Paulina and I; wife and husband; are suffering from the death of Oliver our precious chihuahua. He was Paulina's dog, he followed her, slept beside her. He had such a gentle and friendly nature; not fiesty like our other chihuahua Prunella. There was just the four of us,a family unit; now we are three.We are both grieving and crying and morning his passing. He was only 9 years old.; He had difficulty with his stomach and intestine; died last night after surgery.He loved and was a character, we used to run around the house together. I have 2 years to retirement but this has closed a chapter in our lives. We are now thinking of selling the house; we have no plans for the future.I wish I could know that he is at peace.

Thor&Paulina

Hi Tory and Paulina, Oh I know how precious the little chihuahua's can be. I am so sorry to hear about your sweet Oliver. He sounds like he was a wonderful boy. I know that you must be devastated like all of us here are.

My son's chihuahua passed away from cancer, she also had asthma and an enlarged heart. She had just turned 10 years old. We raised her and kept her off and on throughout her life and we had her everyday for the last 9 months before she died.

Then we lost our precious Snookie to cancer and different things she was almost 11 years old. I am having a hard time dealing with the loss of both of them so close together. Please come and tell us about your precious Oliver. We will cry with you and hold your hands, we all know about broken hearts here on LS.
Ann

Paulina and Tory, we're all very saddened to hear about your sweet little Oliver. No matter how old our babies are, they're always too young for us to lose them.

Please know that Oliver is most definitely at peace and is also always going to be with you. The tears come way too easily right now, but you will get through this. He was loved and loved the both of you; that can never, ever be taken away.

We're always here for you and would love to hear more about Oliver!! When you're feeling up to it, tell us more about him. He sounds like he was a real happy little guy!!

Be well, be strong and know that when you need a shoulder, you have many to chose from here.

Hugs,

Pat

Dear Tory & Paulina-

I'm so sorry for your loss of Ollie. He sounds so very precious. I know that some Chihuahuas can be yappy little monsters, but the ones that aren't yappy monsters are usually the dearest, sweetest, sensitive little dogs. It sounds like Ollie was the dear, sweet variety. I know you must miss him terribly.

You're still very fresh in your grieving over Ollie. Shiloh has been gone for over 6 months now, and although I still have bad days, I have found that time has helped ease my pain.

You're in my thoughts.
Kathleen

My heart goes out to you - I know what it is like to lose a lifelong friend - I too am experiencing the end of an era - 20 years my Amber was with me - she was there for "it all" ~ Since she lived and thrived in my Master Bedroom during her last years ~I cannot go in there and sleep without her there ~ I am going to have to get new bedroom furniture ~ I understand your grief ~ I feel your despair ~ We will all get through this together - please come back and share more ~ A memorial candle burns in my home for all the lost friends that have bravely fought and now passed from our lives on earth to a forever place in our hearts where we will learn to hear and feel them there stronger than ever before. Peace and Hope to You Both ~ Kathryn and Angel Ambie

Thor & Paulina,

I am so very sorry for the loss of your dear, sweet Oliver. Three weeks ago I lost my dog Allie to intestinal difficulties. She was only two years old, so I know what a shock it can be to lose a dog who is not very old. It is a very difficult and devastating thing to have to go though -I know that Oliver was a very special part of your family. Please know that we are all here to listen and to care. I believe that God, creator of all living things, loves and cares for Oliver who was one of His special creatures, and Oliver has been restored to health, and his sweet little spirit is safe, warm and happy. I hope that you can believe this too.

Thinking of you,
Jenny

Dear Tory and Paulina,

My sympathy to you both on the passing of your sweet Oliver. I know the emptiness you are feeling right now in the very beginning of this sad journey. Things will get better. It just takes time. You've come to the best place to share your feelings.

Thinking of you both.

