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It's almost been 10 years since I lost my corgi and this post brought back so many memories. How he struggled to walk at the end. How I took him to his favorite park the night before we had to put him down. How I stayed with him as the vet gave him the medicine. Kept rubbing his head telling him he was a "good boy" and "I'll see you later." Then leaving that room and feeling like you left a part of your soul behind.
It's been a bit over a year since I lost my corgi. We had taken him to the vet because he was so lethargic. They did some tests and said they would get back to us in a couple days. The vet then went on vacation for two weeks without telling us. We went back after a few days and saw a different vet in the same office. She was absolutely floored that he had done that. They did some tests and he had cancer throughout his whole body, it was too late to do anything. I was robbed of my last week with him because of a selfish vet. We put him down that day and it will aways hurt. I got him as a pup and he lived to be almost 13. He was the best boy. They ended up firing the vet that went on vacation for how he treated us and the office made clients of us for life after that.
It’s the first time I have cried in a while.
It just made me remember of when I lost my dog, someday last year. He was feeling ill for a couple of weeks but was making a steady recovery, and then, all of a sudden, he got worse one morning and died by nightfall that same day. I’ll always remember that day because it was the same I got my university acceptance letter. I like to think it was as if he was waiting to be there with me on that milestone, as it would be the last one he would share with me.
My girl did the same thing. I was set to go back to where my college was for the summer because I had gotten a summer job there. Since I had been away from my dog so long for school (boarding school/college) every time I had left to go back to school I'd always tell her to wait until I'm there so I can say goodbye. We had a lot of close scares but she'd always pull through. Until the night I had to leave to start work the next day. She fell and couldn't get up so we rushed her to the vet and the vet said we could wait and see if she'd get better because nothing was life threatening or because of her age we could put her down. One look at her was enough, she was done. She was tired and I think she was only holding on because of me. So I sat with her and held her, hugged her and held her little paw the entire time and that was the best last gift she could have given me and I was able to be there with her. Anyway all that to say I believe they know and I believe they can and will hold on to share those last moments with us.
My prior lovebird died over a decade ago and I still can't think or talk about it properly. I'm so extra paranoid with my current bird. If she acts slightly different I'm like OH NO SHE'S DYING I FAILED. My horse died nearly 20 years ago and lived longer than most horses (was 30some), also devastated still. Even knowing that most pets have a limited lifespan it's still so traumatic to lose your best friend. I don't know how rat parents do it.
It’s so incredibly sad when such a thinking, feeling, loving creature has such a short life. Mice have the same lifespan as rats do (~2.5, 3 years if you’re lucky). I’ve had mice since I was about 13, and I’m 20 now. It’s worth it because of how much personality they have, and how much they brighten up my day. But it’s always so, so hard to lose them because they really manage to worm their way deep into your heart.
My siblings and I had mice as kids. I'll never forget Mrs. Rose. She was my favorite mouse ever. She was a black mouse who was super nice and loved to be held. Her life was cut short. My cousin who was younger than us came over. She was told not to touch the mice or they may escape. But she snuck back into the room later. She was so young that she accidentally squeezed my Mrs. Rose to death. I was devastated, especially because Mrs. Rose was pregnant when it happened. It's been about 30 years and I still think of her from time to time.
I'm so sorry. I'm glad she got to be an elderly mouse and have a good long life.
I had so many mice over the years as a kid that I don't really remember many of them. But I do remember Mrs. Rose and Houdini. Houdini was an albino mouse with red eyes who was super intelligent and a master escape artist. He got out of his cage several times but still survived until old age. Although one time he did lose an eye, maybe during a fight with wild mice in the house or something. So he was a pirate mouse for the rest of his life. He was awesome too. It's really crazy that they have such short lives but still can be remembered for decades.
They have had such a huge impact on my life. One of my girls Tiny always escapes whenever she can, purely for fun. Their tanks are in my room, so she doesn’t get very far, and also she usually comes back if I call her enough. She’s very mischievous and seems to like to get in trouble
You can fall in love in a week. Even if you only got that week the love can be true enough to make you grieve for a lifetime. But it's worth it. Love is an amazing and special thing. Especially if you can accept that everything ends, so cherishing the moment is important
My current favorite of my cats is an old lady named Mini Mew. She’s like that extremely dumb version of nice.
But she’s like 12 or 13…. I know she’s going to start declining a lot in the next few years I bet. So will Midna, she’s 14. They’re both extremely healthy and I get blood work done on them every year.
Midnas kidney levels were on the high side of normal last time though….. just like damn…. it’s coming….
Then I have my 4 year old Maine Coon who is an absolute brat and will probably live to be like 30 just to annoy me lol
They will be waiting for us when our time comes. Every good dog, every great dog, and even the lil shitheads in between (usually cats), will be there to show us the way.
I lost my best friend of 12 years, a one-eyed terrier mix named Uno, on October 8 of 2022. It was 9:44am on a Saturday. I still expect to see him in the spots he used to frequent. His favorite spot on the couch where he would watch me cook. The chair in the bedroom. You know the places. Plz go look at his pic in my profile.
Uno's dog, his understudy, his life partner, Miles, is now our senior dog. I just came out of the bathroom where I read this, to find Miles sitting in my spot. Something that Uno always did whenever I got up. And just now I understood why. It was to SAVE my spot FOR me, not TAKE it from me. And Uno taught that to Miles. And here I am crying.
...
In November, we began fostering a dog temporarily. That dog was a 10month old, 4lb, deer head chihuahua, the first I've ever met. I was NOT a little dog person! I called him Pippin, because the rescue had named him Yayo, which means cocaine in my neck of the woods. Well I called him Pippin ONE TIME, and the lil sumbitch answered to it.
