# Losing a pet....



## Cee Paul

So I'm sure there are many others on here who have lost a beloved pet either recently or in the past, and this past weekend my wife and I sadly had to go through this ourselves putting down our cat Domino at 12 years old because of ongoing health issues. I am still feeling pretty down of course(it's only been 2 days)so if anyone else has dealt with this please share, and let me know the whole process because I haven't lost a pet since I was in my teens about 30 years ago.


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## TCSRedhead

I'm very sorry for the loss of your pet.


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## Nucking Futs

I lost my dog about 8 years ago to a tumor. He was having trouble breathing and at the time there was no provision for oxygen for pets in my town so I had driven him up to a specialist about 40 miles away. I had to leave him there while they did a bunch of tests on him but I got the call the next day at work that his tumor had thrown off a blood clot and they had him on a ventilator. They told me that he would never recover and would need the ventilator for as long as he lived so I had to tell them to let him go. Tore me up that I wasn't even in the same town when he died. That evening I drove home from work and when I got to the house I sat in the car for about 10 minutes because I didn't want to go in and not get my big greeting. That's what would make it real to me, not having him bouncing around me excited to see me. 

2 years later I lost another dog to an immune system disorder (her immune system was attacking her brain.) That was not as hard because I had time to get used to the idea and when she went down in the back end I knew the end was close. Still hurt though. She was only 5 years old. I can still see her in my mind's eye dragging her hindquarters behind her while she hunted lizards. 

I only have one dog right now and she's 11 years old. 2 of my last 3 dogs died at 11, same breed. She's in excellent health though, even has palpable abs from digging up the back yard.

I'm all teary eyed writing this.


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## Coffee Amore

Cee Paul said:


> So I'm sure there are may others on here who have lost a beloved pet either recently or in the past, and this past weekend my wife and I sadly had to go through this ourselves putting down our cat Domino at 12 years old because of ongoing health issues. I am still feeling pretty down of course(it's only been 2 days)so if anyone else has dealt with this please share, and let me know the whole process because I haven't lost a pet since I was in my teens about 30 years ago.


I'm sorry to hear of your loss, Cee Paul.

When our very, very old dog was dying of cancer, we made the really difficult decision to put her to sleep. It was a two part process. The vet and staff were very kind. The vet gave a sedative first. She seemed to like it. She seemed really relaxed. Her eyes were closed. It looked like she was in a deep sleep. We got to pet her, talk to her, tell her what a good dog she was, and then when we were ready, we told the vet to give the second medication. It was an overdose of an IV anesthetic. Death came very fast. Like maybe within 1 minute of the IV. It was very peaceful. They let us stay a long time with her before we left. She was cremated. 

The passage of time helps ease the pain of loss. I think of all the good memories I have of her. I think of all the funny things she'd do. The first few days and the first week were the hardest. It might help to write down all your memories of Domino. I made a digital scrapbook from all the photos I had. And of course I talked the ears off my friends who were willing to listen to me. It's not just an animal. After that many years, your pet is a part of the family.


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## Cee Paul

It was hard because our cat was still having good days where he was playful and alert as of a month ago, but then over the past two weeks he began to get very sick and we were told his kidneys were malfunctioning and shutting down slowly. Then last Friday he vomited 3 times and another 3 times Saturday and didn't wanna eat very much(only small doses of dry food), and was waking up crying off and on both nights. So that is when the decision to call in the pet hospice out to the house this past Sunday took place, and then he was quietly and peacefully laid to rest by injections in our home ontop of his favorite blanket with us both at his side petting him.


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## Coffee Amore

It sounds like you did the kindest thing for Domino. You did something that people can't do for terminally ill people in pain. The kindest final thing you can do for your pet is to give them a painless good bye. 

Someone gave this to me after my dog died..I swear it made me bawl.

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. 
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. 

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. 

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. 

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....


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## Cee Paul

Coffee Amore said:


> It sounds like you did the kindest thing for Domino. You did something that people can't do for terminally ill people in pain. The kindest final thing you can do for your pet is to give them a painless good bye.
> 
> Someone gave this to me after my dog died..I swear it made me bawl.
> 
> The Rainbow Bridge
> 
> Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
> When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
> 
> All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
> 
> They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
> 
> You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
> 
> Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....


Ahhh, that is the same thing printed on the inside of his memorial book the pet hospice gave us and we love it, and they put his paw print and a clip of his hair inside it along with his death information(time, date, location, etc).

