It's been a month since Otis died and it's still as hard as ever. I'm still crying about him at least once a week. I've got so many memories about him and they just make me break down all over again. I see other Westies and it takes all of my strength not to burst into tears. I think about him every day. Why did God take him away? I miss him so much it physically hurts. All my family seem to be getting over except for me and my mum. I just can't accept that he's gone, that I'm never gonna see him again. I didn't know it would hurt this much. RIP Otis 6/1/12 </3

My deepest sympathies at the loss of Otis, I understand all too well how you feel. I still expect to see Ellie fast asleep on my bed when I come home and it tears me up that she isn't with me anymore. I think its going to be a long process, but remember all the good times, you loved him and gave him all the comfort in the world. Otis is still with you in spirit, I still swear I can hear Ellie purring at night, maybe its just my imagination but it brings me comfort.
My thoughts and prayers are with you. x x x

Am thinking of you and your beloved Otis ***x

I found the first week to be so horrible that words can hardly express. I ended up writing a tome almost a year ago detailing each day for the first week, that I posted on this forum at day 7. I felt such relief and an outlet for my grief when I googled and found this place back then. I'm still not sure how I would've coped without lightning-strike....

The weeks following are still horrible but you just start to gain traction with your sanity and emotions.

The months following are like waves in the ocean. Some days are calm and others are stormy, like 50 footers that threaten to consume you.

All the while, you miss him. You miss him so very much. You try to go on and live and there are good days and bad. There are a lot of bad days in the first few months.

The overriding, underlying current of your being will be Otis during this time. Otis is such an adorable name . The memories pop in at unexpected times, and flood in at other times. All the while you will feel a sense of loss and missing him. This is the cruel process we must endure when we lost a best friend; a friend that never judged, that loved unconditionally, and brought joy and love into your heart. The more you loved him, the more it will hurt.

I don't mean too sound so clinical. I'm just giving you my own experience. I lost my boy almost one year ago and I am still so consumed with grief that I've decided I need some professional grief counseling. I'm telling you this because I truly understand the surreal, painful, frustrating,etc ... feeling you are having. I have been through the 7 stages of death a thousand times over now. But I find myself stuck in the Denial one. Even after all this time, part of me refuses to believe he's gone. I just feel him all the time, see him, remember every second of our lives together. I can't seem to let go because he was so powerful, omnipresent and joyous in our lives that I can't/don't want to give him up.

Otis will be with you a for some time still. I take comfort in believing that our beloved's spirits stick around a while until we're readly to let go and move on without them. They were always with us in our times of need in life, and spiritually, I believe they continue in death, sitting at our feet, waiting for a good scratch behind the ears. He will be there until you are ready to say goodbye (you will feel him, see a glimmer of him sometimes) and even when that day of saying goodbye comes, he will be in your memories to keep fresh so you can meet on the rainbow bridge and pick up where you left off.

My heavy heart goes out to you. I cry with you. I am angry as you are. I am sad with you. I empathasize so deeply. You have a long journey ahead of you and I will be thinking of you and Otis, focusing my thought energy towards You, and your healing and your broken heart.

Take care and be sure to talk to others so as to not feel so alone in your grief. If you have no one who understands, you always have this place. We all understand (too much).

Hi, Otis Baby, I truly wish there were some magical words I could say that could take this awful pain from your heart, but unfortunately I know there are no adequate words in any language that can soothe seering pain of loss you are feeling. This grief journey can only be traveled one day at a time, sometimes one moment at a time, and unfortunately it is a journey that cannot be rushed. I hope and pray in time your deepest grief will begin to ease so that you can be able to think of your beloved Otis with a happy heart - - for this is what he wants for you.

Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers, Otis Baby, and that I look forward to knowing how you're doing.

Peace and blessings,
moon_beam

Thank you everyone so much. You really helped me xx

Dear Otis_Baby,

I, like everyone else within this forum, have experienced similar circumstances. We are all here to seek support and to give support. For me, knowing others felt the same helped me alot. It has only been 2weeks since my best friend Tyson passed away and I too find it hard to bare. It has provoked thoughts within me of the meaning of life - what is the point if we live to see our loved ones die? why is it so short? where do we go?

The death of my beloved friend has lead me to re-evaluate my life and I have looked to God. Love is eternal. We will meet with our loved ones again and will never have to worry about being parted. It is hard to think that our beloved friends have left this earth, that their spirit, their wagging tail, their breathe, their life is no longer with us. For me i simply cannot believe nor accept that this is the end.

Look back on your time with your beloved friend like I have; YOU WERE SO LUCKY TO HAVE KNOWN YOUR BELOVED FRIEND. You gave Otis a life full of love and this did not go unnoticed. Otis loved you. You will be reunited again.