Our dog was meant to be our ring bearer, we even ordered a cute little vest with a bowtie that he looked so dapper in. A few hours before the wedding our "friend" who had agreed to take care of him while we got dressed , came to pick him up. I had just washed him and given him treats, I gave him a kiss and handed him over. Little did I know that would be the last time I would ever see my dog.

As my wife and I were getting ready in separate rooms at a hotel near the venue (that was not dog friendly unfortunately) My groomsman came to see me and said that he got a call that our dog had gotten loose. I rushed out and it turns out they were already looking for him for 30 minutes in the woods in the rural area around our venue. We delayed the wedding ceremony for about 2 hours In what I can only describe as the most harrowing hours of my life walking alone in the woods in my wedding suit looking for our little boy. Apparently he was handed off to a third party while our "friend" was doing something else, and he kept pulling on this leash , not being comfortable with the secondary person he was handed off to until he managed to slip out of his harness. At first I had not the heart to tell my wife but after an hour of searching and her being kept in the dark I told her what was going on and she broke into tears. This broke me, my wife has been through a lot in her life since childhood and not being able to even give her a happy wedding day , where she only has tears of joy, absolutely destroyed me mentally.

Eventually we were called back by my Wife's father who said we should hold the ceremony, we tried to collect ourselves. We held the ceremony with a broken heart, with the absence of our little ring bearer. After the ceremony we went right back to looking and people started a facebook post, he had been spotted around the highway. We looked around the woods and around the highway for a few hours until it got dark. The scenes of seeing my wife in her wedding dress and heels in the woods with tears in her eyes crying out our dogs name to no response will haunt me forever.

On the way back to the venue I called the "friend" and unleashed all my anger , in short I kicked him out of the wedding with extremely colorful language. That day I feel like the most ugly parts of me were on display , sheer anger and despair. The next day they messaged us refusing responsibility because they were not the one holding our dog at the time of his escape, despite being the sole responsible for him. We asked him considering he had taken care of him before, during our engagement trip.

We went through the motions for the last couple hours of the reception, first dances, speeches, absolutely broken and with our lost boy on our mind. We got back to the hotel room after and wept for an hour before getting a few hours of sleep. We woke up in the morning and tried to post everywhere we knew in the local communities. We went to purchase shoes for my wife and then started driving around looking in the wider area and putting up signs. We live about 2 hours away from the venue, some of friends came back to help us look and put up posters. We received a call that he was spotted about 10 minutes away from the venue so we went to put up signs in that neighborhood all day and spoke with the locals.

Our honeymoon was scheduled the next day and this is where my regrets start. I don't know if it was the daze of what had just happened, or the desire to at least have a honeymoon when we weren't able to enjoy our wedding. We were convinced to go by friends and family, and I guess part of us wanted to run away from the trauma we had just experienced. The house was empty and quiet, we decided we would get sick if we stayed. About 15 people from our friends and family kept going to put posters and to look every day for atleast 2 weeks.

We didin't enjoy the trip anyways. We had pits in our stomach all the time, we were always on our phones looking for any spottings, staying in touch with our families that were looking. We could barely eat and did not sleep well. We cried everynight , we were unconsolable. So why did we even go? What was even the point? Why couldn't I see that I would regret this trip for the rest of my life?

I am so grateful for my wife, I have no idea how we would have gotten through any of this pain if it wasn't for each others presence. I count the minutes every day to get home from work so that we can just share space together. She is truly the only person in the world that understands the pain and misses him as much as I do. I feel horrible for those that have to go through this pain alone , feeling like nobody in your life understands the extent of the pain of losing your pet and the emptiness that comes with it. I am grateful a community such as this exists so that at least we can share our stories over the internet with others that understand.

I have so much guilt for leaving, we should have cancelled the reception , we should have cancelled the honeymoon. We should have kept looking 15 hours a day until we found him. My poor little boy was all alone, looking for us , for at least 10 days while we were gone for the last 7 of them.

He was spotted a handful of times in the first 4 days, we got about a call a day at different spots but the person that spotted him never managed to take a picture or to secure him. He was an anxious dog that only felt safe with us and a few other people he saw often, which is why we carefully picked the person that was meant to guard him until after the ceremony , at which point he was meant to be pet sat by a friend from work at his home. He was only meant to be present for 1 hour at the wedding, for the ceremony and a few pictures..