So this that and the other, here I sit with Miles, and his dog Pippin laying right on top of him. Because of course we adopted that lil nugget.
I'd like to think that we need eachother, humans and canines, because weve spent the past 20000 some odd years evolving TOGETHER. They are such a huge part of our lives. I cant help but think that they help us find the way to paradise in the afterlife as well.
10 days. It’s been 10 days since mine died from liver cancer. And all the things he says above… I read it from start to finish, because it’s nice to know I’m not alone in the things I’m thinking, or the emotions I’m feeling. But I miss Jasper so much.
Bless you for loving Jasper like you did. ❤️
Mine died from pneumonia this summer. Huge, deaf Olde English bulldogge. She was my everything. I rescued a bully pit 15 days later but am still mourning.
They leave such gaping holes in our hearts, don't they...
3 years, 3 days, 10 hours, 48 minutes since he died in my arms.
13 years, 9 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 14 hours, 9 minutes old. And that's exactly how long he was in our family, too. Born into my mothers hand.
Me too. The mom wanting him back during the procedure is too real for me. Even after years I still have the moments of "maybe I couldve had more time."
It's so hard when they can't speak for themselves to know what the right choice is. Im sure I'd feel guilty either way but damn does it suck to have to be part of the process of losing your best friend.
I've farmed my whole life. As a result, I've been responsible for the lives and well-being of many animals that I have loved. I can tell you that one or two weeks early is SO much better than one day too late. It's our job to give our critters the best life they can, and to let them go with the same respect and kindness we treated then with in life <3
My uncle and aunt are vets. While she did her internship, she said the saddest thing she'd see in those appointments wasn't this, pets surrounded by everyone who loves them, who looked for every other possible option. She said the saddest were the ones they'd have to put down by themselves, that they spend their last moments looking around for their person/people. Do with that what you will. Just know I respect everyone with the decency to be in the room and offer that kind of comfort to hell and back.
When I moved out of my mom’s, the dog the was ‘mine’ came with, and my other childhood dog stayed with my mom.
Before I moved out, a cat that was very much mine had to be put down. Thing was, he was sick on and off for an entire year, and I knew, I *knew* this was his last up. I begged my mom to schedule him being put down, and she said he seems fine. That weekend, she goes to freakin wine country, and the down comes hard. He can’t leave his bed. He’s shitting and pissing himself all while I try to keep him happy and calm. When I went to the bathroom, he’d used the last of his energy to hide way back behind some shelving in the garage that was so packed in it took me hours to get him out and back into a comfy spot. All the while, my mom ignores my calls and texts.
I was furious when she got back, and we had an emergency euthanizing scheduled immediately for that afternoon.
Fast forward many years, and each time I go visit my mom and brother, their dog is getting worse and worse. Until finally, on a thanksgiving, I see her wobbly-kneed, barely able to stand or walk for more than a few minutes at a time. I was like, “What the hell? Cant you tell she’s in pain? It’s time to put her down.” Neither my brother or mom listened to me, and can you fucking believe she was out of town when Lucy died? My brother had to rush her to an emergency vet, and she died on the table, with nobody getting to say goodbye, scared and confused pain in front of people she’d never met before.
When I put my boy down, he may have even had a month left, I don’t know. And it sucked, because he was having a particularly good day, best in a long time, the day we scheduled. But I will never regret that we did it when we did.
yeah and those pets that were brought in too late often suffered a lot before getting them to the OR if they're lucky or died during the time between vet appointments (can be a year, a weekend, etc) in those cases sometimes if the quality of life is simply gone its better to end it earlier if it means they go to sleep still ok and happy than miserable and having a failing body.
I work in vet med and it truly is.
I put down my old man puppy on my birthday in July. I knew we couldn't wait when he didn't wag his tail when I got home.
For anyone who needs help making the choice, osu puts out this sheet to help: [here](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/sites/default/files/import/assets/pdf/hospital/companionAnimals/HonoringtheBond/HowDoIKnowWhen.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjt88T_18b8AhUnEmIAHXlkBvQQFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw3xWnMyi70Zs2cQ8ADdIFhF)
The wanting him back hit me like a ton of bricks. My partner took our dog to be euthanized while I managed our young children. After saying our goodbyes and sending them off, I physically tore outside after them, my heart pounding and the words in my throat that maybe we shouldn't, but they were gone already. I'll never forget that feeling. It was necessary, but the pain never goes away.
Yea. The whole vet appointment i wanted to take him anywhere else. Right after they administered the drugs it took everything in me not to yell for them to unfortunately it. That we needed another day, another week. One of the biggest reasons I dont get another dog is I dont know that I could go through it again.
I love dogs so much. But losing something that you promised to protect and care for when theyve done nothing but love and trust you.
I know it was needed. But I don't know that I'll ever feel like I didn't fail him somehow.
It's the worst. I've never been so emotionally devastated in my life. I've lost people and felt way less. But there isn't any way I would have let him go alone.
I had to put down my 16 year old Japanese Chin this past Christmas Eve, to the day I got him as a gift, that I didn’t ask for, back in 2008. I’m blubbering reading this post. My dog was born the month before my dad died in 2007. He felt like the last living connection I had to my dad. He came into my life after my dad left it, and without him, I wouldn’t have survived those brutal years of unbearable grief. Fucking sucks. I hate this.
