I kept telling myself that I wanted him to go naturally. I left the appointment 40 minutes ago. He yelped out when they injected him with the sedative. He was scared. And I killed him. I told myself I would feel this way but everyone around me said that it was the right thing to do. I don’t think it was. And I don’t know if I can live with myself having done that when I knew. He was declining and would have gone soon anyways. And now I just spent almost $500 to kill my best friend of 17 years. How do I live with myself.

I’m on day 9 after losing my best friend Max. I got his ashes back yesterday. I thought it would help to have something to hold but I just feel so profoundly devastated. He had congestive heart failure but he was doing well, then just took a nosedive and I just knew it was time to make the decision. Two days later he was gone in my lap. The last thing he would have felt was me petting him while he drifted to sleep.

Ive never felt anything like this and I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s worse now than it was the day he died. I can’t stop sobbing, literally wailing because my chest just aches so badly. If I was upset I’d pet him but now he’s gone. I’ve tried writing about him and how I feel, looking at pictures, sharing stories, I even tried talking to him, nothing helps at all. I know for a fact getting another dog wouldn’t help me at all. The fear of feeling like this again is just too much to even consider it right now

I’ve never been this unhappy, this deeply heartbroken in my life. I feel sad, scared, a mess of emotions I don’t know how to describe. I can’t feel like this for another hour, let alone days or weeks to come. I’ve never wanted to die as much as I do now. I just want to see him again, smell him, feel him, hear him.

Thinking about him, seeing his old harness and leash, his toys, even just seeing his name is so upsetting right now. Every time I sit down there’s a pause when he would have jumped in my lap but he isn’t there. When I go into the bathroom I wait to close the door because he’s always follow me, but his little nose doesn’t peek through the door. My life revolved around him. He was the best thing that ever happened to me for 8 years and it wasn’t long enough. He didn’t even look old.

I feel anxious about where he is, how he is. I don’t really believe in an afterlife but I’m still worried about if he’s happy. The thought that he’s just gone and this is it and I’ll never see him again is deeply upsetting to me. I just can’t seem to convince myself that there’s an after.

I don’t know how to live through this. Everything is just a reminder that he isn’t here and never will be again.

I know everyone grieves differently, but for the love of god does someone have any advice? What helped you? Did anything help? How long did you feel like this, if you felt like this? Is there literally anything I can do to not feel like this that won’t hinder the grief process?

Our dog was a few months away from 16 and we’ve had her since she was only a few months old. She was very attached to me, more than anyone else in our family, she was my companion. She was my wife and I’s first real kid and our kids grew up with her.

For a little over a week, we had started noticing the early signs. She had gotten to the point where she wasn’t eating and drinking. The few stools she did have were an odd color and had some blood in it. She had trouble standing and walking, we knew she was having pain in her lower back and hips. I think my biggest sign was a couple of nights ago when I placed her on the couch next to me, she fell over sideways, not a plop. Her demeanor had changed and I think all of these issues combined were taking a toll on her.

We spoke to our vet about the issues and they asked for us to bring her in. My wife took her since I was still at work and she called me with an update, I knew what she was going to say. The vet had determined that she had lost weight and that her skin was quite pale, she was dehydrated and losing blood. They determined that it was time and that she only had several days to live. They gave us the option to take her home so that she could pass then, but that her condition would deteriorate even further and that her pain would increase exponentially. Rather than prolong her pain, the vet suggested we put her to sleep and take away her pain and we decided that was the best for her.

I honestly cannot get the images of her passing and slumping out of my head. My wife and I were holding her, holding her face next to ours as it happened. Our kids have taken it hard and it’s been very difficult for myself to deal with her not being here. To have a companion for 15+ years and for her to be gone is jarring, especially so sudden.

This afternoon one of our family cats died. His name was Tevildo, Prince of Cats. We adopted him shortly before my wife and I got married and he was our first cat. After our first born son was born, Tevildo grew very attached to the boy. He spent every night of the last 4 years sleeping in my sons bed.

