IndexArticles
10th Mar 2009
by Alison Bott
Losing a pet can be one of the most devastating times in our lives! They are a huge part of our family, and our daily lives revolve around them. Many of us plan our days around the needs of our pets, changing appointments and holidays to fit in with their needs. Because of this, as well as just grieving the loss of our pet, we must grieve the loss of a lifestyle! This can have much longer consequences as many of the things we do every day become very habit forming and are very difficult to break. It is not unusual to suddenly do something we would have done with our pets many weeks or months later and wonder what we are doing.
This is why saying a proper good bye to your pet when they pass on is so very important. By making sure you do everything you can to make this time special and important for your pet, allows you to be able to move through each stage of grief naturally, without an unfounded feeling of guilt for not doing everything just right.
When your pet passes on, you have to make decisions on what you would like to do next. You are usually given the choices of taking them home, leaving them with the vet, or having them cremated. People are usually very distressed and confused at this time, which makes the decision even harder.
If you are not sure, ask the vet to WAIT! Vets will usually allow you the time to think. They can hold your pet for a short time until you feel ready to decide. This decision is all part of the grieving process, and making the wrong choice because you are not sure makes it very difficult for you to be able to say goodbye and move on with your life.
When you make your decision, whichever option that may be, we always recommend you have some sort of goodbye service. This may just be your family lighting a candle and saying a special prayer for the pet, or having a group together to have a memorial for your pet’s life.
The important thing is to do something that feels comfortable for you and your family and to remember to celebrate your beloved pet’s wonderful life with you!
Even though this is one of the hardest times of our lives, the thought of never having those wonderful times with our pet would be even worse. Those special times, good and bad, are memories we will never forget. Our pets stay in our hearts forever and we never replace them, not even with each pet that follows; they all fill different places in our hearts.
Grieving our pet is a very normal and healthy emotion. By saying a special goodbye, we are paying tribute to their lives as our best friends and companions. We can be thankful that they picked us to spend their lives with and cherish all of those things that made them so special.
We also sometimes forget to be proud of ourselves for giving them such a wonderful life! There are many animals that never experience the joy of having a loving family to care for them.
The love they return to us is probably returned tenfold, but I am sure they appreciate our love too!!
To love and cherish our pets during their life is a wonderful thing. To say a special goodbye and cherish those memories is also wonderful!
Quite simply – THEY DESERVE IT!