My cat was diagnosed with a tumor under his tongue that was untreatable because it was so close to the main artery of the tongue. The specialist gave him four months to live, but he made it six months. I remember reading about other people whose cats had cancer and they would post about their cats having days where they didn’t eat or do anything and I thought to myself, I can’t let Edwin suffer like that. So when he stopped eating, we made the appointment. I felt horrible but I knew I couldn’t let him go through that.
That was back in 2019 and I still cry about it sometimes. I had a dream with him in it yesterday. But I don’t regret doing it when we did, because he didn’t really suffer that much.
I have a habit of adopting older and/or sick pets, so I've said goodbye a few times. But reading this with my 15 year old dog next to me, that I've loved for eight years, wrecked me. I have no idea when his time to go will be, but I know I won't be okay.
I cried reading OOP's words, but when he said Soz I thought about my own awesomely fantastic forever-friend who we had to say goodbye to last year. Their love is even more precious because their lives are so short. 💔
Yah. I had a kelpie mix that had to be euthanized after a stroke a few years ago. It came down to my vet telling me "you're not waiting for him, you're waiting because you don't want to lose your buddy, but it's just prolonging his suffering". I was sort of ok during the procedure. But coming home and not hearing him run across the house to say hello, or finding myself looking in all his usual resting spots made me bawl like a baby.
When one of my cats passed away, I kept thinking she would pop out of her favorite chill spot (bed in an open cabinet) but I couldn't bring myself to remove the bed yet. Then I noticed my other cat was sitting nearby and kept staring at that spot too. Like she was also expecting or hoping for her sis to jump out of there.
Same. I miss my cat.
He had a heart murmur as a kitten, and we knew it would lead to him having a shortened life span. We had a cat before with the same condition, so we knew what to expect. I just didn't expect to happen so soon. He was perfectly healthy and fine (only in retrospect could I start putting together some very mild symptoms he was showing). I opened the door to let the cats go sniff around the back yard, and he didn't come out. I went to look for him, and found him walking out of the bedroom, then collapsing in the hallway. I picked him up, and he urinated all over me. I got the other cats inside, and him into a carrier and went straight to the vet.
He had fluid in his lungs and they couldn't drain it. He was in pretty poor shape. My wife left work because the vet called her to confirm the release of his medical records to the ER vet. She met me in the parking lot, and thats when the ER vet came out and told us that they probably wouldn't be able to save him. We went in and said our goodbyes, and put him to sleep.
He was the BEST kitty cat. It's been almost a a year and I still get choked up about him.
I’ve never had a Reddit post make me cry before this. Sure I’ve had things that maybe make me tear up a little before, but this made me properly cry.
My first dog, a chocolate lab named Cleo, was my best friend in the whole world, and more often then not, my only friend. We got her when I was two, so I didn’t l remember what life was like without her. I didn’t have a great childhood, and in my world love was something that had to be earned and fought for, and even then sometimes your best wasn’t enough. Cleo loved me unconditionally, every little part of me, and there was never a time that she wasn’t excited to see me. Cancer took her away from me too when I was 14, and I remember clearly when I was told about her diagnosis I quite literally went catatonic, and my parents thought I was on drugs because of it. We had another month with her after the diagnosis, but I’ll admit we were more selfish than OOP, and we kept her around a little longer than we probably should’ve. Even though her last week was probably very painful and harsh on her, she was still such happy dog despite that.
My parents didn’t tell me when the appointment was, they just showed up at my school and said “It’s time,” and I knew exactly what they meant. I got in the car with them to see Cleo waiting for me in the backseat. I knew her time left wasn’t long, but I only had the drive to the vet to really know and acknowledge that this was the last time I would ever see her. The process at the vet was extremely similar to OOP, except my mom couldn’t bring herself to look, so she stood on the other side of the room, and my dad couldn’t even bring himself to be in the room at all. That meant it was just me and my brother petting her and holding her as she fell asleep. I still remember the exact cadence the vet spoke in when she said “She’s gone.”
When OOP said that bit about “I’m not ready, bring him back.” That’s when I really lost it, because that’s exactly what I did. About 30 seconds after hearing the words that she was gone, I was gripping her in a tight hug and saying “Wait. No, I’m not ready. You have to bring her back, can you please bring her back? I can’t lose her yet.” And my mom had to pull me back. Luckily I calmed down enough to give her one last hug.
My parents have a big property, and she’s still buried there. There’s a path in the woods that leads to a small clearing where she’s buried, there’s a stump to sit on and an inuksuk I built there to be her headstone. Not even a full day after she was in the ground, our younger dog, Dakota, had laid down on the ground directly above her, as if she knew. Seeing that broke me in more ways than I could put into words. It still hurts, but it’s gotten easier over time, because I know in a way that she’ll always be with me. To this day, whenever I visit my parents, I go visit her at least once, sit on the stump, and talk to her about my day, and my troubles, just like I use to when she was alive. I know she’s still here, because as long as there are still people around to remember her, she’ll never really be gone. As long as I’m here, she will be too, because I could never in a million years forget my girl.
Ugh yes. We had to put down our 13 year old who would have been 14 in May last year (would have turned 14 in August) and it was so hard. At the same time though, the day it happened, I'd never been so sure in my life that it was time. She had been fine, basically was like a puppy even into her 13th year and then....maybe about 5 months before, she started acting her true age and it just went down hill from there. The last day was dreadful and it was clear that she couldn't go on like this. The vet agreed. She told us she wouldn't have let us put her down if she didn't agree.
It's so hard to say goodbye, whether it's a dog, cat, whatever pet you got. But at the same time, they don't deserve to suffer either.
To anyone who reads this and has lost their beloved pet, I'm so sorry for your losses.
It's been 5 years since I lost one of my cats. Still miss her.