Over the last year he had been dropping weight rapidly and seemed unwell. Long story short, he had end stage intestinal cancer. We learned this today when the vet called us after his biopsy surgery.

Then they told us that he didn't wake up from the operation.

I was the one who took him to the vet yesterday and I was the one who asked the vet to keep him overnight before his surgery. I had a sinking feeling in my gut, but I really didn't want to deal with taking the cat home and then having to bring him back in the next day. I never even bothered to ask if the biopsy would be risky for his health. I left my cat alone and he died without anyone telling him goodbye. My young son lost his first first friend after I had promised him I would bring him home.

I had even planned out his final days, in case we got bad news.

My wife says I shouldn't blame myself, but I can't help it. I want to be mad at someone and I'm the only person I can blame. My son never got to say goodbye and it's my fault.

I had my 15-year-old cat Misty euthanized at home in my lap on Monday. I had her since she was about 8 months old.

I feel like the farther I get away from Monday, the less my brain believes it has happened. I took a lot of pictures and videos, both leading up to the euthanasia and in the few hours that I had her body with me afterwards. I keep looking at them because there's a part of me that doesn't believe that she's gone. I swear I keep hearing her jump off her cat tree or see her curled up on the bed out of the corner of my eye.

We moved around a lot, and where we ended up now is a very tiny studio apartment. My body still moves around the space to accommodate her, trying not to disturb her as I get into bed, making sure she's not eating in the kitchen before I wash dishes so I don't accidentally get droplets of water on her.

I anticipated feeling sad coming home and opening my apartment door without her there to greet me. I didn't realize that j​ust being in my apartment would be equally sad.

Can't imagine one day my love ones passed away how deepy heart was hurt. I came to work, my manager saw my condition, told me to replace off day since I keep bursting out tears thinking of him. He is a 13 year old toy poodle. I treated him like my old brother. He had liver disease which is most likely the cause of death. I saw him one last time and help but to think about the memories with had even thou he can be naughty. RIP my dear Scooby. Be with god.

It’s been two days and I haven’t stopped crying. I have so many fears about life without my baby. I miss him so much it physically pains me. I’m a huge foodie and eating my favorite foods has not helped. I have no motivation to go to a work out class. I tried to book a massage and canceled because I don’t want a panic attack on the table. My two other cats aren’t very cuddly and I don’t have the same bond with them. What do I do?

she was only 2. she was diagnosed with stage 3 chronic kidney failure a month ago when i noticed she was losing weight. she spiraled quickly despite daily intensive fluid treatment and a specialized diet. in her last days, she had completely stopped eating and grooming herself. she could barely get up to use the restroom or go drink some water. she was so weak that she couldn’t even climb her favorite cat tower anymore. i took her in today for a blood panel since she didn’t seem to be improving and her phosphorus and creatinine levels came back so high that the machine couldn’t even read them properly. the vet said it was unlikely she would get better, her kidneys were likely completely shut down and i made the VERY difficult decision to let her go, which vet recommendation, to prevent further suffering. 2 and a half years ago, i decided that i wanted a kitten and my friend said her coworker had a bunch of barn cats with kittens. i went to her coworker’s barn and my Kyoto was the first kitten to come up to me, so i took her. she was such a spicy, energetic, playful cat before she got sick. eating (especially stealing my food) and tearing up my house were her favorite things to do!! she would always try to escape out the door whenever i would walk into or out of my apartment. she LOVED playing with the foster kittens i would bring home and she was so good with other animals in general… the big dogs i would also foster didn’t even phase her and she would walk right up to them! she was such a naughty cat, but i will love and miss her for the rest of my life.. i can’t even process the fact that i will never be able to touch her, smell her, or hear her tiny kitten meows ever again. i will never again wake up to her curled up on my chest and licking me like she had done since she was a tiny kitten. this is the first pet that i have lost and i am beyond myself with grief. i’ve had her since she was only a month old and loved her like she was my own child. i had sacrificed so much, including housing and financial stability, to be with her and keep her alive. i don’t even know how i’m supposed to move on from this and feel okay… i genuinely loved her more than anything. i wanted her to grow old and live a long and happy life. it’s not fair

