By blaming something. I lost my cats because they were in heat and had a pack of cats on the yard. I blamed the other cats.

@DigitalBlue My heart goes out to you. It seems this pet has grabbed your heart in a way other pets did not. Spend as much time with your dog as you can, and cherish the time you spend together.

Although my old girl (dog) has not been diagnosed with anything, I can tell she’s getting old. Her age is finally catching up to her. When she was younger, she used to spend time running in the yard, chasing critters in the dirt, barking at squirrels, and most of all, “herding” the children. At one time, we had four or five young children (family and neighbors) who would regularly be in our back yard. Being a shepherd mix, she just loved trying to keep her “flock” in one place!

Eventually, the kids grew up, neighbors moved, and she grew old…first just by calendar, then, the past few years, we started to notice she would move a little more slowly. Now we notice she has trouble climbing stairs, so, for safety’s sake, we carry her up and down when necessary. I know sometimes she just “wants” to be carried, but I am just as sure that most of the time she “needs” to be carried.

I carry her as if I am hugging her, and tell her often what a good dog she is. I make it a point to spend time with her, and groom her more often, just so she can feel “special”.

Maybe I am over-anthropomorphizing her feelings; maybe I am doing this as much for me as I am for her. No matter. She’s been our constant companion for almost 15 years. Will I miss her when she’s gone? I sure will. But I every day she has been in my life has created memories that will be around long after she passes.

With great difficulty. However, @DigitalBlue, for me, the period after knowing the time was coming/was here and it happening was the worst. As you know I lost my very, very loved dog a couple of weeks ago and he has left a huge hole in my life and in our home. We still find ourselves in tears at the drop of a hat, but I know he’s at peace.

I strongly recommend checking whether your vet will come to your home. It was less stressful for Ollie and for us. It really helped. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. It’s such a hard time. I know you’ll do the right thing for your fur baby.

So sorry to hear about the passing of your furry family member.

I found our 16 year old cat “Sheba” unresponsive but breathing slowly when I got up on 12–4-16 morning at 6 am. She took her last breath at 9:05 am 12–4-16. Strangely she purred for me right up until the end. She had been suffering in very poor health for several months. The veterinarian was not sure what was wrong with her. All lab tests were normal. I can only guess what her problem was.

I was numb that day as I made a casket and dug her grave and cleaned up all traces of her in the house. The next day the pain hit me hard. It was like there was a hollowness feeling in my chest like a vacuum. I dealt with by filling the hole with activity and tears. I’m 65 years old and cried like a baby when I was alone. I can’t let anyone see what a blubbering old fool I am. This is the 3rd day and the pain has decreased but still suddenly the pain will grab me hard now and then when I realized Sheba is gone forever. I expect to be over my grief in a few days but I will likely always miss my precocious sweet baby kitten bad. So sad to see the light in those beautiful bright green eyes finally go out.

Good health to you!

By realizing that the pet had a really great life with me. Everything dies sooner or later. Pets don’t live as long as humans. I gave my former pets great lives and huge amount of love and affection and care and fun, about as good and long as they could have hoped for, and they loved me. So it was a great happy life and something to be happy about.

We’re still working on it.
I won’t go into the details of our experience because they’ve been well aired here previously & I cry every time I type the words, but hey, its only been 3yrs :(
All I can say by way of advice is that we remember all that was good about her & shit, was that a lot of goodness & we have framed photographs on the living room wall right above where she breathed her last…no, it’s no good, can’t see for tears, told you.

I get through it by sharing the stories with others who knew that pet. We tell funny/silly/moving stories. It helps me get through it.
I am so sorry to hear about this, @DigitalBlue, it is heart-breaking. Love her up good, let her comfort you if you are crying (ironic, I know), and share some stories.

I have Christmas ornaments commemorating my loved furry ones, they also bring me aimed comfort at this time of year.

“A modicum of comfort” damned autocorrect.

I have always buried our pets in the yard. For the little critters I have found it therapeutic building a nice wooden box for their burial. Standing together as we take turns scooping dirt into the grave and adding memento’s to the burial site help bring closure to their passing. Ensuring their comfort and that they do not suffer unnecessarily will help you with their transition to the great kennel in the sky.

@canidmajor she does try to comfort me, it’s heartwrenching right now, lol. I am a sobbing mess and she is licking me and trying to make me feel better, which makes me cry even more. But that’s the beauty of a dog’s love, isn’t it? Selfless. No person has ever loved me in my darkest hours like my dog has.

Losing a pet is never easy. I am sorry that you are going through this. Each pet is different, but they all have one thing in common, they offer unconditional love to their people.

Getting another pet will help ease your loss. You won’t miss the one that is gone any less, but you will give and receive love with the new one which is healing.

I’m sorry you are experiencing the sad but inevitable ending of your pets life. I think the best thing to do, while sad, is to try and focus on the wonderful life you gave your pet and all the happy times with them while pampering her during his final weeks, days. All of our pets are lucky pets if they have found a good home and it’s important to remember that if not for you his life could have ended a long time ago or been an unhappy and possibly abusive one as well. Celebrate her lucky dog life and the good memories rather than focusing on the loss.

I just realized that I mixed up my accounts, I have ANef logged in on mobile and Digital logged in at my computer.

The death of one of our furry friend hits us hard.

We have usually lived together for many years and he or she has been the shoulder we have cried on when no one else was there for us. They have always been there for us no matter what. They picked us up when we were down; they let us grieve for others and stayed with us through the dark times. They passed no judgement on us but accepted us warts and all. They are the one who has always welcomed us back no questions asked.

Their loss is oh so difficult to take.

Time is the only antidote and all it does is lessen the longing but not the feeling of loss.

We had sixteen years of love and affection but Ayre has been gone for eight months now and I still miss his little fuzzy black and white head dropping that goddam ball in my lap again…and again… and again. And, truth be told, I still regret not throwing it one more time for him each day. It brought him such joy for so little effort.

Time. Time and what Marinelife said will help a lot by getting a new pet. You’re not replacing your sick pet or one that has passed away but you are giving and receiving love to a new friend and at the same time not disrespecting your sick or deceased pet.

…...and remember, every new pet WILL become your new favorite. As @Larinator said, nothing can replace your pet but loving a new pet is a win/win for all. I lost my 2 beloved cats back in 2010 and 11 and my two new guys I got in 2010 and 2011 are now my ‘favorites.”

@Larinator Welcome to Fluther, we’re a good group of peeps. :-)—

Thanks! Coloma.