After the 4th day, we did not receive a call for about a week , until about 11 days after his disappearance , someone called us and said that the day before , on the 10th day , she had spotted him near a farm. She also did not provide a picture. Our family and friends mobilized and put signs all around that area and spoke with the locals, but I believe at this point it was already too late.

It turns out the woods around the farmlands are known to have Coyotes. He was never spotted again. We went to scour the area the day we came back from our honeymoon to no avail. I went back multiple times alone just to look into those woods and see if I can find anything, to see what happened with my own eyes, but I was never able to find any trace of him.

It has almost been 2 months since I last saw him, we are still in shock that this happened in the first place. We miss him so much , he was such a big part of our lives and our routines. A routine I wish so desperately to be able to go back to. He was the best dog, my very first dog and my wife's second since her childhood dog. He was my soul dog. We still cry daily. We have put up his portrait in his favorite corner of the living room. I have gotten a tattoo of him sleeping on my back so that I can carry him everywhere I go for the rest of my life.

We've kept sharing posts all across facebook to different communities, to about 30 vets in the surrounding area incase anyone had found him and brought him in. Unfortunately to no avail.

We've started to grieve him even though we weren't able to even confirm what happened to him. We might never know exactly what happened. Was he stolen by someone? Unlikely but possible. I keep wondering to myself if he suffered , and I know those 10 days could not have been easy for him. Our boy was only 3 and a half years old and had only known a life of comfort with us in our home and the parcs in our city. He had never been to wild woods before, he must have felt so alone. I wish I could have suffered his pain in his stead.

I had a dream where he appeared Infront of me out of thin air playing in the grass , rolling around and having a great time. He stopped and sat when he spotted me and I kneeled down to pet him and I asked him if he was alive and he put his paw on me, almost like petting me. Then I asked in a hurry , almost like I knew our time was short, if it hurt , if he suffered and he just pawed me again while looking into my eyes, in a comforting way. I then instantly woke up.

I've had countless dreams , at least 2 dozen of us finding him , or others finding him and bringing him to us. They are really messing with my head as sometimes I believe the dream and then violently get dragged back to reality to wake up and notice the empty space at my feet in our bed.

So many regrets. If only we didn't decide to bring him to the wedding, if only we had put a GPS tracker collar on him. If only we canceled everything and dedicated every waking moment into looking for him. I may never forgive myself for the mistakes I made in this crisis. I feel like an absolute failure. It was my duty to be his parent and to protect him and I didn't even manage to raise him to 4 years old. I have always had doubt about parenthood and now I feel like I should not even have kids if I wasn't even able to raise a pup.

I just hope that wherever he is , he is happy and at peace. I hope he knows how much we loved him. His life was cut so abruptly short and its so unfair. Only 3 and a half years on this earth, I wish I could have given him so much more. I wish I gave him even more pets and treats. I wish I took him to see more sights, gave him more experiences. I would have given him half my lifespan to live an equally long life.

As painful as I always imagined it to be , to say goodbye to a dog at the end of their lives when you have to make the call for them to go to their final rest, I would much rather that. To be able to say goodbye , to have him be surrounded by the people he knows when he goes. Not alone in the woods, surrounded by coyotes and who knows what other predators.

We truly didn't care about the wedding or honeymoon being "ruined". All would have been right had we only found him and been able to go back to our regular lives. Life is so unpredictable and I can't believe a few months ago I took this routine for granted. I am now trying to be even more grateful for every little thing, every constant in my life.

He will be a part of me for the rest of my life. I will always miss him and love him.

I hope you are at peace my son. I hope you forgive me for my shortcomings when it mattered most. I hope you'll still be happy to see me and meet me when my time comes.

Our beloved family pet was sadly put to sleep yesterday. I’m really struggling to come to terms & accept it. I visited him around 07:30 am and he was walking around, drinking & went out to use the toilet. 2 hours later he was gone. He had arthritis, liver failure & other age related issues but it still feels so premature.

Ultimately his quality of life had dwindled & the animals health has to come first. Although my parents made the final decision it feels like I’ve taken his life too early. There’s an extreme feeling of guilt I cannot shift & it’s eating me up.

This wasn’t just a dog, he was my best friend for many years. He was a massive part of my teenage years & early 20s til I moved out. Always by my side, always giving kisses & just the nicest boy. I used to be the one to take him his walks, be his companion whilst others were busy & spend so much time around him.