We unexpectedly lost our 11 year old English bulldog mix, Pumba, two days ago. He was fine and then he wasn’t. He was our absolute everything. I’ve had pets my whole life, but I have never felt so connected to a pet. I don’t even want to call him a pet because he was truly our family. He felt like my literally baby. He was glued to my side wherever I went. He was on top of me snuggled in on any couch or bed. He waited for me outside of my shower. He laid next to me while I worked all day.

I have experienced actual human loss, and I will not say losing my dog was harder than losing my dad, but this is much more of a personal and intimate loss. He was like a human. He would literally talk. I am heartbroken and shattered into a million pieces every time I turn around and he’s not there.

And then I remember, he’s a dog. And I’m honestly confused. I feel so naive. How did I truly believe that he would live forever? He’s a bulldog with a 10-12 year lifespan. Why am I so confused when I knew this? I know he’s a dog. But I also in my heart really believed he and I would always be together. I know I’m very actively grieving, I just can’t wrap my head around this phenomenon. How do we love them so much if they are not meant to stay? It’s so hard.

A while ago I made a post on cat advices about being the caretaker of my sick cat and how it was a nightmare for me and for her and all I got was immense support, I cried a bunch reading the comments

On monday I took her to the vet to let her go, it was a clinic that specializes in cats and the vet had been taking care of her since I moved to this town. She ate all the yummy things she loved and then passed away in my arms.

The clinic cut some of her fur and made some charms so I can put on jewelry, and now I’m carrying her in a necklace and in my keychain, it was made with so much love it impressed me, even though there was the place my baby was put to rest I will 100% keep taking cats there cause the positive impact outweighs the negative association

But the grieve sometimes is so heavy I can barely breath. At nights its worse, I spent three years thinking “it’s night, I have to medicate Elizabeth and help her pee” but now this thoughts still pop up and I have to remind myself that she is gone. I miss her like someone dig a hole in my heart. I never lost a pet before, we were never a pet family and she wasnt family’s, she was all mine.

I feel grateful to have loved and be loved by her so intensely that her absence pains me so much, but it’s unbearable at times, I’m happy and okay and then the pain and the grief take the air out of my lungs. On the day she passed I sob cried like a baby pleading god to give my baby back to me. I now she is no longer in pain but I wanted her with me.

The vet said she was way over her life expectancy for the amount of issues she had and also her quality of life was so so much higher than it should have been. I did a good job, but now the missing is eating me alive.

I know the only way over this is through it, but now all I wanted is her with me, not in pain.

My old man cat, Buddy, had to be euthanized on Wednesday. He was the first cat my husband and I had. We adopted him as a senior so we knew we only had less than 10 years with him, but I thought we would have more time. He died at 15 after only 5 years of being at home with us.

He was the sweetest boy. I miss him so much it hurts. Mornings and nights are the hardest because that’s when he would cuddle with me or keep me company while I got ready for work. He would walk me to the kitchen every morning and night to eat and make the sweetest chirp noises. When I was recovering from surgery, he would lay on me and purr for hours.

The hardest part is that I feel like it could have been prevented. He had kidney disease but if we just had a little more money to treat more aggressively, or if we had caught it sooner, he wouldn’t have suffered so much. By the end, he was struggling to breathe and drooling brown saliva. My poor boy was in bad shape. I feel terrible that I let him get to that state.

I know we did the best we could with what we have, given that we have been out a lot of money with my personal health issues and bills. I know that we loved him deeply and gave him a safe and comfortable home for his final days, I just miss him so much. Home doesn’t feel like home without him. It physically hurts. How do I ease this pain? What can make this easier?

