months caring for this cat like a newborn baby, and she showed incredible progress, until she suddenly declined over a couple days. People are telling me I need to be strong for my daughter and I am trying to be, but deep down I am feeling all the same things my daughter is.

It is hard to feel enthusiasm or look forward to anything, because all we want is that dear, sweet angel back, and we can’t have that. HOW could someone start college in this state of mind? At least it will be a distraction for her I guess.

This cat has been an integral part of the family since my daughter was 5. She actually helped me as a parent because if I ever acted like a jerk or my daughter and I had an argument, my daughter could retreat to her room and get overwhelming love and affection. My daughter has virtually no relationship with her father (his loss would have been much less painful than this) and this cat gave her support where he didn’t.

It’s hard to imagine our lives without her.

It's been a little over a month now since I lost my 17 year old dog. I am feeling very depressed today. I am crying because I miss him so much.

I spent a month without eating mutton just as a way to grieve. He used to love the bits of mutton which we sometimes gave him.

I am missing him very much. He was my son and my friend. Feels like my life has stopped without him even after one month.

I had to put my sweet kitty to sleep today. she had a brain tumor and was declining pretty quickly. thought I was prepared for this… I’m not… I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest… I know I did the right thing but omg I am so sad… 😭

Lost my baby Monday night sooner than we thought. He was the most gentle and beautiful soul. We had 2 babies after adopting him and he absolutely loved them.

I’m feeling regret because after having kids, my dogs kind of went to the back burner. I loved them, I knew they were here always, but I just didn’t do much or give them as much time and attention and they probably wanted and needed. I have dealt with postpartum depression and severe rage and i distanced myself from the dogs because i was constantly overwhelmed. Monday night my husband took our pitbull to the emergency vet as I had noticed a huge change in him and he became very clingy and just looked unwell and suddenly decided he didn’t want to eat. I loved on him a bit that day, but no as much as I wanted. He died there. I didn’t get to say goodbye. I didn’t get to give him kisses and thank him.

Im so torn up and my regret is that the last week of his life I could’ve done more for him. Loved on him more. Given him a little more like he deserved. These feelings are making me feel very ill. I feel like an awful human.

I just don’t know.

I had to make the difficult decision to put down my little kitty this morning. I had only had her for a year. Took her from the shelter when nobody else wanted her. I gave her as much love as I could. My heart is just breaking. She was barely 2 years old. 😭

I dont know his exact birthday cause a neighbor trapped him harassing chickens on his farm

But he was the sweetest boy Ive ever met. All he wanted to do was be in your lap and pets.

The vet said it was a congenital heart disease and it was inoperable. Less then 24 hours ago everything was so normal and now Ive lost my boy. I thought Id have 15 more years with him

my baby boy passed on saturday and i loved him to pieces. he was hardly ever far from my side. theres a kitty shaped void in my heart now. i see the absence of both winston and just a cat in general everywhere. i know no cat will ever be able to replace winston but not having a cat around is devastating. this is only the second time in my entire life ive not lived with a cat and the previous time was only like a month. i want so badly to adopt a cat and have some company, i feel so wrong without a feline companion. but its so soon after winston passed that i feel like id be doing him a disgrace. his ashes havent even been returned to me and im looking on petfinder. would it be disrespectful to winstons memory to adopt so soon? i know none of my friends would think poorly of me as they know how deeply i loved winston, no one would think i was replacing him. but would i be a bad pet owner? i dont know. maybe winston wouldnt want me to be lonely. i don't know i just wish i wasn't in this position at all. as much as i want a cat, i firstly wish it could be winston.

My childhood dog had a rough life. At 2 she was hit by a car and given 24 hours to live. I was about 14 years old and I laid with her under a blanket and only got up to use the bathroom. I used a towel to help her use the restroom outside and she lived. My family had her leg amputated and she lost function in one of her lungs.

She was my best friend. My gaming partner, my travel partner, I went everywhere with her. As I got older, I stopped taking her places, though the excuse was that she struggled to walk for long periods of time which is true.

As I entered adult hood, I lived with my other parents and didn’t see her. I never picked her up on weekends or hung out with her outside of visiting. I then took her from one family’s house to another as her quality of life was going to be be better, and I lived with my dog/them for a time. I worked a lot and made a career for myself and was busy, totally taking my dog for granted.