Here is our beloved Domino back in 2012 who was a very loving and very silly cat that will be missed; and yes he was a big one at 22lbs.


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## silentghost

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your cat, Domino. YOu have my condolences.

Back in June '07, I had to put down my sheltie of 10 yrs. It was the most heart wrenching....gut wrenching....decision I had to make. She developed hemolytic anemia ( autoimmune disease) a month prior to her death...and this disease was destroying her blood cells making her very anemic. 
For the 10 yrs I had Sassy....my husband and I travelled, camped, hunted and fished with her. She was very close us (I had a strong bond with her...so she was even more closer to me than my husband) that when she died on my lap..I was emotionally devastated. It took me months to overcome my grief for this dog that mean't so much to me. 

Six months later I acquired another female sheltie, Mya, who is now with me to this day. (I hate the fact that I'm eventually going to lose her too)
I still miss Sassy, and as I am writing this...tears are streaming down my face and Sassy has been gone for over 6 yrs now. 
As they say..."when you love lots....death is that much harder to take".


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## lifeistooshort

I'm so sorry, I know how bad it hurts. I got my last cat when I was 9 and had to put her down when I was 26. I'm 39 now and still not over it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Coffee Amore

He's a beautiful cat, Cee Paul. A big one too! There are dogs smaller than Domino. 

You never ever really get over the death. It doesn't sting as much when enough time has passed. Even though I have another dog now, a really rambunctious friendly dog, I still my old dog. I miss our routines. You can't ever replace a beloved pet. But they can always live in your memories.


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## Cee Paul

Coffee Amore said:


> He's a beautiful cat, Cee Paul. A big one too! There are dogs smaller than Domino.
> 
> You never ever really get over the death. It doesn't sting as much when enough time has passed. Even though I have another dog now, a really rambunctious friendly dog, I still my old dog. I miss our routines. You can't ever replace a beloved pet. But they can always live in your memories.


Yeah he was a big one and was a mancoon mix so those are generally very large cats. We have another one who coincindentally is named "Sassy" and she is an African Gray breed(pictured below)that weighs 18lbs, and thankfully she has never had any health issues in her 11 years alive and is doing fine.


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## Cee Paul

What will always blow my mind is how something you were holding and petting just 4 days ago.......no longer exists and is now a pile of ashes(we had him cremated).


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## RandomDude

Aye, it sucks mate, like losing any loved one

My old cat was an awesome adorable little bully, died of old age. Wasn't ready to have another cat for a while. But wounds heal over time, and now I have a new cat. Cheeky one really, but at least he helps me keep warm in this winter months down under.

Once your ready you'll know


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## Cee Paul

RandomDude said:


> Aye, it sucks mate, like losing any loved one
> 
> My old cat was an awesome adorable little bully, died of old age. Wasn't ready to have another cat for a while. But wounds heal over time, and now I have a new cat. Cheeky one really, but at least he helps me keep warm in this winter months down under.
> 
> Once your ready you'll know


We still have one healthy one who is 11 years old and we'll probably stick with her for now and that's it. But even though my wife says she is "done" with having a kitty after these two, I am not buying that for one minute and in a year or so when she comes across some cute little kitten my guess is she'll cave in. Now we do love dogs too but we do not have a fenced in area and we have a large gator in the lake out back, and if we brought in a house dog our gray cat would tear him/her to shreds and there would be blood shed for sure.


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## MiseryIsHere

I am really very sorry. I lost my two guinea pigs this year, exactly three weeks apart. I had them for years and they meant the world to me. It was devastating. I had always wanted to end their sufferring so that they would be in horrendous pain or alone but I could find no vet to do it for me. That made things 1000x worse. Let yourself cry and mourn. Reach out to other people who have or have had beloved pets. My advice is NOT to reach out to people who OWN pets but dont really love them..I found their comments and such to be very hurtful and disrespectful. Know that the pain will get better. Maybe honor the pet in some way..like planting a tree or framing a photo. For me, it helped to continue remembering them.


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## Convection

It's awful, man, I know. I had to put one dog down (black Lab mix, at 13 years old) and lost another one (German Shepherd mix, at 12) in an accident.

