It Never Gets Any Easier, Does It? Options

[Scooby]

I lost my first pet when I was 10 and I thought I would die.

When I was 20 I lost my beloved labrador, and it took me 8 years before I could even look at another dog.

Last week, it happened again, and it hurts more than any pain I've ever felt in my life. No broken bone, gunshot wound or cranial fracture can compare to this.

They say a good way to combat the grief of losing a pet is to immediately go out & rescue another one, and I agree with that. But, heaven help me, it never gets any easier, does it?

[moon_beam]

Hi, Scooby, please permit me to add my sincerest sympathies in the loss of your beloved companion. Losing a beloved companion is never easy regardless of the circumstances or how long we have been blessed with the privilege of their company. It doesn't matter if it's our first, fifth, tenth, twentieth, fiftieth - - of thousandth - - this grief journey is very painful - - both emotionally and physically. And with each loss it takes time to adjust to the "new normal". Some folks are able to adopt quickly, some folks prefer to wait until their deep grief has eased, and some folks are comfortable cherishing their memories. Adoption after the physical loss of a beloved companion is truly a very personal decision.

Scooby, thank you so much for sharing with us about your beloved companion, and I hope in time you will feel up to sharing with us about your precious companion, and perhaps a picture(s). Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers, Scooby, and please let us know how you're doing whenever possible.

Peace and blessings,
moon_beam

[Scooby]

Thanks Juturna, Cheryl, Ohev & moon_beam. Your words & commiseration are much appreciated.

I'm pretty sure I'll survive this & learn to love another pooch eventually, but what's alarming is how much it hurts more each time. It's like a wound that becomes a scar, and then you get cut in the same spot again. And again. It gets worse & worse, uglier & uglier, more & more sensitive, until I suppose eventually you're completely mutilated.

That's probably a lousy &%^ogy, but it's the only one I could think of.

I agree with Cheryl that a "rebound" adoption rarely, if ever, fills the void. But one thing it does do is that it creates a distraction. My girl was an abused dog whom I rescued 10 years ago. The very day she died--that same morning--I was back at the local animal control rescuing other dogs who were about to be put down.

2 of them are at my feet right now. There are 3 others I found homes for. Are 5 lives equal to the price of the 1 that I lost? Not even close. How about if I save 50? 500? Like you said, Juturna, no other dog or dogs will replace her. But this serves as a distraction, and I'll keep doing it because it helps me sleep at night. Whether or not this is a true cure or just a "drug" I don't know. I guess I'll find out if I crash.

Ideally I'd forget about dogs completely, go party on the Riviera & a few years later this will all be a forgotten nightmare. But will that accomplish anything for the world? Maybe I'm an idiotic masochist, but I feel like I have to dive right back into saving dogs, otherwise her death would be completely meaningless. The problem is that I know it's going to keep hurting more & more.

Jeez well thanks for listening to my meanderings. I don't know if any of it makes sense (none of it makes sense to me). I wish I could post a picture of my girl, but I can't bring myself to look at those pics. And I don't think they'd do her any justice anyway.

Years ago, I stumbled on a news photo of a man whose house had burned down and who lost everything but his dog. That photo pretty much summarizes how I felt about my girl every single day...



Thanks again for all your support, everyone. I sincerely hope you each find your respective "cures", whatever those may be.