I had to face the worst thing I have been dreading for ages. My best mate and loyal companion for 12 years had to be put to sleep this morning he became so unwell from no where. I’m gonna miss him so much, only a small bird but took up such a big place in my heart. I’m in bits. Even his cage friend is confused. Love you Freddy forever missed.

My beautiful pitador (Lady) of 14 years (she was 15+ years old,1-3y when we got her in 2012)passed away today. She had oral cancer with andabcess that had grown to cover nearly half her face. Wouldn't respond to abx and she was losing weight, weak, stumbling about...she was suffering so I had to choose to make her comfortable. One of the hardest decisions of my life. I'm so heartbroken... Sitting here in a house that feels so empty without her in it. It's so quiet. I've never loved an animal so fully in my life. I miss her so much!

We miss the fun police, barking randomly at nothing or something. The cockatiel landing on your head, the cats cuddling up with you. Kissing you goodnight every night between your beautiful eyes. We miss our best friend, brother, child and protector. You will never be forgotten and we love you so much. Rest easy there boss..

It’s been exactly a year since I had to say goodbye, but your memories live on forever.

For those interested, I brought him home when he was 10 weeks old. It’s been an adventure ever since. You always had something to say and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I remember the day you cemented just how much of a troublemaker you were. Not only did I get one call from daycare for misbehaving earlier that day, but I received another phone call asking to speak with me before pickup.

Despite your stature, that didn’t stop you from making your presence known. You always hung around dogs twice your size and herded them as if it were your whole purpose. Of course, when they didn’t listen, you made sure your voice was heard. So much so that I knew, without a doubt, that voice came from you.

There was never a dull moment when you were around, which is why I always looked forward to getting back home since you and your brother were always there waiting for me. I will always remember how excited you got when I came through the front door and how you made sure I knew just how excited you were by making your voice heard. This always made your brother upset, but that didn’t stop you. Spending the evening with you and your brother was a great way to end the day.

My heart sank after learning that you had lymphoma. I tried keeping it together for you and your brother, but there were times when I felt weak and utterly broken. I was completely paralyzed by fear, and the thought of losing you was unbearable. Thankfully, surrounded by people who loved you, you received the best care and were able to reach remission. Unfortunately, when it came back, I knew I needed to spare you the hardships ahead. Your last few days were filled with love and happiness. Despite knowing I would lose you, the thought of sparing you the foreseeable pain brought me peace during your final moments.

It's been exactly a year since you left, but your memories live on. I finally have the courage to write this and let people know how much you mattered to me. My heart still aches from losing you, but time has been kind and has slowly replaced that pain with joyful memories. I know that wherever you are, you're patiently waiting for me, and I can't wait to see you again. Until then, I'll carry those memories with me every day.

i feel pain that people around me that were not close to him can't imagine. I feel like the world lost all joy. i wake and sleep crying. Its scary that i have to live the rest of my life without him. I end thinking things i could have done better with him. He died at 9.5 i could not save him. I know the lifespan is 9-13 but i was not ready to say goodbye. I was by his side the last 20 days all day and night. i dont think i will ever take a new dog maybe when i grow very old. i love dogs but i feel like none will be able to take his place. I am depressed now he was the only thing helping me keep up in life. I want to believe that one day i will reunite with him in paradise. What can i do to help me get better?

Had our dog of 14 years put to sleep without telling me ,told me 10 days later when I asked how he was doing ,devastated didnt get the chance to say goodbye 😢, only broke up for about 4 weeks at the time was still in contact .

Rest in peace boy 🐕

One month since I heard your bark
One month since I seen you first thing in the morning
One month since I heard your paws run in the house
One month since I watched you have zoomies
One month since I listened to your heartbeat
One month since I held your paws
One month since you been gone
I catch myself so many times to let you know we need to go outside.
I only had you for 4 years.
I miss you so much Sultan
My house feels so empty…

We lost our 'Little Man' today, a 13-year-old chihuahua who likely spent his first ten years in a too small cage. His paws were all messed up and he had a 'Jimothy' style hunch. Yet for over two years he had so much fun here, getting the zoomies with our other puppers and enjoying his relatively brief landing with us. He'd gotten to a point where he could barely move, but he still loved sitting in the cool grass, in the hot sun, which is how he left us. We'll see him when we cross the Rainbow Bridge.

This time last week he and I were rough housing like we always do.