The second one was harder. I never had pets growing up (my mother had allergies) and always wanted a dog. My wife came to the marriage with the Lab and while it was a good dog and I liked it, it was always "hers," and responded to her first, followed her around the house, etc. We got the Shepherd as a puppy and I really bonded to it hard, so that is the only dog in my life that I really considered mine. So losing that one hurt both me and wife a whole bunch.

You'll be sad for a few days. My wife and I look back fondly on the funny things our dogs did and the happy moments we have. There are still rare moments of sadness but we focus on the good memories and remind ourselves that both dogs were 12+ years old, which is old for big dogs, so they lived very full lives ... and we rescued them both after being abandoned, so they were loved and cared for their whole lives rather than being out in a harsh world. That helps.

And I would not rush into getting new pets right away. You can't really replace Domino; you'd be making new memories with a new pet, and it's not fair to hold a new cat to the standards of the old one.

Best wishes and hope your sadness lifts soon.


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## Cee Paul

Convection said:


> It's awful, man, I know. I had to put one dog down (black Lab mix, at 13 years old) and lost another one (German Shepherd mix, at 12) in an accident.
> 
> The second one was harder. I never had pets growing up (my mother had allergies) and always wanted a dog. My wife came to the marriage with the Lab and while it was a good dog and I liked it, it was always "hers," and responded to her first, followed her around the house, etc. We got the Shepherd as a puppy and I really bonded to it hard, so that is the only dog in my life that I really considered mine. So losing that one hurt both me and wife a whole bunch.
> 
> You'll be sad for a few days. My wife and I look back fondly on the funny things our dogs did and the happy moments we have. There are still rare moments of sadness but we focus on the good memories and remind ourselves that both dogs were 12+ years old, which is old for big dogs, so they lived very full lives ... and we rescued them both after being abandoned, so they were loved and cared for their whole lives rather than being out in a harsh world. That helps.
> 
> And I would not rush into getting new pets right away. You can't really replace Domino; you'd be making new memories with a new pet, and it's not fair to hold a new cat to the standards of the old one.
> 
> Best wishes and hope your sadness lifts soon.


Thanks; and no I told my wife that getting a new cat soon or right away would be direspectful to Domino's memory in my opinion, because it would be like saying he was totally replaceable and that we're ready for the next flavor of the month. Maybe in a year or so but certainly not anytime soon, plus we still have the gray one and we love her just as much and she has been acting sad as well(they were together side by side for 10+ years).


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## Cee Paul

For the past week or so the gray one has now started wandering around to the bedrooms and windows and making a howling type of sound she's never ever made before, and we're thinking that maybe she has finally realized that Domino is not at the vet or hiding somewhere and is never coming back. The two of them grew up together since about 1 years old from different litters.


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## jupiter13

I came into the marriage with my Great Pyrenees Dakota. A very large dog and he was a handful after being raised in the city now moved to the country. My new husband never really had pets and didn't understand that each one is their own little person. He got close to Dakota. But he was 10 and they only live to 12. He wanted to get our 1st dog. We picked out Jeb from the city shelter. He was with us 3 days, he had parvo. It took another year before we were ready to open our hearts to another dog. In the mean time I had to put my cat down from kidney failure but I forced the issue and we immediately got our Tazman. My husbands first cat. We then got another puppy Scottie to raise with the cat and they became fast friends, sleeping together and rough housing all over the place. One night Scottie was missing but Dakota was having an major barking fit and raising the roof. I followed him out to the street but he would go no further (he knew better) I found Scottie in the street. We scoped him up and off to emergency. (yes they had one here open 24hr) He died in my husbands arms right as we pulled in but they tried to help him anyways. It was as if one of our children has passed. 1 week later to the day Dakota laid down and went to sleep. 

I brought home Rosie. The month before DDay my husband bought me a Bengal Kitten. She got out of the house 3 months after DDay killed in front of my house and I laid in the street holding her it took several hours before I would release her. Tazman was killed 3 months after that. We still do not have another cat it's been 2 years. Recovery has been harder losing the pets and people right afterwards.
If I had it to do over I would have gone right out and gotten another cat. It will be hard paw prints for another kitten to fill.