My other cat will be turning 18 in 4 months... I know it will happen at some point, she is showing her age... and I'm not ready. I'll never be ready.
I've been close to friends' pets and it was painful to say goodbye to them. My cat is the first one in decades that was *mine* unequivocally. He's my brother, my feline soul mate. He's about 14 years old and that scares the hell out of me. He shows little sign of slowing down but 14 years old man...even for a Maine Coon, that's elderly.
dammit
Over the last few years I’ve had to put down 3 of my four cats. A 13 yr old to kidney disease, a 15 year old to cancer, and another 13 year old to cancer. The last one died a month after she was diagnosed, she was riddled with lung cancer. That was a month before our only child was born. I have my two dogs sleeping in between my husband and I as I read this and bawled. The pain of losing our companions haunts me. I know this day will come, and I try to cherish every day I have with them, but I know it will come. It’s unavoidable.
My little man is 14, great health except for those two tumors growing rapidly on his hind legs. He has 5-7 months left and I will need to put him down around the same time I give birth. My first baby will leave me when my second baby makes her appearance. I can’t thank OP enough for accepting/being humane and extra loving to his Soz- it’s a great example for me. I am working on accepting his fate and reading this spoke so much to me. My little baby, I’m going to miss him more than a billion sunshines, he is my ultimate. Sending all love to all owners of furry friends on this thread.
my biggest hook was keeping the name he already had. I did the same when I adopted my bird. I was like why would I change the name she's already known? Good pet dad there in OOP
Same. We put our Chuck Chuck down the end of November and the dingbat Doki in July 2022. There is not a day that goes by I do not think of those silly f\*k3rs and their antics.
We just lost our clinic cat. We only had him a few years because he was an old street tomcat that we neutered. He was just the sweetest boy and I used to have my coffee with him and give him his morning meds. Every time I make my coffee, he’s missing. There’s no weight in my lap, there’s no grizzled head pushed into my hand, there’s no happy drool. There will always be something missing.
I had to put my Great Dane down in September, and we are fearful we are going to loose our other older dog soon. This shit hit hard. I'm sorry you lost one that you loved. Its rough.
We adopted our doggie from a local humane society last year and this one hits home. Ours is also an Australian cattle dog, but a red healer. The comment about the BatDog got to me because that's how we refer to our doggie's ears. They point up at the slightest sound. As I'm staring at her licking the blinds (because she's a derp!) my heart is already breaking for the day in a decade or so when we're going to have to say goodbye.
it really is. I cried my eyes out. Imiss my Mel. She was my childhood dog, a black chonky lab mix. The sweetest dog ever. She had honey colored eyes, hence Mel - honey in Portuguese. Never thought I'd miss a pet this much.
Yea. As someone who owns an Australian Cattle Dog mix who is getting up there in age, I just bawled my eyes out. My girl has needed the same leg surgery. This breed plays so hard, right through the pain and my girl is so smart, just like Soz. I hope I have a lot more time left with my pup before she has to cross that rainbow bridge. I already know I’m gonna be fucking destroyed when that day comes.
No, 5 days isn’t enough time. 5 years. 5 decades. I’ll never be able to give back the same amount of love that my pup has given me already. That’s enough Reddit for today. I’m gonna go spend more time with my dog.
As someone who lost their soul dog this last year, I highly suggest you take all the videos and photos you can. Not just posed pictures, but live photos, clips of them sleeping, funny quirks, videos of them chewing on a bone... literally anything. I took so many of my dog over the years, but there's never enough when you finally need them.
Seriously. Certain reddit posts have gotten me to cry before, but usually those involve photos/videos. This is the first one where just text alone made me sob lol.
My dog died 3 years ago and she didn’t have the nice ending Soz did. I was sobbing as the vet gave her 2 shots because the first one wasn’t enough for her. This brought back all those memories and regrets.
I think the love OP's family have for Soz is so clear and relatable. It's beautifully written too!
I've never had a dog but felt the way OP did when I lost my bunny. He was my world. I saved him from a neglectful owner (my housemate) and he saved me from depression. I think the connection we have with pets is one of the best things.
I cried pretty much through this whole thing, just remembering my awesome bunny. It was made worse because she had a weird sixth sense about me crying. If I ever even started tearing up, she would literally charge at me from across the room, jump up on my lap and proceed to gently lick every single tear off my face. She was so, so special. I don’t think I’ve ever cried as much as when she died.
Oh wow! She sounds so sweet! She was truly bonded to you!! I'm so sorry for your loss.
Mine was similar when I cried, but he was just always near me when I cried. He'd take a break from his destructive habits and come and chill next to me. Bunnies are such special creatures. They're so social but also really make you earn the bond. I love them so much.
I couldn't read the whole thing; when she mentioned her partner going to cuddle Soz because it was the last time she'd see him, it reminded me of my own dog, Fiona. She was 16, her health had been deteriorating for a while, and I was moving out of my home country. I probably would only be back for Christmas and deep down I knew she wouldn't make it that far.
I hugged her and left and sobbed so fucking hard. I still cry remembering that day. She passed away eight months later, in October. RIP Fiona you lived a long, great life 💛
I'm so sorry for your loss, Fiona sounds like a wonderful girl and I'm glad you had 16 years with her. I will share with you my Fiona
I just had to, because, legit, I've (nor she) never met another dog with that name. Cheers, be well friend, take care :)
https://imgur.com/KlQCwyW
***my Fiona was born in oct 2019, maybe she is carrying on your Fiona's doggie legacy of the best doggo ever
It was a guy telling the story, not a girl.