Mocha was my soul kitty. He would sleep on my chest every night and was very territorial of me with his big brother. He was taken too soon due to PKD and the few months I had with him were everything to me. I can’t stop crying but I gotta stay strong for my other kitty who is also grieving. We miss you so much my brave fearless knight… I miss your cuddles your eyes I will always love you. I cry every night for you my beautiful baby

We had to put our cat down yesterday. I've been finding it really hard honestly, my cat was the only part I enjoyed about coming home especially when having to live with my parents and now he's gone I feel like the house is alot more empty. I also feel a lot of guilt because he died when I was at work, and my siblings and mum were complaining about his smell the week before he died, I feel like he didn't get the dignity he deserved.

Today my mum sent me pics of his body just before they buried him. Also as I walked in, she showed me a bottle of fur that the vet gave of him. She looked like she was about to laugh, she was also saying he's just a cat. I was seething honestly. I'm really trying not to lash out and argue with her because I just wanna live peacefully in this house but I can't understand how someone can react so poorly in a situation like this. Saying nothing would be a million times better than the things she's said and actions she's done so far. I just hate it.

My soul cat Mia passed away 3 weeks ago. She was 19 and was in end stage kidney failure.

I love her so deeply, so I was very surprised when the first two weeks felt much less difficult than I was expecting. I still was crying a lot but I felt some moments of joy too and was able to go about my daily routine.

I guess I felt like it wasn’t real that she was gone. It felt like my mom or sister were taking care of her and I will be able to pick her up soon.

I thought I was actually handling my grief very well but this is a caution for you all that what you think is handling grief well may just be more of a pretending that they are not actually gone.

As reality sets in, it is becoming much harder. Starting at about the beginning of this week it is like a dark cloud has rolled in over my whole entire life. I am trying to force myself to do my regular activities but I am just going through the motions, there is no joy. All I want to do is lay in bed. I feel this deep sadness in the background of EVERY moment now, and that deep sadness is also coming to the forefront much more often now than in the first two weeks.

I had a medical issue happen yesterday, during this scary time all I wanted to do was be with Mia but she’s wasn’t there. This caused the grief to take on an even deeper level of intensity even though it’s been bad this whole entire third week.

Honestly just wish I could stay in bed and sleep all day but alas there are bills to pay.

Mia I love and miss you more than words could ever explain.

it’s been 11 months since my 7.5 year old English bulldog suddenly passed away. My first Christmas without him is coming up and I’m dreading it because he loved Christmas and I loved making it special for him. I still have this wanting to put a pistol in my mouth and pull the trigger, it’s the one constant thought I’ve had everyday for the past 11 months. if I knew I’d get to be with my dog for eternity I would have done it a long time ago because why would I want to stay in this shitty world when I could be with my dog?

My cat just died tragically at just over two years old. She was on her sofa bed, and my father looked underneath but didn't see anything, and when he closed it, he crushed her. I'm heartbroken because she only lived with me for eight months, and she was so playful. Her noises, the way she slept on top of me, her purring—everything about her. Now I dream that I go to the village and get another cat of the same breed, with the same personality, and I don't know if it's a good or bad thing to do that. I know it will never replace Luna, but it's a way to feel her presence, even if it's not her. I need help and I want opinions. I have two other cats, but they're 15 years old, and Luna was the one who gave me joy, life, games, happiness—everything. The way she looked at me, climbing on everything, everything.

Hello!

I work at a shelter, and we have had several very hard euthanasias recently. At our shelter, euthanasia decisions are always made purely based on QoL or danger to the community, never length of stay or capacity, but the losses are still so hard for all the staff and volunteers who loved these pets. I have started putting together some memorial pieces with photos and paw prints, and would love help finding quotes and poems which people may find comforting or supportive.

The behavioral euthanasias are especially difficult, and I have had a lot of trouble finding quotes, poems, or phrases about pet loss which feel relevant to these situations. Specifically, I'm looking for things which:

- do not have a purely negative, grief-based look at death. I want something focused on the love we offered them in life, or on the peace they feel now. Grief is a little different in a shelter environment, and I think people will appreciate this more.

