When It's Time to Say Good-Bye to a Pet

"Want me to 'take care' of things? I know you can't do this, Hon. I promise it will be quick."

My husband stood at the doorway with a look of genuine concern on his face. He was brought up around farm animals and one didn't get too attached and make such creatures into pets for when the time came, they were meant to be sold or slaughtered for food. I was brought up a city girl in southern California and I adopted dogs, cats, fish and now guinea pigs to love and care for. Each time something happened to them, it upset me and I am sure there are pet owners out there that know exactly what I am talking about.

Whenever my cocker spaniel, Aldoin, got sick or needed surgery, it was very difficult for me to take him to see the veterinarian because I knew it was going to be expensive. There were a couple of times that it was so expensive, I had to carry my sick dog out of the clinic and bring him home without getting him the treatment he needed. Deep inside I thanked God that Aldoin wasn't my sick child, a human being, instead a pet dog. Aldoin did die eventually when he got old and another tumor was found deep inside near his heart. When Aldoin would no longer stand up or eat, my husband took him again to the vet and this time an x-ray was taken. The news was grim. The veterinarian said the it was very unlikely that Aldoin would even survive the surgery due to his old age (16 years).

Now I am faced with another pet that may need to be put down. Again, it is far too expensive to get veterinarian care. Sqweeky, my guinea pig, is also old and I am getting help from another cavy pet owner in the area on how to manual feed him nutrients and medicine to work on his infection. Sooner or later the time will come when I will have to let my husband "take care of things" and put Sqweeky to rest. But this is life and I am no child, naive about how we all must die one day.

It is important for us to realize, however, that every life is precious whether it is that of a small animal or a human being. In a world where there is so much turmoil, our animal friends help to bring a certain amount of balance, reminding us to remember what is truly important about our lives: to love and be loved. The faithfulness and devotion we experience from our pets should always be appreciated and reciprocated. They are our God-given responsibility and should be respected as is befitting the type of animal in question.

Do not be afraid or ashamed of grieving over the loss of your pet. Do what you can to remember the good times you had together and cry if you feel like it. If it brings you comfort, write a poem or story about your pet. Make a scrapbook or talk to a trusted friend or relative. You will be surprised how many people, especially pet owners, will understand and listen. Even the Internet now abounds with websites for grieving pet owners who wish to come to terms about their loss. Here are just a few of the links I have found:

http://www.petloss.com/

http://www.in-memory-of-pets.com/pet-loss.htm

http://www.messybeast.com/euth.htm

http://petvets.com/petloss/#friend

http://www.aplb.org/

What did I do when Aldoin died? I sat for hours crying and reading the advice from some of the above links which gave me ideas about how to deal with my grief. I created a scrapbook as a keepsake and I even created a special website as a memorial for my beloved dog: http://members.nuvox.net/~on.vbarbour/aldoin/aldoin.htm

And so that I never forget him, I also found a small ceramic dog with tiny wings and a halo attached to it. I keep it next to a small framed photograph here at my home. All these things have helped and I was glad the Internet websites and my friends and co-workers were there during my mourning period. I hope this article and the links above shed some light and help you prepare should that difficult time arrive when you have to say good-bye to your animal friend.