I was told there were support forums for those who lost their pet. I had to put my best friend to sleep yesterday--almost 24 hours ago exactly. She was almost 9 years old and was recently diagnosed with lymphoma. I knew it was time to say good-bye because she was becoming weak, and her lymph nodes were extremely swollen. My family is wanting me to not be so sad, but I am unable to control my sadness. My dog and I were truly inseparable and now part of me is missing. I am not sure how to cope with this devastating loss.

Hi Penny,

I'm sorry that you lost your beloved friend. What kind of dog was she?

My baby died 6 months ago today. It was a sudden death due to previously undetected illness. She died at the vets without me with her.

She had just turned 9 a few weeks earlier, so our dogs were about the same age.

The grief does get less intense over time, but one always feels sad.

I'm glad you found us.

Moose was also 9yrs old, it has been 7wks for me. There are no magic words to take the extreme saddness away from you, I wish there were. Only words understanding, encouragement and comfort, every one here will understand each emotion you feel as you step on to the wheel of grief, we are all in different stages of it helping each other try and be strong. I am sorry that you lost your furbaby. When you are stronger tell us about him so we can share with you. Pamela

Hi Penny:

Welcome to Lightning-Strikes.... Inasmuch as I feel badly that people need to search for a pet-grief site, I will say, that I am happy that you made it here - to LS.....

I am very sorry that you had your precious furdog put to sleep.....

It probably "doesn't feel much like "A GIFT", right now..........
But, that's what you gave your sweet girl.....

After our sweet furcat Ernestine was put to sleep this past February 7, 2004.........I (LUCKILY), found this website, within
the first 24 hours........ And, I will always be grateful......

At that time.......nothing made sense to me, Penny.........
People would try and comfort me, but I just couldn't stand it....
I wanted my girl back...........I wanted to hold her, kiss her.........just that one last time..... You know???

I do repeat this often............But, one (of the many) wonderful people here at Lightning-Strike explained to me.............

"Denise.........You TOOK ON Ernestine's pain..........so that SHE COULD FINALLY BE WITHOUT PAIN"......

Well..........that explained everything to me......

Ernestine was hurting.......her poor little body ravaged with pain, and she was violently retching....She was just starting to
starve herself.........And, I prayed sooooooooo hard that God would please take her, in her sleep.

But, that wasn't going to happen.....
So, Ben and I made the decision to SET HER FREE.....
And, as hard as it was........We would do it again...FOR HER!

Please stay around here Penny........You'll receive all the love, support, caring & all that you need.....
We have all be through what you are going through.....

Some of us have been here awhile, and some have just come along when you did.......

But, we've all lost someone that we LOVED, AND WILL ALWAYS LOVE.......

The way that "I coped with the loss of my "almost 20 year old sweet girl"........." was:
To be gentle with myself, to understand that "I needed time"......
And, I needed to surround myself with everyone here at LS........

Because some people in "my life" just didn't understand how badly I felt....

I also would pick people's names from here...........and FOLLOW THEIR JOURNEY'S..........FROM BEGINNING TO END,
OR BEGINNING TO MOST RECENT...........

I needed to see how "it" was done...........

I'll always be grateful to every single person here!!!!!

I wish you much love and peace, Penny.........

You will find everything that you need right here.

God Bless You and Yours,

Love, Denise

Penny,

I'm sorry for your loss. Today would have been my Kona's 9th birthday. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in August, so we had some time to say goodbye. We had to say the final goodbye on Nov. 23rd. The first day was the WORST. I sobbed heartily and didn't know which end was up. Your family loves you and wants you not to be sad, but it is inevitable. I hope they are able to understand that what you feel is very real and must be worked through. I am fortunate to have an understanding family that lets me cry. I found that crying helped. I'm still crying.

While ordering a sign to commemerate Kona, I met a man who lost his dog of 15 years over the summer. He said he cried for a long time, but he assured me it gets better. I hope he's right.

Take care of yourself,
Susan

Penny I am so sorry for your loss of your little girl and I know you miss her so much. Please come and talk to us as we all lean on each other to make it through our pain. The sadness will be with you for a long time to come. Tell us all about your baby, it really does help when we can talk with others who are going through the same things.
Ann

Hi Penny,

I'm truly sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved dog. What was her name? It's very sad and tramatic to lose of faithful friend of nine years. Don't let your family or anyone else tell you how you should feel....only you know that. It's not silly or wrong to be devastated by your loss.

All of us here at LS understand and share your pain. Please tell us more about your time with your dog. It will help so much to express your feelings to people who have been through exactly what you are going through now. We're hear to listen.

Take care,
__Jim

Hi, Penny -

When I read that you lost your pup to lymphoma the tears swelled in my eyes. My Shiloh was diagnosed last May with lymphoma. After doing chemo-therapy she still lost the battle on Sept. 17th. She was only 5 years old. She was my best friend and my companion. I can relate to your situation on so many levels...feeling the swollen lymph nodes, the feeling of despair when I got the firm diagnosis of lymphoma, and, now, dealing with the extreme loss of my dear furbaby, Shiloh.

The folks here at LS at so kind and compassionate about pet loss. When no one else wants to listen or seems to care about how sad you are, people here will listen with true care and concern and give you words of encouragement. Keep coming here and sharing...it really will help with your grieving.

Take care,
Kathleen