Anyone lost a pet before?

[mcckt1983]

Over a month ago my 5 month old puppy was hit by a car. She was a puggle, a pug and beagle mixed. She was the corkiest puppy that made you laugh no matter what and loved being scratched on the belly. She was very tiny at the time and super fast. Somedays so quick that you would not know that she ran by your feet as you opened the door to go out to the garage. After a few minutes my boyfriend and I would realize how quiet it was because Minnie Mouse was in the garage.

One day I came home from work and she ran out the door as I was going in. At time the main garage door was open and Minnie Mouse just bolted to the street. I heard the car coming down the street and then all of a sudden Minnie Mouse was struck by the car, then the rear tire hit her. Now, I understand it was the dogs fault since she ran into the street. The problem I have is that the speed limit is 15mph and I know that the person that hit her was at least going 30 mph. The person didn't even put on the breaks until about 10 feet after the dog got hit. I screamed, my boyfriend ran out and picked up Minnie Mouse so we could rush her to the vet. When we got there it was too late since the back tire got her, that is what crushed her.

Since it was such a tragic accident and we had her for only a month and a half, my heart mourns for her everyday. I saw everything that happened, from the front bumper hitting the dog to the rear tire running her over. For weeks, I could not get the image out of my head. Now, I just miss her bark, taking her on walks with our other dog, or the fact that she was a puppy and I was looking forward to teaching her tricks. Plus, when we went to the pet store we got the dog at we were not expecting to get one at all. We went because we saw that puggles were on sale and thought our puggle Milo could use a playmate. It was such a spontaneous thing that worked out so well that my boyfriend and I were so proud of ourselves for picking out such a good playmate for Milo. We were so happy for that month.

Before this accident happened, I have been fortunate enough to have only lost 1 person in my life. I was young enough that I do not really remember much of that time. It's been a month since this happened and some days are ok and some are bad since I can hear people speeding by when I'm out in the garage. Our second dog sometimes gets bored with us because we can't play with him as much as Minnie Mouse did. My boyfriend and I have both said we miss having 2 dogs because it was like our little family. Some days I'm tempted to go to a pet store to see what options they have though we can't financially do that. I know that this is part of the healing process, but it just sucks, it was such a horrible freak accident!

What do you do to get over something like this?

[Bocheezu]

My mom and I had to put my pug from childhood to sleep about 4 years ago. The whole last year leading up to it was really sad. Our whole family absolutely loved this dog -- she was ugly as sin but was so charming and lovable. I played with her all the time growing up.

At about 12 years old, she ran into diabetes issues and got cataracts as well. Mom actually got cataract surgery for her (not cheap -- like $5k) and the dog did well for a little while, but one of the eyes got infected and had to be removed. So she was down one eye and needed insulin shots all the time. Eventually, the one good eye started going bad and reached a point where she really couldn't function too well anymore. It was really sad visiting every couple weeks and seeing how much the dog had deteriorated. Eventually mom broke down and put her to sleep.

Pets can be a tough thing to deal with because you really don't have that much time with them before they go. A lot of times people don't realize how attached they can get to a pet. We certainly were attached to our pug dog.

[HDC80]

Time is all that really heals.

So with time it wont hurt as much and you'll feel better about the whole incident.

[Bsig84]

Losing a dog is just like losing anything that you really love. It takes lots of time to heal.

We had to put a one-year old dog down because it got really sick (the vet never really figured out why). She suffered so badly and my poor little sister had to watch it all. It was her first dog and she still to this day has a hard time with it.

I am very sorry for your loss. Give yourself plenty of time to mourn little Minnie Mouse. Do not try to rush your mourning time. You need time to be sad and get that out.

[Nikki-Liz]

First of all I just want to say that I am SO SO sorry for your loss, I can't imagine going through what you've had to go through. I would be utterly heartbroken.:cry:

It's just like mourning any other family member, there is no rhyme or reason to it and there's nothing anyone can say that will make you feel better. It's just going to take time and since it was so traumatic for you it will probably take longer.

I've lost a dog and we're going through alot with the dog we have now. My heart goes out to you.

[winneythepooh7]

So sorry to hear this! I have a 4-year-old pug, and just got another pug puppy this past weekend.

If you can't afford to shell out the $$$$ for a puggle or a pug, why not go on a site such as Petfinder or even a local shelter? I've even heard of people getting dogs from *eek* Craigslist!

When I was recently living in my apartment (we just moved into our first house) I had someone approach me when I was walking my pug who volunteered at the local animal shelter to say they got a pug in. If I had room for another one at the time, and if I didn't have to deal with a Nazi landlord, I would have considered this.

I used to think when I had my one pug, that I would never want another one because I couldn't love it as much. I've only had Emma for less than a week though and she's already captured my heart as well!

[Krishna]

We put my childhood dog to sleep just over 2 years ago, and I'm *just* starting to not look for her everytime I walk in the door...

