DEDICATED TO OUR LOVED ONES

 

Many of us are, or have been, loving pet parents.

When that inevitable time comes to let them go, it is like losing one's own child. I know, because of all the precious fur-kidz we have had to send on to Rainbow. To me, it is emotionally devastating. Sometimes, when no illness was showing, all of a sudden, the suffering was like an awakening in an instant of realization, and just too late to fix medically. We would never allow fatal suffering to linger. So we give them the needle of peace. But sometimes, we are not home to be there to help out when the pet turns life-and-death ill.

 Cats have a way of masking serious illness. They are amazingly stoic.

If there is a sudden death and we are not there with them at that exact moment, it is easy to feel enormous guilt.  Providing you have been a loving and nurturing pet parent, feeling guilty is not going to help anyone. It will only rip you apart with more grief.  Some of my grief or trauma patients have gone through this exact situation. In my own case, we recently lost two feline treasures. No, we didn't know they were so gravely ill. YES, the pets masked their suffering in front of us.  Initially I felt so guilty that I didn't catch it.  But, fate had other plans.

Please remember this: If you were wonderful to your pet or human loved ones, and for some reason were not there for them when they passed, you did your best. Don't allow guilt to make the loving memories diminish.

I am deeply sorry for any of your losses. Love from Dr. Y. 

Dedicated to Monique, her MOM, and Athena