Then on Friday he got sick from what I thought was a treat he didn't agree with.

Over the weekend he ate less but we thought it was because he was sick.

Then on Saturday evening he was weaker than I've ever seen, his tongue was pale and many other issues.

We took him to an emergency vet that told us he had anemia.

This morning we met our vet and they told us there was nothing more than could be done due to his age and underlying conditions.

My wife and I went home without Luke, it's the worst day of my life.

I lost my best friend and I don't know what to do.

He was a good boy, the best boy and I'm glad he was in my life and I'm gonna miss him.

We said goodbye to my sweet girl Flour girl on Aug 20th and I’m so lost. She was 15 years old. She came to be my companion when I was 26 - it feels like she was with me my whole entire adult life.

She loved me a lot. She needed to be with me all the time. I couldn’t leave her with anyone else and if I did (even just to run to the store) she would throw her little head back and howl until I returned. Having a little creature who was so sweet love me sooo much made me feel really special. She made a lot of commentary with snorts and sniffs and I already feel like I’m forgetting the sounds.

She had a little routine where she would walk to my office (I wfh) every day at 4pm and I’d hear her little teeny feet click clicking down the hall and look at the clock. It was always near 4pm! And I’d say “Hiiii Flour! Did you come to see me?” And I have a cookie jar in my office for her. (I have three other dogs(!) and we haven’t used that cookie jar since she left us)

I don’t know… it’s all just so foreign and upsetting. When I feel okay I feel upset. When I don’t feel okay I feel so sad. I feel like I am not grieving enough for her. How could we just pick up and move on?

We rearranged the furniture in the living room - she spent almost all of her time on one side of the sofa. Now that she’s gone no one wants to sit there and the sofa feels a mile long. I’m hoping the rearranging will help.

I’m feeling a lot of guilt. Maybe we should have said goodbye sooner - she was in pain. Then again, maybe if I had just given her strong meds and waited a few more days she’d still be here. I don’t know.

Losing her hung over my head for a year at least, and I was dreading this so much. We found a bony tumor on her neck last Summer. But now that she’s gone I hate myself for feeling okay at times or even a sense of relief. I just want her back. I just feel like everything is wrong even when I’m not thinking about it.

I just really hope she knows how much we loved her and how much we miss her. She was this tiny 9lb puppy that really commanded our whole household.
Her brother Archer is taking it pretty hard. He was soooo gentle and kind with her.

There’s just nothing to be done but try to move forward and I think that’s the saddest part. I don’t want to move forward without Flour 😭

Thanks for letting me vent and share. My heart is heavy. Sorry for so many pics. She was just soo stinking cute.

My warrior princess has finally shown me the sign. It’s been 3 years since her stomach cancer diagnosis- I thought I had 3 months at that time, but no….not this girl. Thank you for 13 wonderful years of love and laughter. You taught me what it means to be strong.Tomorrow I will be strong for you.

Its been 28 days since we had to let you go Oliver. It hasn’t gotten any easier. Each day feels like a lifetime. I hate that you’re gone. I talk about you alot to people. I probably annoy them but i need to do it. I feel if I don’t i feel im losing my mind. I know you’re sending me and momma signs. We’ve seen the butterflies and moths. We love you and we miss you so much.

Meine Katze ist heute mit 4 Jahren aufgrund Flüssigkeit in der Lunge erlöst worden. Jede Maßnahme war leider zu spät und nicht erfolgreich.

Ich bin extrem traurig und weiß nicht wie ich damit umgehen soll. Er war mein Liebling von meinen 3 Katzen und er hat immer geantwortet wenn man mit ihm gesprochen hat und hat die Wohnung lebenswert gemacht.

Ich hab schon nach anderen Katzen geschaut um vielleicht den schmerz mit einer anderen Katze zu füllen aber ich weiß das es nicht wie mein Patchi ist. Ruhe in Frieden 🌈🌈😭

2 unrelated posts made me think about my late GSPs yesterday.

​The first, in a GSD community. I’m not a member but the post was in my home feed. The poster mentioned a person telling them their dog wasn’t a Shepard!I I mentioned, a similar experience where my Oscar was “misidentified” as a Doberman 😂

The second, when I looked up someone who had commented on my last doll post. The first thing a saw was a post featuring their gorgeous GSP that reminded of my Troy. ❤️

They are both long gone. Great dogs, miss them. My favourite breed but don’t tell my Rottweiler 😂 just wish I had more photos but it was the 90’s when we weren’t walking around with a camera in our hand.