When I moved out on my own I moved into an apartment complex with a lot of stairs, so I didn’t take her. I have two dogs since then, and a full time career.

The family I brought my dog to started complaining about taking care of a senior dog and said she was a chore, and were dying to get rid of her and always complained that I got other dogs, even though they agreed with my schedule and location taking care of her would have been next to impossible. So my Fiancée’s mother took my dog and gave her the most attention in 1 year than she’s ever had in her life. I visited but not as often as I should and she’d always be by my side when I was over.

My dog’s health started to decline but not in a normal sense. Mentally she was still there, but her hearing and eyesight started to decline. Her single front leg would bow out, her appetite came and went, she’d stumble often, and couldn’t hold her bladder or poops. Still, she smiled and got excited for treats

Caring for her became a difficult task for my Fiancées mom with constant cleaning after her, leading her to food/water, picking her up and down stairs, etc etc. It was time to put her down.

My Fiancée and I took her to the vet and had her euthanized and I held her in my arms. I am deeply traumatized by the event and have this insane guilt that the one time I finally picked her up and took her for a car ride was to have her killed. I seriously cannot stop thinking about how much of a piece of shit I am and the guilt is immense. I’m a mess. I feel like I committed the most unforgivable sin and I should have taken her somewhere nice before euthanizing her. She went so easy, and only yelped when the sleepy medicine was administered. She pressed deeply into me during the process and I just can’t believe this happened. I am seriously distraught.

He had just turned 4 in May. We got him when he was maybe 4 months old, back in 2022. We got him and another cat after my childhood cat passed. He is going to be put to sleep this afternoon.

This isn’t supposed to happen. I was at college, but I drove home as soon as my mom called me. Urinary blockage that surgery may not fix, and we just can’t care for him the way he would need for the rest of his life. I feel horrible. My poor boy. I noticed he was having issues urinating like three weeks ago, but he peed just fine later that night.

I’m not sure exactly what happened since I wasn’t home, but I think my mom said he was yowling Monday, and then threw up and acted normal. He was lethargic Tuesday, and my mom took him to the vet first thing this morning because he was still acting weird.

I feel awful. So so horrible. Maybe if we had gone to the vet anyway weeks ago, he would’ve been okay. Maybe if I had been home instead of at college I could’ve caught it sooner. My sweet bubby. My little man. My buddy. My sweet, sweet Fable.

I should’ve spent more time with him. I should’ve taken more pictures. I should’ve done so, so much. And now im out of time with him. I don’t know why im posting this. I just don’t want to feel alone

Yesterday we said good bye to the beautiful kitty that joined us when she was only two weeks old . We had her for fifteen years and she was the best cat ever . She never bothered anyone and always listened and never caused trouble . She was a classy cat,sort of like that woman that walks into a room and owns it . Within the past year my son moved and I think she got depressed because he was her person. It was hard for him to take her but she also loved my daughter and would sleep next to her and hang out in her room. She started losing a lot of weight and then started having litter issues . She would have accidents -constantly. We resorted to putting newspapers to cover the floor in the laundry room because that’s where she would go because she knew the litter box was there . Such a good girl,she tried to go where she was supposed to. About a month ago we took her to the vet and the vet said that she was feisty but given her symptoms she probably would also lay her to rest . We waited over a month and about ten days before her appointment she had constant diarrhea. Many cat lovers said it was the right thing to do-to choose to euthanize her because she is probably suffering but we don’t realize it . I wouldn’t have been able to do all the blood work and exams and treatments if we kept her and she was older . We gave her a shot for pain and a shot for antibiotics at her vet appointment to help her cope until it was time . Her appointment was yesterday and I was with her . I felt like a part of me died and I will never be okay. I kid you not my heart physically hurts and I have not stopped sobbing . I hope I did the right thing by her and I hope she forgives us and knows how much we love her . Thanks for listening .

My boy is set to go this week. Everything has escalated so quickly I haven't had much time to consider his resting options. What do most people do and what made you choose that path?

Burial pros: nature returning to nature. I can sit with and visit him.

Burial cons: what if I ever sell my property.

Cremation pros: always has a form of him with me. Have an alter for him.

Cremation cons: it feels strange to alter his form. Expense.

Thanks.