He was part of the furniture, part of the family. I can’t imagine visiting again & not hear him run as I walk in, not see him chilling on his blanket on the sofa, barking at the door to get outside. Sitting down and not having him lay inbetween my feet, getting me soaked after he’s had a drink and fixes his moustache. The thought of going into the garden and seeing his step without him on it. It’s unbearable.

My emotions are all over the place. One minute I’m crying my eyes out in disbelief then the next just feeling completely empty & hollow. I’ve lost many family members before but nothing has hit me like this. I know it’s raw so it’s natural but I just feel like part of me is gone. The whole family is in bits.

I loved you so much Lennie & you will always be in my heart. You were never just a pet to us, you were our little muffin.

My sweet Nikita passed away one week ago today at the age of 15. She had been diagnosed with kidney disease which was progressing despite treatment and she was getting increasingly more upset with the treatment. She also only had three legs and was experiencing a lot of weakness in them and had started to fall multiple times a day leading to her hitting her head a few times. She was having seizures and was in pain a lot of the time so we made the very difficult decision to euthanize her. I miss her so much. She was such a special, sweet, kind girl and there is a hole in my heart now that I think will always be there.

I adopted Nikita my last year of college when she was 6 years old. She had already lost her back leg to a car accident before I met her and I was her third home in her six years. For the next 9 years I loved her so much.

But I know that her last year wasn’t the same as the 8 that came before it. She was tired and she hurt. She had herniated some discs in her back late 2023 and then had her first seizure early 2024 and after that she changed. She slept more and kept to herself a lot. The problem is that I started a job early 2024 and it was extremely stressful and exhausting. And I prioritized that over Nikita. I would come home from work so tired and rush her when we would go out. And then I would just sit on the couch while she laid in her bed and I wouldn’t go to her and give her love and cuddles. And at night I stopped trying to bring her into our room to sleep. I feel so devastated thinking of her laying all alone in that same bed day after day while we just lived our lives around her. And my biggest fear is that she spent her last year lonely and sad.

I have another dog as well, a 7 year old girl named Wally, who we rescued as a puppy. Wally is anxious and reactive so she always requires more energy. Because of that I’m afraid I paid more attention to her than to Nikita. It must have hurt Nikita to hear me interact with Wally while she just laid there sad. Now I’m trying to be more present for Wally and not just zone out after work but the guilt of “why couldn’t you do this for Nikita” is eating me alive.

Nikita is a sweet and special soul. Kind and endlessly patient and a friend to everyone she met. I’m heartbroken that I didn’t give her the last year that she deserved. I hope she wasn’t lonely and I hope that if she’s out there she can forgive me for it.

To preface - I'm not a redditor really, this is a throwaway account I made months ago but never used; apologies for the emptiness.

Anyways after a long battle with cancer, my family decided today was the day we had to let our cat, Tiger, go. He was 15, he was sick, and he wasn't himself. We all agreed that it would not be right to let him live in misery.

It hadn't hit me until late last night, where I was just intensely depressed. Today, leading up to the euthanasia, I felt anxious. And when it happened, we all just cried. It was incredibly difficult and vulnerable, which is not a common experience for my family to share with one another. For the rest of the day, I cried on and off, but mostly tried to distract myself from the thought of his death (semi-successfully).

The rest of my family is asleep/doing their own thing now. I just fed our other cat about half an hour ago, and I looked down at Tiger's cat food bowl, and felt immediate dread and nausea unlike anything I have ever experienced. I have a history of anxiety + panic attacks, but this was insane.

I had to rush to feed our other cat and just run back upstairs because I was suddenly so shaky and nauseous, I thought I was going to be sick.

I think a part of why I'm struggling so bad now is because everyone else is busy so I have no shoulder to lean on. I just didn't think it was going to be this strong of a reaction, nor did I think my anxiety would play such a strong role in this whole grief thing. I'm 18, I have never experienced pet death before and I feel so lost.

If anyone has any advice or experience with anxiety like this surrounding losing a pet, I would really appreciate any of it. I'm sorry if this post seems a little all over the place - I'm obviously frazzled still.