Sincerely,
Lynn

Thank you all for the comforting words. Ollie was a lovely boy; we miss him sorely and have come to conclude he was the spark in our family of four, Prunella is passive without Ollie to lead the way. He was full of energy; we have come to realize how important he was for us. It is a colder sadder life without him. I love him dearly and he could never be replaced. I have suggested another addition to make a family of four but Paulina does not feel Prunella could adjust to another dog. It is so unfair to Ollie to have died, He was faithful and he loved. The crown on ollies head will be joy and love. It is so hard to try to go on without him. What can we do to heal our lives?

Paulina&Tory

Paulina and Tory-

I am so sad to hear of Oliver's passing. I know what you mean about feeling like a unit of four. When Lucy passed away 8 weeks ago, our unit of 6 was reduced to 5. We have 2 children and a cat. Without Lucy, everything felt wrong. Sitting out in the backyard was wrong, taking the kids for a walk was wrong. I couldn't even do these things for a few weeks. It is completely normal. It is so painful and definitely feels like the world is off balance.

We are dog people, and not having a dog was very difficult. We decided to adopt a dog at a local shelter that was supposed to be euthanised. It was quite soon, but somehow, I think Lucy would have approved of it as we saved a life and we knew that we had a wonderful home to offer a needy pooch. Every person is different. Just allow yourself to grieve for the loss of Oliver. Prunella is likely grieving very heavily too. Be there for her and for yourselves. That is all you can do right now...

Take care, Caroline

I'm so sorry for your loss.
I was a unit of 3....me and my 2 German Shorthaired Pointers. We were a team. Now I'm down to two. I lost my Jasmine 10 days ago, so I'm still in the early stages of grieving myself. And my surviving pointer is so low-key, while Jasmine was the wild one. Now there seems to be a lack of energy in the house. I have to get Bailey riled up when before I didn't have to.
All I can say at this point is that we truly understand and we're here for you.

Audrey

I feel your pain and sadness for I was a group of three and now down to 2 of us - me and C.C. the 12 year old White Angora ~ he came to me from a pet store in 1993 when they were going to have him put down because he was born deaf ~ He is a good boy ~ very cute ~ but not the same as Amber my sweetie pie who I lost after nearly 20 years this past Monday ~ I can relate to everything you have said here ~ my home is too quiet ~ Amber used to "summon me" several times a day - she had an opinion on everything I did ~ I miss her terribly - my insides are darkened and shadowed ~ there is a hymn that comes to mind that says "Set me like a seal on your heart" that is what I think we need to do with our babies that have passed - prepare a different place in our hearts where they can rest forever as a seal upon the place where our love resides now and forever ~ Thank you for your words - they meant alot to me ~ we will heal and we will remember our love that we shared with our dear ones always ~ Peace Be With You ~ Kathryn , Angel Amber and C.C.

We didn,t know how important he was to our family. Only in his passing did we fully appreciate our Ollie. This changes us forever. I must now examine my life and to do that which would honour our lost companion. At the end of our days I want to see that I did that which will honour his memory . What would he want for Paulina, Pru and me? to be happy. be at peace about him and still give of our love to others. Other animals and people. Paulina is very broken about Ollie. Ollie used to sleep tucked up to Paulina.At this time Paulina can't give her heart away. When he needed to go outside; he would come and stare at us to get our attention.He also loved to snooze; one of his favourite places was under the blanket in the bedroom. My wife complained (not with malice) that I would kiss the dogs before her and that she was third in line.There is a trail in the backyard where Ollie and Pru would dash outside to examine the squirel situattion at the backyard fence.Ollie was placed to rest close by a large boulder in our yard near a young cedar tree; close to him is "Squeeger"a guinea pig who passed before.I still want to have pets in my life; a price to be payed for the love we share.I don't want to think that the memory of him will fade through the rest of my life. Ollie will be permanently attached to my heart forever .Maybe this is the legacy of our companions that they made us better human beings with more compassion, changing our focus on that which will endure; love will endure. What would our companions have us do? Thank you all for your support, we grieve together for our lost loved ones.