Originally I was supposed to have her walk over the fabric with her paws painted over the weekend so I can frame it but that never happened so I'm devastated that I never got it done and I've been blaming myself. If anyone knows of creative way to get that on fabric to frame it. And what else should I get for keepsake? She's my baby so I want to keep her “alive” at my home or anywhere I go.

A letter to my best friend.

Thank you for the incredible joy you brought into my life. Thank you for how much of a better person I am because I knew you. And for teaching me so much. Thank you for always being there for me; I was never alone from the day you came into our lives. Thank you for being patient with me as I learned to love you better; never quite as well as I wanted to. We couldn’t have asked for a better friend, I am, we are, so lucky.

I will miss the sound of your nails on the hardwood. The wagging tail that would slap me across the face. The sloppy dog kisses and your huge smile. Your tough body slams on the couch and the gentle way you’d take a treat out of our hands. I’ll miss laying in bed with you on slow Sundays, watching you make friends as you patrolled the dog beach, and the way you let us know it was bedtime at night.

I’m sorry that I couldn’t buy you more time. I’m sorry for the times I was in a rush or too busy to take the long walk instead of the shorter route. I’m sorry for anytime I scolded you over something you couldn’t control or didn’t understand. All you ever did was try your best for us and I knew that. I’ve been dumb and impatient and that’s one of the things you’ve helped me start to grow out of. You never got fed up with me through all my mistakes, I always knew you loved me. I only hope you knew the same.

Who’s going to welcome us home now that the house is empty?
Who’s going to let us know someone rang the doorbell and might be breaking into our house?
Who’s going to get me up and walking when I’m feeling lazy?
Who’s going to let me know I’ve been working too long and need to take a break to give them a snack?
I feel lost without you.

If I could take every bit of pain and confusion away, as your body betrays you and time starts to win this battle, I would take it all. But, to my own incredible disappointment, this is the best relief I can offer. Our days will be a bit dimmer now.

You’ve been a better, more loyal, more loving friend than I’ve ever known. I hope you’re somewhere running on the beach and having an endless buffet of treats. To witness your life, has been one of the greatest honors of mine. I hope I was able to supply you with even a fraction of the love you deserved.

I hope I see you again. Until then, I’ll carry this sadness as a reminder of all the love you gave to me, and the incredible emptiness I am left with in your absence. I know these are just ones and zeros I’m sending out into the electronic void, but I just want the universe to know that you were here, you were loved and you will be forever missed. With every last essence of my being, thank you.

I love you.

Edit: thanks for all the replies. I wrote this and walked away and came back to a bunch of very kind sympathetic messages. We’ve had to put down 2 cats and our dog over the past 5 years, and idk if I’ll ever have the stomach for a pet again. But it’s comforting to know that this special love that our pets give us, is universal, and the pain we all suffer is the well worthy cost of the incredible love we get back from them for all those years. One horrible, terrible, day from hell, in exchange for the years of happiness they grant us. It’s truly not a fair trade, and I’d make it all over again for her given the chance.

On August 9th at 10:54 pm the reason I wake up or doing anything took his last breath on my lap. He had been fighting all day to stay for me. He had a grade 4 heart murmur that kept getting worse. He started having some issues and the vet said he thinks it is heart but was going to keep testing. I never took him to the cardiologist because we went through that full process with the dog we lost last year and everything that was supposed to give him extra time just ended up making that time miserable. Duncan was always about fun so there is no way I could see him miserable. He was still trying to be normal to be as normal as his body let him these last days. It got to the point where I would carry him up and down the stairs. I would honestly did anything he needed me to just to keep him around. I miss him so much and j just don't know what to do. He was why I started my day, slept when I slept, hung out where I hung out, got home when I got home. I literally revolved my life around him and now I dont know what to do. Everytime, I think the pain is fading it comes back with a vengeance. I know it wasn't my fault but I wonder if there was something in tgat last moment or if it was painful. I know he was trying before he just laid on me and I felt his heart fade. I think 3 times that day he almost gave up but I was like come on buddy. This is the most painful thing ever. Im sorry, if there is typos or misspellings. Im writing this through tears. Ive wanted to write something for a while. He was 13. He had hos 13th birthday this year.