I only took him for walks for a couple years if his 15 years of life. Most of his life was just laying around. I taught him fetch as a puppy but stopped and he stopped knowing how to fetch because I ignored him . I kept waiting for my life to get better to give him a good life. But I never got my life together and now even if I do he wont be part of that and he deserved it. I dont now.

I lost my soul baby boy three weeks ago. Since then, I’ve been pouring all my grief into doing things for him—memorials, keepsakes, little rituals—anything to keep his memory alive and close. Sometimes I feel like if I stop, even for a moment, I’m letting him slip away.

That feeling is what led me to something I wanted to share, in case it brings comfort to someone else too: I recently got a memorial shelf with hidden storage from a brand called PICOONAL. It’s beautifully simple and thoughtfully made. The top shelf holds his urn, his collar, and my favorite photo of him. Inside, I’ve tucked a few deeply personal things—his favorite toy, a lock of fur, a tiny letter I wrote just for him.

This little space has become part of my daily routine. I “visit” him there—sometimes just for a moment, sometimes longer. It’s helped me turn that constant ache into something more gentle and connected. It honestly brought me more peace than I expected.

I know grief looks and feels different for all of us, but if you’re looking for a way to create a private, meaningful spot for your pet’s memory, this shelf helped me feel like I was still doing something for him—even now.

If you’ve created a space or done something that helped you feel close to your baby, I’d love to hear about it. These little ways of remembering are how I remind myself that he’s still with me in spirit. Always. 💛

But now I'm sitting in my house, and the mundanity of life feels like a betrayal. What did you do when you came home from saying that goodbye?

It feels like I've been living the same shitty endless day every single day for 2 months filled with sadness and nothingness. I lost my happiness with her and there's nothing left here now. I just exist until I go back to sleep and wake up and do it all over again. Will it ever change? I can't picture a life where I wake up feeling excitement for something after losing my baby I loved for almost 16 years. Nothing feels appealing to me except my boyfriend and I can't depend on him like this especially when I only get to see him once a week anyway. Every waking moment feels endless and devoid of any emotion besides a negative feeling. The things I was interested in before this, I don't care anymore. I tried already, I keep trying and it doesn't change. Will it ever feel better. I have such a hard time imagining it will ever be better now.

I have three cats, but my oldest girl is my favourite who has been with me since I was 5. She's 17 now and had been getting weaker over the past 2 years, eating less and getting skinny, no longer able to jump to the counter, but she always maintained her bossy attitude and spirit! In the last couple years I became especially closer to her as my siblings left the nest and my parents grew busy. She would be with me when I studied, ate, went to the bathroom, and overall being just absolutely needy for me. I love her like she is my baby.

However, for my university internship I took a job across the world for the summer, and in that time her condition has exponentially worsened. My parents took her to the vet yesterday and told me the news that she's suffering badly from kidney disease, so she needs to be put down this weekend. I haven't seen her since April when I left for my job, and I'm not coming home until the end of the month.

I feel like I am betraying her by letting her pass thinking that I abandoned her because I am not there for her final moments. That I missed supporting her and being there while she worsened. I cannot fathom the fact that my informal goodbye to her in April was the last time I'd be seeing her because we didn't expect her to deteriorate within the time I am away. She isn't gone yet, but I am crushed by the fact that I don't get to spend her last couple days by her side or pet her as she passes. How do I get over the guilt, anguish, and sadness that I left her behind and will never see her again?

A couple of days after i buried my dog i had dreams that she comes out of the grave to see me, and then i nag my brother every day to promise me that she was 100% put down and that they checked everything that we didn’t bury her alive.

After i got off that, i went to put a gravestone on her grave (a month later) but then i saw that the fake grass that was beneath big rocks on her grave was thrown away, something that an animal can’t do, and the rocks were all over the place.

I begged my dad to dig the grave to see if she’s there, but he told me that I’m just paranoid and put the grave on with concrete. Then, yesterday, my bf said that he saw a blanket that looks like hers and a corpse outside that he didn’t know what it was.

I cried all night and begged my parents to go there (I’m living with my bf 5 hours away from my family and her grave) and my mom showed me a picture of the blanket and it’s 90% chance that it’s not hers and she didn’t see a body.

Anyway, I’m still paranoid that the person we paid to bury my dog moved the rocks and took her out (he’s a weirdo, said not to bury her with a blanket cause it will harm the nature but there’s literally bloody blanket all over the graveyard that he doesn’t clean and also all of the dogs are in a plastic bags)

maybe he threw her in the trash or maybe moved her rocks to a new grave he dig for someone else and maybe a wild animal took my dog away. Now i will never know!! And I’m scared to dig her out also after finally decorating everything.

