have you ever lost a pet?

[breadisfunny]

and if so how did you deal with it?
it has been 2 1/2 long years since my honor was put to sleep. i still have his collar and tags,squeaky hot dog,and his stuffed baby with squeaker still with the dead saliva cells from when he last used it. i have not washed it at all. he loved the squeaky hot dog. thought it was a real hot dog. it was in a whole bag of squeaky toys and that was the one he liked the most. the rest he just sort of ignored.

[Time Sage]

Yes. Time and other pets mostly. Getting a new animal helps a ton.

I had two dogs most of my life and lost them both within a short time. We had gotten another puppy in prep for when the first went (As we put her down since she was old and could barely walk anymore) but the second was total surprise as she suddenly fell very ill due to her kidneys suddenly failing. I still miss them but it's not painful anymore.

[breadisfunny]

Yes. Time and other pets mostly. Getting a new animal helps a ton.

I had two dogs most of my life and lost them both within a short time. We had gotten another puppy in prep for when the first went (As we put her down since she was old and could barely walk anymore) but the second was total surprise as she suddenly fell very ill due to her kidneys suddenly failing. I still miss them but it's not painful anymore.

i still miss my dog. every so often i think i hear him and then realize he's not there.

[belfpala]

Cat. She was 16. Two years later I still expect her to be on my bed when I wake up.

As with any loss, we must keep moving.

[MAGAmobile]

Too many to count. Getting a new pet helps. Aside from that, the pain was no different than a close family member dying. Hung out with friends more and started reading more to pass time by. Amount of time it takes will vary, obviously. When my grandfather died, I felt crummy for.. maybe a week. When my last dog died, it took a few weeks. This was mainly due to them dying in front of me. Shit sucked. They come up in my head every now and then, but its not debilitating.

[announced]

lost 4 pets now.
Roxy:my moms dog, when i was little she bought a basset hound, it lived to around 16, by that time it had arthritis so bad it couldnt hardly walk. it would always run away if the door was left open, and if not it'd be digging through peoples coats looking for food. in the end it was taken to the vet.

Boots - Tabby cat, was really friendly. my sister rescued him from the SPCA, apparently some kids caught him when he was on the street and duct-taped his paws together. He lost a few toes but he still walked fine. Had him for a few years. I remember he was an amazing cat, one that would jump on your lap if you werent paying attention and he'd just start purring away. He would always grab my leg as i walked by the kitchen when he wanted someone to feed him, it was very funny. One day he went outside as he usually did and ended up drinking some anti-freeze probably from under a car , mistaking it for water. found him the next day and he was very sick. he was taken to the vet but they couldnt save him. he died two days later. very tragic since he was only like 4 or 5.

Spicy- half Siamese black and white cat. this cat was my own, lived to be around 18. She was my favourite cat, named for her feisty temper. she literally hated everyone but me, for me I was able to pick her up and carry her around the house on my shoulders. when she got older anyone who would feed her was ok in her book. As for the other pets, she would hiss and swipe and keep them in line, even till she was nearing her 18th birthday. She had occasional seizures when she was 16 and they continued till her passing.

Katie - Spicys sister - lived to be 19. This cat was a total mooch, she literally would sit on the couch beside you sneaking closer and closer till she snagged some food off your plate. she would jump on the counters and peer around the corner whenever someone was cooking, trying to get an extra bite. she was also very friendly, jumping on the couch just to hang out with anyone.

as with any death of a close companion, the loss hits you hard. It takes time to get over and its better to either write about them, look at pictures of them, or distract yourself with work or friends. eventually it gets easier. i still miss my cats, but i have fond memories of them and some great pictures.

[ComputerNerd]

Lost 3 dogs, the two parents and the one puppy we kept.
The father was suffering from regular seizures and died at the vets.
The mother suffered from kidney or liver problems, and the puppy just died of old age at 13 outliving both parents significantly. Both at home.

We have another dog due to "inheriting" when my sister took on a dog she was in no position to deal with.
It was a rescue dog so sending it back wasn't an option we wanted.

Just wish we took more pictures.
We have never been particularly snap-happy.

[Nyoken]

Yea lost several dogs...really sucks ass...but if there is one thing I know about dogs is they love to play and have fun and enjoy themselfs as much as possible, and they also love food! But if ur little doggy could see u from doggy heaven right know I know he would've wanted u to be happy , cause it seemed u had a great relationship with him.

Just got to know u can't control everything here in life, and just let go of somethings...remember the better times for what they were. Life is very short so u got to make the most of it. Try to move on, it's hard sometimes but you got to try! I know your dog would've wanted you too. Thought about looking for a new companion?=)

Not everyone can befriend animals, but it seems u can do that pretty fine so im sure there is another little guy out there who would be happy to get to know u as well.

[May90]

I lost a yellow Cockatiel a few years ago... He had been in our family for over 10 years. Was the hardest day in my life, I almost had a heart attack. Still remembering him makes my eyes watery.

[Norwegian]

YES Megitsune abandoned me

[Cantwingrr]

Until the eventual time when one of my immediate family dies, I don't think anything has ever been harder for me to accept.

[Charge me Doctor]

Lots of them. When i used to live in a village, like, every year one or two of our cats didn't come back home and died/was taken by somebody. But we still had surplus of cats because they bred really fast

[Revi]

Yeah, a cat ran away once when I was little. I think it turned up somewhere many years later.