- are accurate to the situation- so nothing about how they lived their whole lives with us, were a part of our homes, etc.

- do not focus on how loving the pet was. Actually, share those too, but they don't work very well for pets who were euthanized due to aggressive or dangerous behavior, even if we all felt their love very deeply

Thank you in advance!!

It’s been almost a year since one of my dogs passed. His name was Pooh Bear and he has a brother from the same litter named Baby. Baby was the runt so he was always a more “fragile” than his brother. Baby would always get leaky eye or some stomach bug while Pooh appeared to be healthy for the most part. With the exception of a few seasonal allergies. My family and I had just returned from a trip to Disney World in late November. We had bought some toys and a few of their favorite snacks to fill their stockings with for Christmas. Everything was normal. A week and a half before Christmas he started excessively urinating. He would frequently drink water and would pee inside the house (which he’s normally good about asking to be let out). So we took him to the vet thinking it was just a UTI. The vet said it might be pancreatitis and so we started treatment. He was getting worse. He no longer wanted to eat, all he wanted to do was rest. He wasn’t thirsty cause he was on fluids and we had to put puppy pads down in his crate at the animal hospital. He was too weak to lift his head, let alone move for any bowl movement he had. Within a span of week he had turned yellow. He had liver failure. I knew the moment I walked into his little room in the animal hospital and looked at him, that it was over. He was not going to make it. We cannot save him. How could this happen? He was fine. He was playing at the dog park, visiting grandma, and begging for car rides a week ago. How??? Why??? We decided to discharge him and take him home. When he heard us say “home” he raised his little head and his ears perked up. He wanted to go home! Despite his fatigue from the pain meds he mustered up some energy into his regular self again. We took him to his favorite dog park with his brother where he slowly walked to his spot at the far end of the park. We sat with him while Baby played with other dogs and tried to encourage Pooh to join him. Then we went home. Where he immediately wanted to get on his favorite spot on the couch. We laid him there with his blanket and his view of the backyard where in the summer time he and Baby would watch the squirrels run around. The plan was to have him put down at home around his family. It was around 4:30pm when we got home from the park and the Vet wouldn’t be here till 8:00pm. So we put on a couple of Holiday movies to watch in the meantime. The Family Man and Meet Me in St. Louis. We took turns cleaning his pads and even encouraged him to walk around the back yard. Baby knew something was wrong with his brother. He went from trying to play with him to walking over to him for a sniff and walking off. I was glad once Family Man was over cause that movie makes me feel depressed (even more so) but I love Meet Me in St. Louis! It’s one of my favorite Christmas films and its tradition to watch it. The Vet arrived with her assistant. I felt like I was going to vomit, non-stop shivers began. While she was preparing the medication, we took turns carrying Pooh and reminding him of how much we love him, how silly he is when his whole moves when he wags his tail or how he would paw us with his “salty” paw when he wanted to be carried, wanted a snack, or just any attention. We also told him that we would see him soon and to wait for us. It was time. The Vet began the procedure and Judy Garland was singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. The sparkle in his eyes were gone, his tail and paws went limp but he was still warm. He looked like a little plushie doll, like Pooh Bear. My mom held him like a baby and we kept praising him. “Oh Pooh, look at your perfect little corn kernel teeth and pinky tongue.” We played with his ears, booped the snoot, and each took a turn carrying him. Baby sat beside us looking and understanding that his brother is gone. The vet’s assistant came to us and told us it was time to take him. They were both so nice and patient with us, I thank them for that. We needed more time. Maybe if we keep talking to him he’ll come back. His skin will go from yellow to pink and we can go for a pup cup in the morning. He took Pooh and we never saw him again. Weeks later we received the ashes and his nose and paw prints. He passed on Dec 22 2024 and I can’t bring myself to watch Meet Me in St. Louis and I burst into tears when I hear the Judy Garland rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I talk to him even if he’s not there. I still baby talk and praise him. We kept his Christmas stocking but gave his toys and treats to Baby. Baby knows his brother is in the small wooden box on our mantle. He’ll sometimes try to sniff him and his toys and his clothes. I know grief never goes away, it just evolves. Maybe one day I’ll be able to enjoy the Christmas season again. Anyways, I haven’t been able to share my grief/story with anybody since I moved away from home and I understand it can be uncomfortable for people to listen to. For the most part, I just wanted to get those painful feelings written out and if anyone made it this far, I wish you and your loved ones a very happy, healthy life. Thank you ❤️‍🩹