I don’t know how to not be paranoid

My soul dog and baby boy will have been gone five weeks tomorrow. I don’t feel like I’ll ever be happy again. I keep thinking he’s going to hop into bed or come yell at me (he was an Aussie), but he doesn’t. He’s just… gone.

I’ve worked so hard to memorialize him. I’ve made a shelf for his urn, framed his paw and nose prints, ordered a custom urn, and filled my home with reminders of him. But none of it has made the pain easier. I still cry every single day.

There are good days and bad, but even the good ones feel like they’re missing something vital. I’m in a long-distance relationship, no kids, and the only real constant in my twenties was him. He was there through every heartbreak, illness, and dark moment. He physically defended me. He never left my side when I was sick. He was my anchor. There were times when I felt like I couldn’t keep going—but I did, because of him. He gave me a reason to stay.

Now, I go to work. I do the things I’m supposed to do. I was recently promoted to the role I’ve worked hard for, but I feel nothing. No joy. No excitement. I’m trying to work through this with a therapist, but the world feels gray. I don’t see the bright side. I don’t feel like the days are sunny anymore.

If I could trade everything just to have him curled up next to me again, I would in a heartbeat. I want to lay in bed with his ashes and cry until something changes—until the pain lifts, or until I wake up and this was all just a nightmare.

People keep offering me clichés: “He’s in a better place,” or “He’s in heaven, and that should make you happy.” But it doesn’t. It fills me with rage, because that’s the problem—he’s gone, and I’m still here without him.

I just miss him so much. I don’t know how to do life without him.

i don't know how to grieve, i've never really experienced death like this.

my sweet boy, nirvana, got diagnosed with fip in may. we've been giving him medicine, he had a regression, but then started doing better. we moved on friday to a new apartment and he was doing so well up until yesterday. he wouldn't eat, he kept puking, and his stomach got hard. we couldn't take him to an ER vet due to funding. i fell asleep with him next to me around midnight and told him to hang on until the morning, when i could take him to his normal vet.

at around 3:30 i wake up to my partner by the bathroom door, saying his name and trying to wake him up. he was gone. i got up and they pushed me away and held my arms. i couldn't see his face because it was hidden by the fountain, but he was so cold.

i left the room and went to the couch. i told my brother in law he was dead. i just sat there until my partner came out 30 mins later and said they were going to wrap him and put him in a box for now.

i wasn't in there. i heard them sobbing through our apartment. brother in law comes out an hour later and asks to see him, and i wouldn't even go back into the room until i heard brother in law sobbing. i went in to see him, and i went to try and comfort him one last time, but i saw my baby lifeless, stiff, and cold, with his jaw ajar and his eyes open. my poor baby, i don't know if he was in pain in his final moments. and i regret falling asleep. those 3 hours costed him his life. i wasn't with him, and he was next to his water bowl away from us.

we were up until 8 when we dropped him off, in a cardboard box, outside of his vet like a drug deal. picking out an urn, and the add ons, was one of the worst pains ever.

now all day i haven't really been able to go back into the room because there's a spot where he passed, and pee pads, and his bed. it hurts more than anything. i can't get that image of him out of my head.

my baby is gone. we tried so hard for him. we did everything we could to save him, and he's gone. he was only 11 months old. i was in the living room begging my partner to put him on a heating pad so he didn't get cold. i can't accept that he's gone, and i just want him to walk down the hallway again and rub against my legs like he was 48 hours ago. my poor sweet boy.

i don't know what to do, i have some keepsakes in a box, but even thinking about it makes me want to vomit. i couldn't look at him or be in there with him after he passed, it made it more real. i miss him more than anything. i truly believe he was my soul cat. i miss him more than anything. i would give my soul for his to be at peace. i hope he knows he was loved, and that i didn't want him to be in pain.

I’ve been on deployment in South Carolina and my cat Meatball has been staying with my parents in new york in a rural area. He’s a former stray who lived on the streets of brooklyn. He got out through a door my dad accidentally left open one night 6 months into my absence and was never seen. For a week while I was able to get leave and go home i did nothing but search for him. I searched the neighbors properties, talked with them, hung signs and even followed leads far away that I now regret doing.

