Coping with Loss

[ShadowCat]

Learning more about my dog's condition, it looks even more grim. He's been around for almost my whole life. How do I cope with this!? Is it good to cry or is it better to not? How should I cope? I'm in denial about it too. He looks fine, but he is far from it.

 

[redlady]

There is nothing wrong with crying. If you have the urge to do so then do it - and don't feel silly for doing it - it is healthy.

 

[Chilling__Echo]

ohhhh goodness! ((((hugs)))) i'm sorry ShadowCat! i know what it's like to loose a pet. my baby (cat) died two years ago and i'd had her since i was in first grade. she was the world to me.

is it something that you knew was coming? like old age? or is this sudden? i know that if a pet is older, it's easier to cope with because you know it's coming - but just hang in there and cry your eyes out! crying is a stress reliever. don't hold those tears back! and then when you have nothing left to cry, take a deep breath and take things one day at a time.

my heart goes out to you and keep us posted! i'm sorry!

 

[Chilling__Echo]

i'm sorry

 

[young]

My cat disappeared yesterday

i swear i had nothing to do with that... 8O

losing a pet can be almost as sad as losing a family member. since some pets can be in your family for quite some time.

 

[ShadowCat]

is it something that you knew was coming? like old age? or is this sudden? i know that if a pet is older, it's easier to cope with because you know it's coming - but just hang in there and cry your eyes out! crying is a stress reliever. don't hold those tears back! and then when you have nothing left to cry, take a deep breath and take things one day at a time.

my heart goes out to you and keep us posted! i'm sorry!

2 weeks ago, I would have never thought anything was wrong with him. He had been losing weight and losing his appetite. Then he started looking bad so we took him to the vet. He got an ultrasound, there was a large tumor. Just yesterday he got his spleen (that's where the tumor was attached) removed. I can't believe he got his spleen removed. It's so hard to believe. He should feel a lot better now since the tumor isn't pressing against his stomach. Next week, after the tumor has been sent to pathology and they have looked at it, we will know if it is cancer or not. I'm so nervous. I've had this dog since I was 2. I can't lose him. I know that we will lose him eventually, either in a few months if it's cancer, or maybe a few years if it's not, but it's so hard to believe. I'm glad that he's back home and has had the tumor removed though. The tumor could have ruptured, he would have had internal bleeding, then died. I'm in denial over the whole thing though. He looks fine, but he isn't. That's one of the hardest things, he looked/looks fine, but the vets might be telling me next week that he's going to die within the next 6 months.

 

[Chilling__Echo]

hey sweetie, i hate hearing all that - cherish the time you have with him now. it helps so much after he's eventually gone, whenever that may be. at least he's not in pain and i'm sure he's happy to spend his last days with you

give yourself time to grieve, even before he's gone and then afterwards. it helps, it's never going to seem normal, it never "settles in" for me. but time heals all pain.

hope everything goes well and that you get much more time with your dog.

(((((hugs)))))