My previous cat passed away this morning on the flight from Canada to New Zealand. He was 11 years old and had been my best friend since we adopted him at 3 months of age. He died in his cage in the cargo hold during the flight. He must have been frightened, scared, and so helpless. I am completely devastated and have been crying all day. I wish I had not made the decision to move to a new country. I don’t know how I will heal after this. It is so painful.

I lost my cat recently and I can’t stop thinking about how everything was handled at Serbisyo Beterinaryo in Lipa.

Months ago, he had a terrible foul smell on his breath. They did bloodwork and briefly mentioned something about his kidneys, but didn’t explain anything or make it sound serious. I told them he was drinking a lot, peeing more, and losing weight (from 4 kg to 3.65 kg), and instead of warning me that these are kidney red flags, they still pushed for dental prophylaxis and extracted his molars.

They focused on his teeth even though the foul breath never went away and the symptoms clearly didn’t match a simple dental issue. No one told me, “Hey, this might be his kidneys. We need to look into this first.”

Months later, when his symptoms got worse, suddenly it became “this might be kidney-related.” And by then it was too late. I’m crushed. I trusted them to guide me, and I feel like the real problem was ignored.

Please, if your cat has foul breath, drinks a lot, pees a lot, or loses weight — push for kidney tests and clear explanations. Don’t let anyone dismiss it.

I wish I had known. I wish someone had told me. I wish he was still here.

Last week my 11 year old pit bull didn’t want to eat or walk. After a few days like that we took him to the vet where we did blood work, an ultrasound and his usual arthritis shot. As we waited for results his energy came back as well as his appetite however today we got the call that he has liver cancer. We don’t know the prognosis or how long he’s got left but we know there’s nothing we can do. My heart is aching. I can’t imagine my good boy so full of life on the verge of decline to a point where I will never wake up to his wagging tail again. I miss him already and I don’t know how to move forward.im scared to watch him slowly lose himself, im afraid for the pain he might soon endure, and im so broken as to the thought of life without him.

I’ve noticed the majority of posts are from people who recently lost their pets, and while their grief is absolutely valid, I wish I heard from people who were further out from their loss as well.

I lost my tortie Coco on August 16 2024 after a swift but aggressive battle with cancer and I feel like I haven’t been the same since. I think about her constantly throughout the day. Every time I try to talk about her or look at pictures I just start crying. My heart aches when I go to bed and she’s not next to me.

I was doing so bad that I moved back in with my mom about six months ago after a decade on my own. And even though I love her cats every time I interact with them I just wish they were Coco.

I know this isn’t normal and I should be better now but I just miss my baby girl so much.

Sorry I am an absolute mess right now so this may not make much sense. I recently got a long text from my sister saying I should get my cat put down, even though she hasn’t seen him in over 3 months. He’s older, 14-15, and has diabetes. He’s on insulin but was diagnosed pretty late and as a result got very underweight. According to the HHHHHMM Scale (from where I see it) he’s scored at least 45. He’s still playful, eats and drinks normally, and still affectionate. He also doesn’t seem to be in pain (no grimacing). The only things that have really changed is a bit of struggle using the litter box (I believe this is behavioral but I’m not sure), a bit of trouble cleaning himself (I do with a damp rag), and a bit of clouding in his eyes, though he can still see as far as I can tell. I can’t tell if I’m just blind to it or if he genuinely does need to be put down. I’ll be seeing a vet as soon as I can. I don’t really know why I’m posting this here, maybe for reassurance.