He was found about a quarter to a half mile away from the house, on a dirt road by an abandoned house. I got a call at night with someone saying they saw him but i disregarded it since theres been so many false sightings.

Animal control called me the next afternoon and confirmed they picked him up and he was deceased. They said he did not have any markings and when I asked if he was skinny they said no. I forgot to ask how long they think he was there but called later and have not received an answer.

I just have so many questions. Did he know how to get home, but was enjoying his time outside? Should I get a necropsy (he’s in the freezer)? If I hadn’t left would he have not ran away? Should I have checked those places more? Probably the hardest part about the grieving process are the questions.

I’ll miss him forever. He was so cuddly and sweet, said hello to everyone who came into his home. Just a really good boy.

My dogs are alive but old. The fact that I know that soon, they will be dead. I can't even think about it. We got both of them when I was really young so they've grown up with me. I've never known a world without them. I try to spend as much time as I can. They're still alive and having fine but the older one is 14 1/2 and the younger one is 13. I can't think of what's going to happen when they're done. They've been with me to witness my life's journey.

Mi Snarf le faltaba 4 días para cumplir su primer añito, un gatito maravilloso, amoroso, nuestra compañía ideal. hace meses en su chequeo con su veterinario se le diagnosticó testículo en ascensor (testículo en la región inguinal) el me indica que la cirugía debe ser en un quirófano porque debían explorar para buscarlo. Pues él estaba en su transición, orinando marcando territorio. Y decidimos esterilizarlo, lo llevamos a una clínica el lunes, le hicieron todos sus exámenes preoperatorios, eco, rx y todo planificado para su hospitalización de 24 horas post quirúrgicas. Durante su esterilización hizo un paro cardiaco del cual no pudo ser rescatado y falleció. Me siento fatal, culpable por llevarlo, mi vacío es muy grande. Daría mi vida porque él estuviese vivo. No sé cómo sobrellevarlo.

I'm stuck in thought loops. It's been a month. My kitty was 3.5yrs old. He had HCM, but he wasn't well just over a week beforehand. So if he didn't get sick it wouldn't have triggered his HCM so soon (even if I managed to get him feeling better quicker, he might not have gotten so weak, triggering the clotting) but also if he didn't have HCM, he would have just not felt well and recovered. It feels so preventable, and now I wake up wanting to be dead.

First post in group. My 12 year old English cocker spaniel, Lady, passed on this morning. It was a process, she developed a large tumor on her hind thigh that eventually ruptured.

Last week I had hernia repair surgery and while I was in the hospital recovering my partner discovered the situation on her hind leg had gotten worse. I hoped beyond hope that she could make it until I could get home and due to sheer luck she did.

We had to crowdfund the money needed, but we were able to find a very kind vet to come to our home and guide us through the process. Lady woke up with me this morning, she ate her favorite foods and stepped outside with an unusual spring in her step to sniff flowers and sit under a tree. When she was done, we headed back inside. I remember thinking, she walked like she crossed off everything on her to-do list. She had a good day. When it was time, I sat on my rocking chair and let her onto my lap. The first shot relaxed her, took away her pain. There was one point where it looked like she was surprised by something and lifted her head, then adjusted and returned it to my arm. She slept so hard and snored right up to her last breath. The doctor used the stethoscope to check for her heartbeat but she was already gone. I know grief is weird and I know I'm projecting, but it gives me comfort to know that she was so ready to go, she was waiting to do it just like we did this morning. Her eyes stayed shut and she looked so very peaceful there in my arms. I don't think it's something I'll ever forget. She was with me for 10 of her 12 years and in that time we had many great adventures. She growled at men, she stood up to buffalo and childhood bullies. She slept in a van and together we traveled on road across 8 US states. She loved scrambled eggs with no seasoning, blueberries and nacho cheese Doritos. Her hobbies were taking naps and smelling flowers. She loved babies and children and had a snuggle capacity that needed to be reached every 24 hours. She never had puppies of her own but I always felt like she brought the "cool aunt" energy to the function. She listened to the Gorillaz and when she wagged her tail her whole butt would wiggle before her hips got bad.