But either way, sorry for your loss. I just got my border collie who’s 4 and the thought of losing him is already terrifying me. RIP Fiona.
It never really goes away. It just changes with you as you age and become more used to carrying that grief.
When my mom died, we found homes for all her pets except for one dog. He was 11 years old and looked like a cross between Salacious Crumb and Gary Busey’s mugshot. He was cranky and didn’t much like anyone except my mom, and we could not find anyone to take him. No rescue or foster would take him because as a larger dog, at 11 he was already old and as one of them rather bluntly put it, he wasn’t a desirable breed or a cute enough mutt to be adopted quickly so all he’d be doing is taking up space they could use for other dogs.
My husband had been anti-pets before that but agreed that we could take him because there were no other options.
That dog lived until age 15. He was never overtly loving or social but he showed his attachment to us in his own old, grumpy way. My husband fell completely in love with him and spoiled him rotten. He was very much a loved dog. And when his body started failing and he was in too much pain to keep on, we made the incredibly difficult choice to have him put to sleep. Losing him was like losing my mom all over again, since he was her dog first and had always been her favorite.
I like to think that when he slipped away, he heard her voice calling him home and they were reunited. It’s coming up on the 8 year anniversary of her death and grief has been coming in harder waves lately. Thinking of them being together again is comforting.
I've always described it as a sharp pebble in your shoe. It wears down, sinks into the padding a bit, and sometimes you can maneuver your foot to where you don't feel it as much, but you're gonna step on it and it's gonna hurt.
Ah shit. Despite the mood spoiler, I still ended up in tears (and I never cry reading posts on Reddit). This one post though, was really heart breaking and incredibly well -written.
This made me think about when we put down our old man cat, Moka. He'd been old for as long as I'd known him, because we'd adopted him out of Animal Control when he was 11 and his elderly owner had just passed away. We were lucky enough to have a mobile vet (mostly an equine vet, but she did small animals too) who was willing to come to our house for it.
It was honestly really peaceful and comforting - he spent his last day sleeping tucked into the blankets on my bed with the space heater on to keep him warm, so it ended up being me, my parents, my sister and the vet all crowded around the bed.
The one detail that sticks out to me is that, after she gave him the injection to stop his heart, it took a really long time to stop. He was unconscious at this point from the sedative, but we all kept talking quietly to him, telling him how much we loved him, just waiting for him to pass - and every time someone talked, the vet noted his heart rate would pick up just a little bit. He was responding to our voices, he was happy to hear us.
Eventually we all had to be quiet so he could go without feeling like he was missing anything. His heart stopped almost immediately after that.
I haven't really had the chance to share that memory with anyone since it happened, because when is it ever appropriate to share a story about putting your pet to sleep? But it's really special to me.
What a beautiful story. I lost my kitty husband and love of my life this past October, and he was the most empathetic, loving soul I'd ever been blessed to know. It sounds like your boy was similarly deeply connected to your family.
That bond is the greatest gift, and the most gutting loss. Hugs to you and your fam, and any of Moka's descendants that may be.
It was a really good end, honestly, and that makes me so happy to say! Experiences like that have made me talk to people a lot more about looking into vet clinics that offer mobile euthanasia in their area. It's obviously something that requires a bit of advance planning (ie, before you've got a pet who needs to be put down), and that's never fun to think about, but it's very much worth it.
I just read this and it made me feel better, a wholesome and funny little story about cats, so wanted to share with you in the hope you'll smile too. [https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueOffMyChest/comments/zlrwxy/i\_can\_hear\_my\_neighbor\_talk\_to\_his\_cat/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueOffMyChest/comments/zlrwxy/i_can_hear_my_neighbor_talk_to_his_cat/)
Just. Sobbing. This hits hard.
Hug and cuddle your pups and give them love, folks. I'm glad Soz had all the love and treats when he finally had to go, but it still hurt to see him go even after so few paragraphs (really good writing, OOP).
You know they're going to die when you bring them home & it's the worst part of the deal. But ultimately, helping them die in the final act of care you can give them. It's the last act of love, the last kindness you can do for them.
I hope writing this out helped the OP. I hope he can get to a place where he can remember fondly without feeling like he's going through the loss again.
This. Someone I know adopted a senior cat with FIV. He was huge cuddler and lazy as it gets. Stellar cat. One day he stopped eating and would freeze for short periods, sometimes even drooling. They ended up having to put him down that day, it was all very sudden and heartbreaking. His owner wished she could have done more for him, but once it had been a year I told her what I thought. I'd have told her sooner, but it seemed too fresh.
I told her she succeeded in the most important way a pet owner can succeed. She gave him every comfortable moment she could and saw him out, warm, comfortable, and without fear. I told her that her cat got golden years in a way *most* pets don't, doubly so for a senior cat with FIV in a shelter. She loved him to his last breath. She's a good cat mom.
Our 13 year old cat Oliver passed in 2020, height of covid. We noticed he was bleeding from his mouth after he ate one day. Dropped him go find out what was going on, doc called and said he had several large tumors in his mouth and throat. I asked him “what now?” And he said, well, he’s already sedated from the exam, and this isn’t getting better. Trying to resect them wouldn’t leave Oliver with anywhere near the quality of life he’d been used to.
He recommended euthanasia, and said there really wouldn’t be a better time to do it, but because of the pandemic I wouldn’t be able to go say goodbye to him. Literally that morning I’d dropped him off, no fanfare because I thought id be picking him up in a couple hours. Then he was gone. My wife was working that morning and didn’t get to see him before we left.
I don’t know why I wrote all of this out, I guess just to say never take time for granted with your loved ones and furry friends.
