Cool, windy...and, alas, a sad morning. One of my niece Talia's two dachshunds died last night. DJ apparently hurt his neck at some point during the day, and became increasingly ill as the day went on. On a day when we tend to think about what scares us, I have to say that a sick pet is a nightmare. He or she can't tell you what's wrong, and I guess those of who have pets have all experienced that mad dash to the vet's office when something wasn't quite right.
Last year, when the parrot became sick, I was out of my mind, calling the vet, the woman (a bird lover) who works at the pet store, and anyone else I could think of...trying to do what I could to save her -- and not being able to do it.
Talia seems to be OK, I called her a couple of hours ago and also posted a condolence note (from Jasper) on her Facebook page. She's had DJ since she was a tot and that's hard. Her other dog Jake is also despondent over this loss.
We all go through this at one time or another. And, let's face it, we're much closer to our animals than most people realize. They are family to us, even if they forget sometimes to send us birthday cards.
Kiss your pet today!!
So sorry to hear Talia's pet died..condolences to the family. I know he will be greatly missed.
Posted by: Linda C. | October 31, 2009 at 12:39 PM
please give talia and jake my condolences. i hope jake had the chance to see that dj had died. dogs and cats do understand the concept of death and if a pet does not get the chance to see that his companion has died, will be looking for him and not understanding why he is gone.
animals seem to have a sixth sense where we are concerned. when i worked in northjersey hackensack, i was one of the feral feeders. sometimes we would go months without ever seeing one, and frankly there were times when i wondered if i was feeding the groundhog. the wednesday after my own 18-year old cat had died, i went to feed them and when i got back to my car, there were seven of them lined up as if to acknowledge my loss. i was so touched by this. i may be reading more into this than actually was, but i had never seen them do that before, and never saw them do that again.
Posted by: lwt | October 31, 2009 at 01:43 PM
Please let Talia know your bloggers are thinking about her. My daughter lost her dachshund a few months ago and she's sad today because she couldn't dress him up in his hot dog costume this year.
Posted by: Darleen | October 31, 2009 at 07:49 PM
Awwww, please send Talia my condolences. One of our 3 dogs died this summer, and my son still says he will never, ever get another dog because it's so hard when they die. He still cries himself to sleep on occassion. It's very hard, especially when they have grown up with the dog, as Talia and Paul both did. :-(
Posted by: Lanie | October 31, 2009 at 09:18 PM
As I've said before, what most struck me when I've lost a pet is that the one being we most want to reach out to console us is gone. Talia is fortunate to still have Jake to cherish. I know how it hurt when we lost Molly two thanksgivings ago, and only being able to hug her two offspring made it momentarily better. The real measure of how much we love them in life is how much we miss them when they are no longer here. My heart goes out to all of them, Talia and her parents - and Jake.
Posted by: Evelyn | November 01, 2009 at 12:30 AM
It's so hard to lose a pet. It is harder to think of them suffering though. Perhaps they could plant a tree or special hardy shrub in her dog's honor.
also I was wondering if you had seen this awesome Tom Cruise impression: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjGmZJu8OnY If not, enjoy!
Posted by: Denise T. | November 01, 2009 at 10:08 AM
So sorry to hear, give Talia a hug for me, so hard to lose a pet.
Posted by: Liz | November 01, 2009 at 10:13 PM
Oh...that's so sad. Please give Talia & family my condolences also.
Posted by: Debbie from Lyndhurst | November 02, 2009 at 09:04 AM
Please give Talia my condolences for her loss and ask her if I can plant something for DJ in my Memory Garden in the Spring.
There is a pet loss support group on the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary website. The site is completely safe and pet lovers share stories and support each other while grieving.
Posted by: KimW | November 02, 2009 at 10:50 AM
My condolences. Its hard to cope with the loss of a pet especially when they are such a big part of your family. We lost our hampster over the weekend. My son asked me if he's in heaven. I said yes of course. We watched all dogs go to heaven that night together!! You know also a friend of mine went to see the psychic Sylvia Brown and said the first things you see when you go to heaven are your pets!!
I never forgot that.
I picked up a great book that may help. It's called, "Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!" by Susi Pittman. http://www.catholicstewardsofcreation.com/
It's helped us so far. Even though it was just a hampster It could have been our dog. We definately gave him extra kisses and cuddles.
Posted by: Chrissy | November 03, 2009 at 07:49 PM
I am a believer that animals have no one to defend them as human beings we have a duty to cherish and preserve the planet and without them we are nothing. invite all people to fight for precervacion of nature and our animal friends
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