[SmilesSoSweet]

My childhood dog was put down four years ago. He lived to be 15. It took me awhile to accept the fact that he was no longer alive. And I took his death a lot harder than I thought I would. I was 10 when we got the dog.

Til this day, my parents haven't gotten another dog, though my mom would really like to get another one. It's definitely for the better since it's one less mouth to feed for my parents for now. But one of these days, I'd like to get a dog again.

[Krishna]

My childhood dog was put down four years ago. He lived to be 15. It took me awhile to accept the fact that he was no longer alive. And I took his death a lot harder than I thought I would. I was 10 when we got the dog.

Til this day, my parents haven't gotten another dog, though my mom would really like to get another one. It's definitely for the better since it's one less mouth to feed for my parents for now. But one of these days, I'd like to get a dog again.


Yeah, I got my dog when I was 8, and she lived a similar length of time. It was super hard for me to deal with her being gone, because I was away at college when they put her to sleep. I had a miserable time trying to concentrate for like a week. I couldn't lay in bed without crying, so I took to leaving the TV on all night, so I could watch until I drifted off, and didn't have to think about anything. I can't even remember how long that lasted before I was able to sleep again...

I've been after my parents to get another dog for the last 8 months or so, and they keep resisting. They both miss having a dog, but neither one wants to have to take care of it...

[E11e]

My family got a dog when I was in 6th grade and he lived until the year after I graduated college. His health had been going downhill slowly, so it wasn't totally unexpected that he had to be put to sleep. But I was still amazed at how truly SAD I was when I found out. The most pure sadness I've ever felt. I cried the hardest I ever have in my life.

It felt like I was mourning not only the loss of a dear friend but also the loss of a part of my childhood. He was a part of most of my childhood memories, always there, and he was gone. I felt like it cemented the fact that my childhood was over.

It's almost been a year, but I'm still getting sad writing this. In general, I'm fine with the fact that he's gone. He had such an awesome life. I only have happy and funny memories of him and I'm just glad I had the chance to have him in my life. And I know it might sound strange, but in my head he's still around, just not at my parent's house anymore. I talk about him in vague terms like he's still around. I'm not religious at all, but I know he's somewhere in a huge field with all sorts of friends, chasing endless squirrels.

[LisaAF]

The cat my family got when I was seven died about a year ago. She had a mystery illness, she stopped eating normally. The vet wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but thought she might have had hyperthyroidism and gave us pills to give her. We gave her the pills for awhile, and she started eating again, so I thought she would be okay. When we took her back to the vet, he discovered that the pills had messed up her liver and we had to take her off of them. She still seemed to be doing alright, and I remember just hoping and praying for some more time with her. I came home from work one night after midnight and she was unable to move one side of her body, as if she had a stroke. We knew she would have to be put to sleep. We were going to take her to be put down the next afternoon after my parents got home from work. I stayed up with her all night, sobbing, as she lay there. She was dripping feces and urine all over the carpet, as she had lost control over those muscles, and was unable to get up to go to the litter box anyway. The next morning, I went to check my email and when I came back out to her spot, she was dead. My parents came home from work immediately, and my father spent the entire afternoon building her a coffin. That is the only time I have ever seen him cry.

Both of my father's parents are dead, and both my father and I were more upset when the cat died. The house seemed empty, you no longer had to watch where you put your feet, and no one came to greet you when you got home. I still think about her a lot, but I can do it without crying now. In September, we got another cat at the SPCA, and the house no longer feels empty, but he cannot replace my old cat.

If you did want to get another dog, the adoption fees at the SPCA are usually less than $100, and that includes spaying or neutering. It's unlikely that you'll find a purebred dog there though.

[koolkat1980]

Awww :cry: My tabby cat! I miss him!! A tic got him!

I have also lost 2 bunny rabbits and 3 guinea pigs. A long time ago!

[hereisnewyork]

I had a beautiful amazing little bird from 12 to 22 years old...I'm 25 now...It's hard to imagine parts of my life where he wasn't there. A lot of people don't understand birds as pets but he was awesome, I played with him all the time and when I was down he was there to talk to and he always looked right into my eyes. He danced to my music and he even had his own favorite pillow. After 10 years he slowly got sick and I watched him die, I was there when he hid under the blanket and finally closed his eyes...I can't describe the amount of pain that caused me...and my dad actually, who had taken care of him a lot when I went to college. I couldn't imagine not having that little guy in my life. When he was alive I had dreams about him, about not being able to get food to him or him flying away...I thought when he died those dreams would stop but 3 years later I still have them all the time. I guess I just miss taking care of him so much. You'll never forget your puppy, but just like with everything else in life you will get through it. Now when I look at the little pic of my birdie, I sometimes cry, but usually I just smile and am grateful I had all those years with him. He was always there to remind me how beautiful the world is...