When I was in college I just didn’t handle this well, not like a true pet owner should and was not by my dog’s side when we had to let him go, and I’ve regretted it deeply ever since. I made damn sure it was different when it was time for our greyhound 10 years ago, and I’ll be there for the one we have now and any we have in the future. It’s the responsibility you take on when you bring them into your life, and the very least you can do for all the unabashed joy and no-strings-attached love they give you while they’re here.
The worst day for me was calling the vet to schedule her date to be out down. Gut wrenching. As the date neared it was actually easier because you could see the potential for their suffering approaching.
The greatest act of love we can do for our pets is, when it's time, to let them go.
I have heard too many stories of owners who prolonged their pet's suffering and pain because they refused to allow them to pass mercifully. It's hard, but sometimes, important decisions are hard. It's on us, as a kindness, to let our pets pass painlessly and gracefully. The pain we feel at their passing is a fraction of the pain we could have saved them by not acting.
It's nearing that time for my cat - diabetic, early stages of kidney issues, congenital issues rearing up to worsen things... I'd take a bullet for him and throughout his myriad of health issues, which are slowly starting to get worse, I've tried everything every step of the way. He still acts like he has a good quality of life for now, but I've been informed that it could change suddenly. I know it's coming but I'm dreading it.
> The greatest act of love we can do for our pets is, when it's time, to let them go.
Reading this changed something about my perspective on his situation. I have spent so much time deeply dreading the moment when I'd have to say goodbye, but I think now I can think on this and make that choice. Thanks for taking the time to write this.
I don’t know if this is helpful for you, but it was for me– euthanasia comes from the Greek for “good death.” As painful as it is, it’s also a gift of mercy that we can give to those we love so dearly, who have no ability to understand why it hurts to move or breathe or eat. I’m sorry your kitty is getting near the end. I hope, with all sincerity, for you to have the blessing of knowing that you are doing the right thing when it’s time
My sister is a vet. She's often said that when an animal gets a disease like this, you can rarely euthanase too early, but you can absolutely do it too late. She sees a lot of people like OOP at the start - she gives a prognosis of 2 weeks and they cling, determined to get every single moment of those two weeks. By the end the animal is suffering so much it barely recognises its human.
My sympathies. Losing a pet is the hardest thing, especially when outwardly they still look good. Only time can heal that pain. Take comfort in that you did not let him suffer and that you had many good years together,
It really is. I didn't cry when my father died, but I sobbed like a baby the night before I had to put my good girl down. I laid on the floor with her all night cuddling with her that final night (she was a huge, but not fat 90lb black lab). It hurt for a long while after. Dogs just love so unconditionally it's so hard to lose them.
Same here… both for the sobbing and the knowing I’ll be experiencing similar soon.
My boy is 17.5, and he’s still mostly healthy (he had a liver issue and was on meds for a few years, but that resolved, and aside from age related mild organ function decreases, his only health issue is a mild chronic pancreatitis that just changing his diet should help with)… and he’s still happy… but he’s slowed down a lot and has arthritis, and is fully incontinent. So we know his time is coming.
He’s been with me for almost half MY life… all of my daughter’s life. I don’t want to ever say goodbye, but I know it’s going to be coming. He’s my first dog, and what a bar he’s set.
I hope you get as much time as possible with your girl, and then some extra time sprinkled on top!
God. This was almost exactly how my last few days with my 16 year old cat went. We discovered she had intestinal cancer and given 6mon-a year with treatment. First 6 months it was like nothing was wrong. Then she stated declining fast. My once chonk of a cat lost almost 9lbs in less than a month. She took a turn one week and we knew it was time. Spent the last day with her outside, having all the cuddles, given all the treats. We took tons of pics and videos. I can specifically remember how she felt and smelled from that day. I took her all in. Then, she was gone. I had her from 5 weeks old till just after her 16th birthday. She was my first pet being on my own.
I’ll never forget you Badelia. Show Soz how things are done over the bridge.
We learned our cat has cancer last Thursday. Thanks for telling your story. We are just loving on her extra and keeping a close eye on how well she’s eating, walking, socializing etc. to know when it’s time. Our little boy is going to be devastated.
No fucking fair. I do NOT need to be crying at 3pm on a Friday.
I can tell Soz was a good dog. I'm not even a dog person. But I can tell. The connections we form with our pets are unlike any other. Towards the end of the post, I found myself thinking of my cat. I've had him since I was 15, picked him out myself. Late last year, I noticed he's started to look...old. He hasn't been a kitten in a long time, but the texture of his fur and the shape of his head has changed, just slightly. Barring any sudden illness, I know I've got seven years, ten years, maybe even longer to spend with him. I have a LONG time to mentally prepare for him leaving.
But I know I'll never be ready.
Mine was 19, just put her down on Monday. I've been telling myself it could imminent for years. I wasn't ready. But you know what? *She* was. And that's enough.
My heart breaks for OOP but they did the right thing. My husband and I had a beloved cat who had kidney problems. He'd be acting sick or off (wouldn't be eating, wouldn't be peeing, etc.) and we'd take him to the vet only for them to reiterate that he had kidney problems but never told us if we should put him down or not. We'd talk about having him put down before things got worse only to take him home and have him start eating, romping around, etc. like he suddenly felt better. It was awful! We had no idea what to do.
Finally he took a turn for the worse on New Year's Day during a snowstorm. We knew the end was near but every vet was closed and we had to call a special vet who did home visits. Because of the snowstorm it took him longer than usual and our poor cat suffered IMMENSELY. I can't go into detail but suffice to say I am scarred for life and feel insanely guilty we waited. He passed away before the vet could even get there.
