Pet Bereavement Support Group

Spend as much time with your dog as you can. Do everything possible to make the baby comfortable. Know you are going to cry, you are going to think you can't get over the loss of your pet, you will need friends to help you through this. Words and friends will help make this time bearable, but it will not ease the tears. What really helped me is when a chaplain called me and said my baby was given eternal life in heaven. No more pain, no sorrow, just peace. Your baby is suffering with cancer, and you are a good owner to be there and comfort your baby. I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart. Please know that you will need kind words and lots of friends when you can't sleep. I know, I have been down the road. It will almost be a year, and I do not know what I would have done without my friends, especially the chaplain, and one lady from Europe who lost her dog. Now she has been a real inspiration to me. Please know my thoughts and prayers are with you and your baby.

My heart goes out to you. My cat Max, who was with me for almost 17 years, died this Wednesday. He died in hospital. I wasn't there when he passed. I thought he would be coming home, so I didn't have a chance to say "Goodbye". But, in a way, I think I did. His health had been deteriorating for awhile. For the last several months, I showed him extra affection, told him I loved him every day, thanked him for his companionship all these years. He had me wrapped around his little paw. I knew his time on Earth wouldn't be long, so I managed to say these things over a few months, though I didn't on the day he died. I did spend about 45 minutes with him after he died, and told him all these things...but, of course, it's more important to say things, and spend time with him, while he's alive.
I agree with Lucy570. Every day, spend time with Casey, show him extra affection, tell him you love him, thank him for his companionship, give into him, don't scold, ask him for forgiveness for the times you may have lost your temper, etc. Do it every day. Every day. Because, one day, your sick pet is here, the next day, she/he's not, and a lot of the time, you can't see it coming. I didn't this Wednesday, and now I will have to live with guilt about certain things for the rest of my life. It's also very important to remember the good times. Write it down. That's what I have been doing. Writing down the good, and the bad...I'm just realizing now, with Max, that the good times far surpassed the bad. Knowing that has helped me quite a bit in dealing with his loss.

I lost my beloved baby Charlie doggy on 4-5-08. I was also home with him until the last breath. It was one of the hardest things that's ever happened to me. I stayed calm and loved him and talked to him but wanted to scream and cry and ask God why is this happening! My heart so goes out to you and your sweet baby! I took pictures which I'm glad I have now. You are such a wonderful doggy daddy to give so much of your heart to your babies. Hugs and many prayers to you and Casey.

I thank all of you for sharing your stories with me and for your concern.
We did not have a good night. I have been sleeping in the floor so that I can be close to my baby, and mostly because I am afraid he might jump on or off the bed to be with me. This could cause bleeding of the tumors in his spleen. Around 2 am I woke up with Casey coughing and I could barely sleep perhaps for an hour around 5 am. I petted my baby and rubbed his belly for over an hour until he moved to a cooler spot were he could be more comfortable.
His cough started two days ago and, in a denial attempt, I did not try to find out what was causing it. This morning I finally decided to look up one of his conditions (pericardial effusion) in the internet and confirmed my dreaded suspicion. The cough is one of the symptoms of pericardial effusion which is accumulation of fluid around the heart. According to the veterinarian that saw him two days ago, for Casey the most probable cause of pericardial effusion is the spreading of cancer to his heart.
This is so hard to accept; he still wants to live his regular live and do the normal things he used to do with us and his brothers. As I write this, my face is washed in tears. For now it looks like he just has some discomfort and the cough. I pray that it does not get worse than this because the pain of seeing my baby suffer will be too big to bear.
I have a demanding job, but I am paralyzed right now. I have been working from home to be close to Casey and because I am concerned about my mother. My father died last year of cancer and my mother is living with me. My parents already lived with me before my father died. My babies helped my mother get through the rough times and she is suffering because of what is happening to Casey. Going back to my job, I am getting very little work done. I can not get my baby out of my mind.
I want my baby around for a while longer and I do not want to see him suffer.
I am going to stop now because this is getting too long and I am starting to go around in circles.
Thanks for listening (reading).
God bless you all for your big hearts.

I understand and share your pain, it does get better, but it's hard to let go.

Do it out of love and know that you made Casey's life great, and carry him in your heart and mind forever. It's going to hurt as you know, but we're so lucky to have them even for a day.
Our love is deep and it is shared.

Please let me know how you're doing, if you like.

Peace and Love.
Rstar

I so sorry. I had put my beloved boy Toby to sleep last July 5th. He had an inoperable tumor in his nose. He was a rescue dog who was a mama's boy. He was so spoiled. But he kept me alive. When the pain of my depression got so bad that I wanted to kill myself. He would come to me and look at me with his brown eyes and I knew that no one would love him like me. He was a lap dog. I miss him so much. I keep thinking I'd like to get another one but I don't know if I would love them like Toby. Last August someone gave me a kitten they found and they couldn't take her. So here I am living with Smudgee my gray and white kitten. It isn't the same with a cat. They come when they want to. God Bless. I know Casey will be playing with Toby in Heaven. Take care.

I agree with Lucy570, spend as much time with your baby, make him comfortable. I know how it feels to lose a loved pet.Same way as your baby is going through. It will not be easy. Spend as much time with him. My heart goes out to you and prayers. Naukana

I did spend time with him and gave him all the love I could. But it is too late now. He died last Sunday night a few minutes after midnight. It was one of the worst moments of my life. At least he had a very good day on Sunday, and it was no more than half hour since we noticed he was not feeling well until the moment he passed. I created another topic "My boy Casey died last night", where I give more details.
I can not even start explaining the pain I feel, but I guess most of you know what I am talking about. Every time I see his sweet little face in a picture, I can not accept not being able to hug and kiss him again.