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## Cee Paul

jupiter13 said:


> I came into the marriage with my Great Pyrenees Dakota. A very large dog and he was a handful after being raised in the city now moved to the country. My new husband never really had pets and didn't understand that each one is their own little person. He got close to Dakota. But he was 10 and they only live to 12. He wanted to get our 1st dog. We picked out Jeb from the city shelter. He was with us 3 days, he had parvo. It took another year before we were ready to open our hearts to another dog. In the mean time I had to put my cat down from kidney failure but I forced the issue and we immediately got our Tazman. My husbands first cat. We then got another puppy Scottie to raise with the cat and they became fast friends, sleeping together and rough housing all over the place. One night Scottie was missing but Dakota was having an major barking fit and raising the roof. I followed him out to the street but he would go no further (he knew better) I found Scottie in the street. We scoped him up and off to emergency. (yes they had one here open 24hr) He died in my husbands arms right as we pulled in but they tried to help him anyways. It was as if one of our children has passed. 1 week later to the day Dakota laid down and went to sleep.
> 
> I brought home Rosie. The month before DDay my husband bought me a Bengal Kitten. She got out of the house 3 months after DDay killed in front of my house and I laid in the street holding her it took several hours before I would release her. Tazman was killed 3 months after that. We still do not have another cat it's been 2 years. Recovery has been harder losing the pets and people right afterwards.
> If I had it to do over I would have gone right out and gotten another cat. It will be hard paw prints for another kitten to fill.



Sounds like you all are just cursed and have lost like 5 pets in in 5 years, if I were you I would never ever try again unless it was maybe a goldfish.


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## jupiter13

Yeah I thought about it I forgot to mention Spooky we had to put her down too. At 17 it was her time. Old age and illness took a few here so it really wasn't bad luck it was after many years of loving devotion. As long as I have space in my home I will take an animal in and provide good meal safe place to sleep and loving hands. When you have seen as much abused animals as I have there are no bad dogs. I also have one now that was a drop off about 2 years ago. He has been out in the wild alone he has been hit by a car too I think. He gets a meal with the rest of the dogs, got another dog house he loves but after 8 months he's stayed here we have not touched him. He will take food from our hands but other than that no way. Another one Lucky grew up in the wild out here. Was living off gophers and such wouldn't come near an adult but loved my grand kids. He is now the biggest mushy dog I have ever known. I also just took in a little dog that someone threw out of the car driving by. He's just over a year still a puppy I am so glad I was there to grab him before he got hurt further. I live in the country and have seen cats fly out windows some make it some don't. I have a grave yard and keep threatening to set up a whole area with crosses for these little gals and guys, maybe people driving by will get the message. Wow that got winded. If you can't tell I love animals and work with them as well as volunteer at the shelter. I have never turned one away but some just can't stay so they go straight to the shelter or another foster home I can arrange till evaluated. Many of the dogs that come through here end up at rescues some need to be put down. Many are abused. If you have the space and can provide even for one that is one that has lots of love to give you too. 
:yay:


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## Cee Paul

jupiter13 said:


> Yeah I thought about it I forgot to mention Spooky we had to put her down too. At 17 it was her time. Old age and illness took a few here so it really wasn't bad luck it was after many years of loving devotion. As long as I have space in my home I will take an animal in and provide good meal safe place to sleep and loving hands. When you have seen as much abused animals as I have there are no bad dogs. I also have one now that was a drop off about 2 years ago. He has been out in the wild alone he has been hit by a car too I think. He gets a meal with the rest of the dogs, got another dog house he loves but after 8 months he's stayed here we have not touched him. He will take food from our hands but other than that no way. Another one Lucky grew up in the wild out here. Was living off gophers and such wouldn't come near an adult but loved my grand kids. He is now the biggest mushy dog I have ever known. I also just took in a little dog that someone threw out of the car driving by. He's just over a year still a puppy I am so glad I was there to grab him before he got hurt further. I live in the country and have seen cats fly out windows some make it some don't. I have a grave yard and keep threatening to set up a whole area with crosses for these little gals and guys, maybe people driving by will get the message. Wow that got winded. If you can't tell I love animals and work with them as well as volunteer at the shelter. I have never turned one away but some just can't stay so they go straight to the shelter or another foster home I can arrange till evaluated. Many of the dogs that come through here end up at rescues some need to be put down. Many are abused. If you have the space and can provide even for one that is one that has lots of love to give you too.
> :yay:


I had a feeling that you weren't just the "average" everyday pet owner with all of those deaths you've endured.


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## jupiter13

Thank you I have only one dog that I actually went to the shelter and brought home and that is my Rosie. I love her so much and live each day in constant fear of losing her as I have lost everything else around here.


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