Goodbye Harley, saying goodbye Options

[Harley Parley]

IT has been a week since I lost my dog, Harley. He was a Poodle/Terrier SPCA Special, and he brought a ton of joy into our hearts. He had a very tough life when we got him and it showed as he was a timid dog when you first got to know him, but eventually he just cuddle up beside you and beg to be petted.

A week ago he had a cancerous tumour that ruptured and he died of internal bleeding. Totally unexpected and out of the blue. IT has hit me like a ton of bricks. MY Fiancee seems to be handling it way better than I am and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I'm over reacting, but I just can't see the light at the end of my tunnel. I can get by doing what life wants me to do (work, school, chores) but I feel cynical and jaded.

I know Harley won't come back and I know he is so much happier where he is at the Rainbow Bridge, but why do I feel like crap?

All I know is that I miss him so.

Thank you
Ben

[lynette]

It does feel like crap. I lost two dogs within 9 months. Lily - suddenly and unexpectedly June of last year and then Hunny this April. Hunny fought cancer for 9 months. She was such a tough dog. Very strong. But we had to let her go. She was on painkillers for the last month and tumours were popping up in other places. I know I had more time with Hunny than you did with your best friend, but the result is still the same. We both lost our kids and best friends. Everyone here has lost their best friends so we can all relate to the pain you're feeling. I have never understood how others can just go on, but I guess each person handles their grief differenlty. Sometimes, I think that maybe if you're the primary care giver you get attached just a little more than the rest of the family. That's how I look at it. I'm not belittling everyone else's attachment to their pets. But in my family, I was the one who usually took them to the vets, the one who fed them every day. The one who worried about them constantly - that' s our job as a parent.

It's four months since Hunny left, and 13 months since Lily had to leave. I have four dogs now. I miss Hunny and Lily every day and at times it still hurts just as much as it did at the beginning. But I think that each and every one of us here has been blessed with the unconditional love of a precious pet. They never wanted anything except love. I hope one day we'll all be together again. But for now, I hope that they are all happy and healthy and having so much fun.

I know Hunny and Lily are together again. And as much as I miss them, I need to believe that they are happy and healthy and running through the meadows at the Rainbow Bridge together. Maybe they've met Harley.

You'll get through this. It sounds like you have a very loving family. This is a great website. I certainly needed it and it has helped me through some of the very difficult times.

I'm not good at this, but some people here know just what to say. They have such beautiful words to write to help you through this.