It is always an adjustment when you have Grief and Loss of a Pet.
They are family members, who live a much shorter life than most other family members. Sheeba, our 19 year old cat, died peacefully yesterday, as I told her how much we all loved her and what a wonderful pet she had been. She had been getting weaker these last few months, and then just stopped eating and drinking.
This is a photo of Sheeba, on the left, 19 years ago, with my two children. Mickey, our black cat, left us at age 15 four years ago.
Pets teach us to love unconditionally because that’s what they do!
If we need to mourn, that is natural. Acknowledge your feelings, talk to a compassionate friend, tell stories about your pet, and time will pass. But, they will live in our hearts forever.
Cats are connoisseurs of comfort.
~ James Herriott
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.
~ Anatole France
Sometimes losing a pet is more painful than losing a human because in the case of the pet, you were not pretending to love it.
~Amy Sedaris
What we have once enjoyed, we can never lose; all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.
~ Helen Keller
When I am feeling low all I have to do is watch my cats and my courage returns.
~Charles Bukowski
The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves…
~Sophocles
Why mourn the dead? They are free from bondage. Mourning is the chain forged by the mind to bind itself to the dead….
~ Ramana Maharshi
Pets are a source of comfort and companionship, of unconditional love, and that experience never leaves us, even when they do. When we go through grief and loss of a pet, we bid farewell to our furry friends, but never forget the impact they had on our lives. Blessings on all of our pets, and on their owners.
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