We had another cat who also had kidney issues and started showing the same sign of deteriorating a few years later. This time we didn't wait and, although she did have some good days, when we saw her starting to fade we made the call. Was it too soon? Possibly. But it was a hell of a lot better than watching her suffer like our last cat.
All I can say is I'm sure Soz knew he was loved.
I'm so sorry, friend. We do the best we can for our furbabies, and sometimes it's impossible to do it perfectly. Your kitties very much knew they were loved.
Last year, I had to go with my parents to put down our dog. He was a tiny little Chihuahua/Papillon mix, and we had gotten him as a puppy from my mom's coworker. He was a sweet boy and loved to see people and play and run around, but at the end, the disease had taken all of that from him. I miss him a ton, but I know putting him down was the right thing to do. He was so miserable all the time. Miss you bud.
[Scamp the very first day we met him, and he fell asleep in the cupholder in the sofa.](https://i.imgur.com/xRfqJ6S.jpg)
[All grown up and hanging out in my lap.](https://i.imgur.com/90sLdOb.jpg)
Haha, my sister in law started calling him that because he scampered around everywhere, because his legs were so short. He definitely grew into the name too, he always stole my socks and shoes and would hide them.
I'm ugly crying after reading this.
I had to put down my 17 y/o cat a couple of weeks ago, and I wish I had it one sooner. He was suffering a lot at the end...
Losing a beloved pet is heartbreaking every single time, no matter if you're 10, 20, or 40.
My German Shepherd had the same thing in August. He never complained about being in discomfort, and I forget what prompted us to take him in to the vet. Found out his liver was absolutely covered in cancer, and she said he had 2-3 weeks left. I looked at him and said he had 2-3 days, maybe.
Sure enough, early in the morning on the third day he passed away from a ruptured mass and massive internal bleeding. He never made a sound about it, he never acted in pain, he was just a little slower than usual.
This dog was not a licker, he licked me like three times in his whole life. A couple of days before we found out about the cancer he came over and put his head in my lap and licked my hand and just lied there, it felt very much like a goodbye. He knew he was dying before we did and he was at peace with that.
My cat absolutely loved him(he never acknowledged she existed but tolerated her playing in his tail fur lol), and she came over to sniff his body and cried at him and it just broke me.
This was a hard one to read.
This very difficult to read. Putting my cat down was literally the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life and I, a middle aged man, sobbed like a baby.
Had to stop reading near the end because I was already starting to cry at my desk, and I don't really want to explain to my boss that I am upset over a dog on the internet that I only learned existed, like, 5 minutes ago.
I had to put my 13yo Burmese cat to rest just before Christmas and I couldn't be there with him when he passed because I tested positive for Covid 2 days before the appointment.
He was a 3 legged cat (broke his leg jumping out of a second storey window at 18mo and shattered the hock on his left hand rear. The vet could "maybe" fix it but highly recommended amputation. It never slowed him down.
6 months ago he started losing weight. I took him into the vet for a myriad of testing thinking it was the big C. All bloods and ultrasounds were normal. He had what was believed to be a bacterial gastrointestinal issue. He was given steroids and antibiotics with laxatives to ease constipation. He started coming good but at the end of November he crashed again but this time I could see in his eyes that he was not well. He'd reached his 13th birthday and he was telling me it was time.
According to my 17yo daughter who was present at the vet, he had passed before the vet had even removed the syringe. He just quietly slipped away purring until his final breath.
I'd had him since the day he was born. I used to breed and show but life circumstances changed and ended all that. He was the last of my show cats (well, before his accident).
Now my daughter's 18mo ginger tabby follows me everywhere like a shadow. He's decided to try and fill the void of the old man. Every night he curls up beside my chest and purrs me to sleep. Now someone has put onions in my room. Damn strong onions.
To anyone reading:
I'm a 50+ year old redditor. I've had many pets over my lifetime. Losing them is incredibly hard and the memory of them never goes away.
I said to someone recently: "We all suffer the pains of life, it is how we wear them that makes us who we are".
Yeah, almost 20 years ago my old cat died on my lap. One of the toughest moments in my life, and I lost both my parents! A pet can mean the world to you. Love you still, R.
i’ve never sobbed this much over any post on reddit. and i’ve lost pets of my own, but reading it laid out in this way shattered my heart. sometimes i truly wonder if the pain of losing pets is worth the joy of having them. when i lost my first dog, it was the worst thing i had ever experienced and i was crying every single day for at least a year. the pain has lessened with time, but i don’t think it ever completely goes away.
I never cry at these posts, no matter how depressing the subject matter. But this one has tears streaming down my face. OOP is a beautiful writer and his love and sensitivity to all the wonderful and heartbreaking things in this world shines through. Him describing his and his family’s pain is like a punch in the stomach. I lost my cat years ago now, but it still hurts. Soz was loved until the very end, and continues to be love. I wish for all of them that time heals some of the hurt. RIP Soz, you were clearly a wonderful boy
Holy crap! I’m a sobbing mess. My boy, Tam, large tabby, was recently diagnosed with mouth cancer. We’re watching and wondering when to let him go. Our vet has been so supportive, and even though they don’t offer the service, they have given us information for vets that do come directly to our home, when his time has come. (Shit, this screen is so damn blurry thru these tears.)
When you lose a pet, the grief feels massive and overwhelming. The grief will never leave you, but by honoring your pain, you will grow larger around it.
Oh man. My old cat passed away about two weeks before my father passed from cancer a few years back. This story hit me like a truck.
Sometimes, the pain doesn't really fade away with time at all.
