Humans often live 70, 80 years, dogs seldom become older than 12 years. This means that dog owners inevitably have to deal with the death of their pet; often more than once. The loss can make you feel sad, or it can leave a devastating empty space in your life that you don’t think you’ll ever fill. How do you cope with this loss?
You know you’ll probably outlive your dog – although it’s not something you like to think about. But being prepared can help, especially as the dog gets older, and somehow lessen the blow when the worst does happen. Often people get another dog, maybe a puppy. Although the new dog wouldn’t replace the old one, it’ll be a distraction and at least fill the physical space of the lost pet.
How you lose a dog is sometimes harder than the fact that the dog is no longer there. You keep thinking what you could’ve or should’ve done something different to prevent the dog from dying.
One of the toughest situations to cope with is when a dog goes missing. The uncertainty eats at the owner – not knowing what happened to it, whether it’s well-cared for or not.
Losing a dog in an accident – being run over by a car or killed by another dog – is another difficult one. Invariably you blame yourself, experience anger at the other person. But nothing can bring your beloved pet back. Maybe just get the message through that you hope nobody ever treats that person the way he behaved towards your dog.
Then there’s the familiar case of the older dog’s deteriorating health. A decision needs to be made whether it should be put down. This is often an incredibly hard situation for the dog owner to deal with. It can seem so heartless to have a dog euthanized. However, the quality of the dog’s life should be the overriding factor. Would you rather have the dog suffer, or know that it had a good life and try to get on without it?
A feeling of guilt is often the common factor in most instances – I could’ve done more, I should never have left her there, maybe he would’ve got better, if only I closed that gate, taught it more obedience…The list goes on and on and on. If you can get rid of the guilt, and blame, it can help to heal the wound of losing your pet. Rather take the lessons learnt to, heart.
When you get a dog you sign on for the good and the bad, the joy and the heartache. So when it’s gone and the feeling of loss overwhelms you – remember the good times you had The wagging tail, the eager eyes, the doggie smile, and be grateful for the time the two of you could spend together.
In memory of Fudgelina (the mother of Fudgie and Daisy featured in a recent blog) who tragically died a few weeks ago.
Fudgelina – who travelled all over the world with her family for almost ten years.
1Salomi is a contributing blogger ,dog lover and avid learner ,you can see more of her articles on her website
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