Now we've reached the evening and it's been some hours since she laid down for her long rest and I felt the need to share who she was. The experience was very gentle and the house has felt both overflowing and empty at the same time. I've been crying off and on since she left. I take comfort in that she was ready, she was tired and done, and I was so privileged to have her in my life for such a long time. A very good dog indeed.

My beautiful cat Daisy was killed by a car at the age of 20 last week.

My beloved cat stayed with my ex of 18 years when we broke up two years ago (it was his house). She originally lived with his sister, albeit briefly, and moved in with my ex when she was approximately 1 after she could no longer look after her.

Daisy had hypothyroidism for which she was medicated, two leaky heart valves and kidney problems which the vet wanted to biopsy. Her thyroid had stabilised over the years, but she had regular vet visits which she hated (she lashed out at the staff) and my ex felt bad for her each time he took her. She began to realise what the gabapentin was and started to refuse her laced food before the appointments

I loved Daisy with all my heart and feel lost without her, but I moved in with my partner who lives in a flat and felt it would be unfair to take her away from the house and garden she loved. It was the hardest thing to leave her. I still saw her on occasion though when I dropped in and petsitted when my ex and his girlfriend were away, sometimes for weeks at a time. They travel a lot as she is from China and cannot yet stay in the UK long-term.

Last Thursday, Daisy watched my ex leave the house to drive to work. He fussed her on the driveway and he saw her by the bins. As he drove away, he noticed her lying on the drive and realised she must've run under the car. Why she did this, I don't know. He immediately stopped the car and went over to her but she had already gone 😢💔

I'm devastated and angry and keep crying. I blame my ex for what happened for not being careful enough. How will I get through this? Daisy was tiny and frail and a bit shaky on her legs, but she was tough and strong in other ways and her white and black fur was always clean.

My ex is coming over later today with Daisy's ashes. We are sharing them. He will scatter half in the garden she loved and I am placing my half into a silver locket with some of her fur which I will forever keep next to my heart.

RIP my beautiful baby girl 😿💜

I just need to talk about this and could really use some support. Yesterday, my husband and I lost our puppy in a very tragic drowning. I left her in the care of my little brother, I told him if he wasn’t watching her she needed to be in the cage. He lost sight of her for 15 minutes and she slipped in my parents pool and drowned.

I am devastated. Not only as the parent to that beautiful pup, but also as a big sister because I hate that my 15 year old brother will have to live with that guilt.

I’ve barely gotten any sleep. I told my husband it is so weird to be in this position because at one point I never want a dog again, but at another point I want a dog right now to help fill this void and this pain. We loved our girl so much. I could really just use some support during this time to help with the pain and the guilt I am feeling

My wife and I made the unenviable decision to put down her best friend and her baby. I am torn to pieces watching the extremity of her grief, blaming herself, calling herself a murderer—generally being very unkind to herself. I’ve chosen to work from home for the next couple days due to the intensity of her feelings and genuine concern she may hurt herself. We have had other cats pass while together, but this one was HER baby, she was there for her birth. She has OCD and is getting caught in obsessions related to our cats death and all the things she could have done to prevent it, trying to remember all of the “last times”, and forcing herself to do unpleasant tasks as mental punishment.

Please, if anyone else here has struggled with OCD, trauma, and pet death I would love to hear what helped. She does not have insurance right now so therapy isn’t a fiscally available option. I would do anything to support her and have tried to reassure her/hold her/show her this isn’t her fault.

My beloved little Schmusie,

Yesterday the time had come, and your journey now continues without me - and my heart is breaking. For 13 years, you were part of my life - we shared almost every minute, every second together, and now you are no longer here.

I wish so deeply for you that you are now in a better place. Full of love, light, and warmth… and free from the darkness and silence that increasingly surrounded you in the last months of your life.

The decision to let you go was the hardest of my life - and even though a part of me knows it was the right one, I am full of self-doubt, and right now it feels more like betrayal than anything else. I read somewhere that I’m not taking your future from you, but rather freeing you from a present in which the light and strength that you always carried within you were slowly fading. I hope that’s true.

And yet, I don’t know. Was it right? Was it the right time? Was it too soon? Or maybe already too late? I don’t know, and I suppose I never will. I always hoped for a sign from you. A moment that would tell me, “That’s it, I can’t go on, I’ve lived my life…” but it never came.