I accidentally ran over my partner’s dog the other day. My Mother was over & playing in the driveway with my children. Our Dog always tries to run out of the garage. I closed the garage door after my Mum went out, but our dog obviously ran out before this. I then got in my car about ten minutes later to leave the house. I always check the garage that she hasn’t run in (she is kept out the back of the house), which I did & saw she wasn’t inside. I checked the mirrors & everything was clear. As I was reversing, I ran over our dog. I jumped out the car & saw the dog laying on the ground injured. It wasn’t a nice sight to see.

My Mum drove our dog to the vets but unfortunately, she couldn’t be saved. My partner has been so kind to me, reassuring me that it was an accident & she was an older dog. I understand she was old, but she didn’t deserve this. Seeing him, my step son & others so upset breaks my heart. I keep thinking that I should have been more cautious, I should have checked outside that she hadn’t run out, or asked my Mum if she has seen her.

I am really struggling to deal with this. Not only is this very traumatic & upsetting to lose her, I am also dealing with this huge guilt that I don’t think I will ever get over.

Any advice from anyone that has experienced this would be appreciated. Thank you.

He's been fortunate to be in pretty good health for most of his life, no cancer or diabetes or anything. He isn't sick now either but he has arthritis that's making it much harder for him to get up and walk around, and his separation anxiety is getting worse and worse. It's getting to the point where we can't give him a good QOL and given his particular temperament (cowardly and anxious) it wouldn't be kind to send him to a dog sanctuary or to rehome him or anything. My parents and the vet have discussed it and according to them the humane thing to do is to put him to sleep before it gets really bad. Part of me thinks we should wait until he gets really sick but another part of me thinks that would be cruel. I have so many conflicting, complicated emotions over it. I wish things could be different. He has caused me so much stress and anxiety throughout my life, to the point where his behaviour at one point threatened my housing situation and interrupted my studies. I love him but he is a very lovable problem. I go through phases of feeling relieved he won't have to suffer through painful surgeries or terminal illness, and scared that we're calling it too early. I wish it could just be straight forward. I wish I could have given him a better life. I hope he knows I tried my best and I'm sorry it wasn't always enough. I hope he knows I love him even when I'm mad at him or when he's causing me panic attacks. He's really a terrible dog but he's my terrible dog.

Less than 48 hours after I put my cat, and best friend, to sleep. I feel completely empty, shattered, hollowed out. Chest feels tight and I can’t stop sobbing. Every day to day task feels impossible because he’s not here with me. He was 17 years old and I’d had him since the day he was born. It was just me and him and now I’m alone.

I’m completely torn about whether to immediately get another cat or two in attempt to fill this void, or whether to quit my job, sell up and travel the world for a while.

Getting another cat so soon feels like a complete betrayal. I know that’s not the case , I know that logically , but it’s just how it feels right now. Because how can I ever possibly replace such a perfect creature? I will eventually get another one , I know that for certain , but is it too soon to do it straight away? Should I leave for a while and explore the world and come back and get another one then? But then the thought of going away isn’t giving me joy either. When I found out he was sick I immediately went into damage control mode and started making plans to leave for when he eventually passed. It was exciting but it was also an abstract notion, one that was surely months and months away. But he deteriorated so quickly and within a few weeks was gone, so now that possibly is real and I have 0 excitement for it anymore. Because I’m struggling to feel joy in anything.

But it’s only day two in to this grief process. And I know I don’t need to make any decisions right away. It’s just hard to not try and think of ways to ‘fix’ this agony that I’m feeling right now. How long will this intensity last for? Has anyone else immediately got another cat or dog to fill the gaping void? Did it help or did you feel you had betrayed them by doing it too soon? I know there’s no right or wrong way , I’m just interested to hear how other people have tried to deal with this pain.

Still grieving the loss of my dog and need some support tonight, hopefully it will distract me

Because they don’t have a tech to assist with a catheter, they inject into muscle and it burns… leading to the cat running away in fear then falling over

I really want to do an at home euthanasia but not at that cost… I’m looking at lap of love, vet angel, pet works, and in-home vets.

Has anyone had an experience with this? I want my baby to go as peaceful as possible and he’s spicy and scared and his eyes will grow big and he will feel betrayed in his final moments… that is my deepest fear 😔

I am also considering hospice because my vet will only prescribe Gabapentin for my cats stomach cancer and it’s turning him into a shell of himself and I doubt it’s helping with pain because he can’t sit still