Lost a pet today

[riceboy72]

I'm sad that a member of our family left us today. Gwin the ferret passed away overnight and we found her this morning in her cage. She was sick yesterday so I took her to the vet. The vet figured it was a minor case of gastritis and gave her a shot, so I brought her home and went to work.

I know it happens and it never gets any easier, but I wish these things would just skip our lives and not leave us with the feelings we're experiencing right now. The hard part is watching my girlfriend's six year old daughter be sad because she had grown quite attached to Gwin.

What's funny is I got Gwin when a friend asked me to watch her for a few weeks while they went on vacation. They never came back and got her, and here I am, nearly three years later with her. I've never regretted my decision to not get rid of her despite me knowing nothing about much less liking ferrets, and I'm just glad she became a part of my life even though she stole everything in sight and pooped in every conceivable corner she could find, even if it wasn't a corner.

Gonna miss ya, Gwin. Thanks for the memories.

 

[Coop]

sorry for your loss....

 

[jayflash]

Condolences, Riceboy 72.

Even fish can leave sadness in their departing wake, especially for children. I don't want to think about losing another dog.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I used to have pet rats - it broke my heart every time one of them went over the Rainbow Bridge as well. :shakehead

 

[ChocolateLab33]

I'm sorry for your loss. Our pets mean the world to us.

 

[riceboy72]

Thanks for the wishes, everyone. I do appreciate it more than I can say.

 

[TedTheLed]

I had a couple ferrets, they certainly are wonderful little critters, unfortunately they have such a short life span (6-7 years average..)

The Ferret Association of Connecticut (FACT) does great things for ferrets and ferret owners, hoping you can get some comfort from this page:

http://www.ferret-fact.org/LettingLoss.htm

"Why Does Pet Loss Hurt So Much?

By Martha M. Tousley, RN, MS, CS. From No-Kill News, winter 2001*

People I encounter in pet grief support groups are often shocked to discover how bad they feel when their pets die.* Statements such as "I don't know what's wrong with me.* I didn't feel this bad when my grandmother (acquaintance, friend, relative) died" are common.* And so the question arises, why do so many of us feel the loss of a companion animal so intently and is it normal to feel this way?.."

my condolences.

 

[js]

riceboy72,

I'm so sorry to hear about Gwin and her passing. The death of a four-legged family member is almost always very hard to experience. But I personally feel that it's good to recognize it for what it truly is: the loss of a family member, a friend, a companion.

TedTheLed's post has a quote which asks why so many of us feel the loss of a companion animal so intently, and I believe that the reason is that we have a non-verbal, physical, "procedural", emotional bond with them that touches us at the deeper levels of our being. It is a heart-centered relationship, with not much of the head center, the intellect, in it. So, naturally, when we lose it, it hurts and we can't use all the many intellectual coping techniques that we normally use. And, of course, we feel it more keenly because our animal companions are a lot like children to us: we are their protectors and providers. How could we fail so badly?, we wonder.

Also, for many people, their animal companions are the main source of physical affection and bonding, with all or most of their human relationships being very intellectual and with more distance and ego in between.

Finally, there is no hospital, no complicated burial procedure, nothing between you and the harsh and grim reality of death--the gut wrenching, heart rending, bitter experience, that is so difficult that it leaves all of us wishing we never had to go through it at all. And in some terrible cases, there is no one around to understand, but only people who imply or even say outright that "it's just a pet--no big deal--why are you upset? Just get a new one." I could hardly imagine a worse scenario than that. Although, these people are the ones to feel sorry for, if they truly don't understand, because it means their lives have been much poorer for it, and they just don't know.

You have a big heart, riceboy. I'm so sorry about Gwin. What an awful thing. Please accept my condolences.

 

[dudemar]

My deepest condolences go out to you Riceboy72. I lost my pet hamster about 10 years ago, she was so little but she meant so much to me. I now have a pet cat and I would hate to lose him... even though he bites me all the time.

 

[TONY M]

Sorry to hear of you're loss.

 

[Patriot]

Sorry Riceboy. I'm a dog lover but appreciate all pets. I even get bummed when fish that I've had for a long time die. It's painful to loose your animals but it opens the opportunity to find another that you'll learn to love just as much.

 

[TITAN1833]

sorry to hear this :candle:

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I'm sorry to hear this, Riceboy, but I know how you feel. I've lost some dear pets over the years. The best I could do for them was to comfort them during their illness and let them know that they were loved. It makes their trip over the rainbow bridge a little easier for both of us.

 

[AnimalHousePA]

Very sorry to hear about your loss...

 

[KC2IXE]

Ahhh Man - that stinks

I like most "furry critters" - Love dogs, have cats, and think Ferrits are a blast. The local "Environmental" place always has 2-3, and over the 12 years I've been a life member there, they have lost a few - always bumms me out when I go to visit, and one of my friends are gone

 

[The_LED_Museum]

We had Andy (our 15 year old black lab) euthanised (put to sleep) around 4:10pm PDT today. It was, by far, the most humane thing we could have done at this point in his life - he was not able to do even the simplest things (like going potty, eating, drnking, etc) without human assistance. :mecry:

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I'm very sorry to hear that, Craig. It does sound like it was the humane thing to do though, gently easing him out of his suffering; a final act of love on his behalf. :candle:

 

[deepinside]

It' s too sad when our friends leave us...mecry:

 

[Mikul]

We had two tiny little anoles that we bought at a Rennaisance Fair for $15. We cried when each of them died.

I love ferrets. They are smart and have a great sense of humor.

 

[Stillphoto]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss...I lost my best friend, my beagle, last week, and its been tough getting on without him. It's gonna take a while for you, but slowly it will get better.