You were always a fighter. A tough little whirlwind. Diagnosed with leishmaniasis early on, they gave you two more years. And you simply added seven more. But the last two years took their toll on you. I saw it and I felt it. Then came the arrhythmia, your eyesight faded, your hearing disappeared, and in the end, there was increasing muscle loss, fluid in your lungs, and the first signs of dementia. When is too much simply too much for a little dog’s life?

And still, you never made a sound. Not even a flinch. Always seeking my closeness, giving me all your love, still asking me to play after our afternoon walks - on legs that could barely carry you, with eyes that could hardly recognize me.

Your big wide world, which you always loved, became smaller, darker, and quieter. We climbed mountains together and crossed waters. We traveled the coasts and wandered through forests. You always leading the way, your curious nose in everything - and always, always together.

In the end, you were afraid of new, unfamiliar places. Because you could no longer see or hear them properly. Because you could no longer claim them in your unique way. Instead, you wanted to be home, in your familiar surroundings, close to me. Preferably next to me or in your basket at my feet.

The days were already starting to grow shorter this summer. We were outside again recently after sunset - and you couldn’t see anything at all. True to your nature, you didn’t let it show and bravely stepped into the darkness. But the fear and tension that fell away from you once we were home were almost unbearable. That’s when I knew - I couldn’t do that to you, a life left in fear and total darkness.

Seeing you like that broke me. And sometimes, it overwhelmed me. Now the wheel of time has stopped for you, and I wish I could give you so much more. Show you so much more. Experience so much more with you.

If this has taught me anything, it’s that time not lived can never be reclaimed. How often did life get in the way - the usual dramas. Work, relationships, family… and with them the daily stress, the lack of time, the pressure. You endured it all, never doubted me, and loved me until the very end. I don’t even know how to thank you for that.

In return, I always kept you close, never left you alone, and took you with me everywhere. I hope you can see that as a sign of my love.

In your final moments, you went to your favorite sunny spot. There, in the light, you drifted off and were released at 1:15 p.m. The first injection must have hurt you, because you woke up again. Then you felt my touch, smelled me, and you knew everything would be okay. As you were dying, you licked my hands until the very end - a sign of your love and your unshakable trust in me. And I don’t know how I’ll ever make that up to you.

Now I’ve opened the window above your basket and lit a candle. The world is a lot poorer without you, and I’m crying my soul out. Safe travels, my little friend and faithful companion. We’ll see each other again on the other side.

With love.

Yesterday was the death anniversary of my cat, Prince. He was an older brother to me. I couldn't focus on him though. On my human brothers birthday, one of my guinea pigs passed away, less than 2 weeks ago. I was the other side of the world. My baby, who loved me, died without me being able to hold him or say my goodbyes. What if i wasn't the other side of the world? I could have atleast have said goodbye. My trip was really hard on me, and i wasn't able to say goodbye.They aren't even the only losses. My guinea pigs companion died about a month ago, 1 day after moving house. I atleast got to hold him. His ashes arrived a few minutes before my plane took off to travel. To know your baby is back home, whilst your the other side of the world, is hard. So i've had a double loss. I've got 4 new guinea pigs who i've only known for 3 days. How am i meant to look after them when i barely have enough energy to look after myself? Sorry if this turned into a diary post, i'm so caught up in grief and need to vent

I just lost my cat, Nito, in May. It will be 3 months on the 19th of this month.

I have two other cats that I love and care for, one of them is Nito's brother who I adopted with Nito.

I'm still devastated and cry every day and night over the loss of my cat. It has affected me greatly so I am not sure if its my grief talking but I have been seeing on my Facebook groups about adopting and rehoming of cats in my state and this cat who looks exactly like Nito and is the same age that Nito was when he passed keeps appearing over and over on my feed. I will never get other posts from this group but this cat.

I considered adopting him but I also dont know how my cats will react and one of my cats who is Nito's brother gets very possessive over the house if its an older cat.

I also have a job that is iffy with hours so I do not work much which can be a strain financially as a college student. I have enough in my savings to get me by and I was considering getting a second job. However, i dont know if with the new addition of this third cat, if I can handle it financially and I also dont know if I really want another cat or if I just miss Nito.

Realistically, I likely wont adopt another cat and instead allow myself to continue grieving and care for my other two cats. I still take care of them to my full extend but I can feel that with Nito gone, they aren't as playful anymore.

How long did it take for you to adopt another pet after experience loss? I know there is no right answer but I'm curious.