[Deleted]

We had our first dog put down when I was about 5 and new nothing of death, apparently it hit me pretty but hard I don't remember. We always rescued German shepherds so they tend to be middle aged so I've been through a few since then. Once they get to about 9/10 I start to involuntarily think about how long they have left.

One of our cats was legitimately stolen by a crazy middle aged woman though, it was the friendliest cat ever to strangers and I think she must've been mentally ill and taken attachment to it, I caught her one day carrying it away from our house and yelled at her and took the cat home, then a few weeks later the cat just disappeared and I never saw the woman again. I'm quite sure she would've taken good care of it at least.

[Puupi]

Yes. We've had so many cats in our family.... probably lost like 10 cats.

[Aori]

I've lost a lot of pets. Not long after I was born we moved into a new place. There happened to be a Collie we called Lady who mostly stayed on our property. She was a sweet dog already fairly old, mostly blind, got quite attached to her. When I was 4 or 5 she was hit by a truck, she just happened to be laying in the road because that was where the shade was. The truck driver got my father, we weren't sure what happened. My dad pick her up off the road and carried her to the back. She was bleeding all over, you could here her wheezing trying to breathe. My mother grabbed me because I was hysterical and wanted to follow. I only saw her being carried for about 10-15 seconds but that image has been permanently imprinted to my mind. After that I heard a gun shot. She was roughly 15 years old according to the neighbors. These are my most vivid earliest memories.

After that we had some mutt that looked like a mop that was called Dusty, he was my favorite dog. He kept getting more aggressive as he got older, he was teased a lot by the neighborhood kids. He never snarled or growled at any of the family but anyone who visited who didn't live in the house he would attack regardless. We didn't want him to attack any of the neighborhood so we found him a family on a farm to take him in when he was about 5 or 6. We adopted a German Shepard at some point, I hated that dog though. He went to the same farm, he was about 3 or 4.

After that someone at my parents place of work needed someone to take puppies. They were some miniature schnauzer mix, I really like this dog. Few years later, he became extremely aggressive with everyone he eventually attacked my sister. The other dog who was with him was poisoned and died overnight. No proof on who did it but we are sure we know who.

There are other pets too.

When I was with my wife, we took in a stray pregnant cat during the winter months in Canada. She had 7 healthy kittens, all survived. However after giving birth she kind of went crazy. She was an abused cat before we took her in, we found out she was our upstairs neighbors cat. They used to drug her up apparently. After the birth she became fairly aggressive. One of the kittens yelped once and she came flying at my wife, ripped a hole in her leg. Required 9 stitches. We had shelter come take her, she wasn't fit to be with people anymore. Was pretty disheartening. We kept 2 of the kittens, found homes for the other 5.

My kitten was a grey/white fatty that I named Nibbler, he'd let me do anything with him. The other was my wifes we named Buddy. We took Nibbler and Buddy in to the vet to get fixed when they were old enough. Nibbler died, cardiac arrest from the anesthesia. Devastated me for weeks. Buddy is still alive last I knew, he is 9 years old now, I liked him too though, miss him.

There are have been other animals in my life but I never claimed them as my pets. Though I usually took care of them and played with them but they were "mine". Nibbler and Buddy are the last pets I've personally accepted as my own.

[lagmoose]

I've had to say goodbye to all 4 of my pets within two years. My Mojo kitty died in 2013 and my oldest cat (he was 18) died in July of 2014, my dog of 14 died in December and had to put my last kitty down in Feb of this year. It's rough. Each death tore me up. Hell, when I took Juju to the vet in Feb knowing it was the last time, I cried so hard in the vet's office. Having them as long as I did, didn't make it any better either. I still miss them like crazy today, but with the circumstances and direction my life is in right now, I'm glad that they are not around too. It gets easier to accept their loss (hell, for a few months after my dog died, it didn't feel the same around the house). I'm also a bit spoiled as since I've had the cats from 1996 and 1998, that if I ever get another cat, I'll expect them to live another 20 years.

[Garkanh]

My Golden retriever, Sana, Died 3 years ago while i was in the army. I was home at a weekend visit at my parents, and i noticed my dog couldn't eat her food. It just fell out of her mouth when she tried to chew it. I drove her to the vet, but he couldn't find the course. When i came home, i dug a hole in the back yard, took a long walk with her and played with her for a some hours. Trying to get a last good memory with her. The next day, i drove her to the vet again, and got her put down. The vet druged her so she fell asleep, so i hope it didn't hurt her too bad. I drove back home, and burried her in the hole, covered in her favourit blanket, along with her favourit toy and a bone. I couldn't stop crying. The drive home only took 20 minutes, but her tongue had already stuck to the floor of the car. I only think i ever cried that much once before in my life. I planted a tree on her grave. Writing all this really brings the memories and emotions back. I should visit my parents again soon and sit under that tree (despite it not having grown very tall yet). I know it sounds stupid, but when i'm under that tree, i feel like she's still with me.

She was getting old, 11 years i believe. I've had her since i was 8 or 9, and was 20 when i was in the army. And i hate myself for not taking better care of her.

I named my spirit beast, Gara, after her. So whenever i play my main, she's there with me.

[Tyrgannus]

I've had and lost 2 cats. One was old, the other ran away.

[Strangebrew]

3 birds, very close to losing my 16 year old dog, any day now and i am going to be a wreck that day.