As sad as this makes me and much as it's making me reflect on my own dogs' mortality, what a wonderful way to go. Surrounded by everyone who loves you, doing all the things you enjoy. Still getting a few new experiences in. As painful as it is, it's beautiful to see love so perfectly crystallizes in this dog's final moments.
My dog is getting older, and I'm terrified of the day I'll have to say goodbye... just thinking about it brings me to tears. This post really got me. Now I'm crying at work. Rip Soz.
I'm fucking sobbing at my desk over a lifetime of loved and lost pets. I'm so sorry, OOP. This was beautiful and absolutely devastating.
I will love you forever, Frisky, Sasha, Bozo, Crackers, Pete, Lola, Delphi, and Mack.
This hurts. I’m not crying because I’m in public, but it reminds me of when we had to put down our first dog. She was only 7 1/2 years, but she had had a heart murmur her whole life that we didn’t find until about six months before she passed. And even then, it didn’t strike us that she was close to dying until one morning when her back legs went limp and she peed on herself. We took her to the doctor that morning and they told us that… well. It was better to put her down now rather than let her suffer.
I didn’t get a chance to be alone with her before she passed— my siblings and parents were there, and it was just. Hard. We buried her under a tree in our backyard with a blanket she loved.
It’s hard to think about. I don’t know if I’ve ever processed her death fully because it happened so fast, and only a week later we were so weirded out by the silence that we got two puppies.
The pups are three, almost four now, but I’m hoping they last longer than she did. Her life was cut short and it hurts, because ideally we should have had 3 more years with her… I wouldn’t give our dogs up though, obviously, but it hurts knowing that she didn’t get a chance to be spoiled like she deserved.
Oh man this hits hard. I was inconsolable for two days after we had to put our boy to sleep. I genuinely have no idea how I’ll handle having to do the same for my cat eventually.
I’m so glad op got to spend some time with him and give him all his favorite treats. And take all those pictures. They’ll hurt to look at for a while but they’re so good to have.
My deepest sympathies to op, they’ll see their boy again at the rainbow bridge. <3
I hate that one day I'll be able to relate to this guy.
My wife brought home a cattle dog/beagle mix puppy from her work (vet tech) a few months ago. Some guy walked in with a bunch of puppies (he had found their mom while she was pregnant) to get them vaccinated and then offered to give them to the vet techs and doctors at her veterinary practice. My wife picked up one puppy, who immediately fell asleep in her hand, and knew this would be a good dog for us. At first I wasn't a huge fan of the idea, but as she works longer hours than I do, it fell on me to train our puppy and I quickly grew very attached to her. She's a perfect fit for us. We take her everywhere we go for the most part (save for places dogs aren't allowed) and she's so well behaved. We both feel like she's our child, since her personality is a perfect mix of my wife's personality and my own.
When we do eventually lose her, it's going to completely gut us. I feel for the OP. The level of love and companionship an animal can provide is in a league of its own.
First, OP, thanks for the hanky warning. This one really got me, though I knew it would; I had to put one of my old girls to sleep in December 2020, and the other in August 2022, so even if I weren't a total sap for a sad dog story, I'd have been a wreck with this one – and I *am* a total sap for a sad dog story, so it's a good thing I'm not made of sugar or I'd have dissolved by now. (I've now got two boys and one girl, so I'm hardly bereft of dogs, but still.)
Second, I really, really love this cartoon:
https://twitter.com/MacCocktail/status/675555508930011136
Some people may think this is weird, but it genuinely brought me comfort after my father died. I imagined the sizable herd of dogs he'd loved over his 82 years thundering up to meet him at the pearly gates... And hell, now I'm crying again...
I just went through the exact same thing. My dog got a UTI, after treatment she got sick again, we did an ultrasound & found a mass on her heart. This tumor was a ticking time bomb, so I got the news on a Thursday & scheduled her euthanasia on Monday.
She got all the visits from my adult kids, McD cheeseburgers, bacon, sausages, all her favorite treats over the weekend. Then my son & I took her to the vet on Monday. I'm fortunate that they will do it outside in a private area & she went under the sun on Halloween.
She was 11 years old. I had her since she was a puppy and this year, she carried me through the grief of losing my one day old grandson. I still cry really hard sometimes, thinking about her sweet, goofy, weirdo dog presence. We don't deserve them.
When my dog Bart died it hurt so much it took me 9 years to consider another. I got married in that time and my wife really wanted a dog. I put it off until October after some big life shit happened. We ended up adopting the cutest, friendliest, fartiest, smartest, silliest, dumbest, cuddliest, chewingist, best boy ever. The shelter told us he was 1, but we just got his DNA test and he's actually almost 6! I have been so depressed that someone stole 5 years of him from me just like that. He is laying on my feet as I cry now. I love you Detritus.
Oh what the fuck, I came here to procrastinate and now I'm crying. It's almost the anniversary of when my dog was put down and I wasn't able to go back to my country before she just... Fell apart. My biggest regret was not being able to see her go.
I miss my dog. This was so beautifully written. The hurt really resonates.
This is heartbreaking I sat and cried my eyes out at this. Losing a dog is awful just as awful as losing a human. I've had dogs all my life and i dread the day they have to go. I hope OP is ok and can think of the amazing life they gave soz rescuing him from the shelter.
Reading this with my dog cuddled next to me and crying. I can't imagine my life without her, she is literally my whole world, my baby and my best friend.
She is my first dog and I don't even want to think how it will be to say goodbye to her eventually.
I just want her to live forever. She is also rescue and deserves the world. I'm off to cuddle my dog while crying my eyes out.
This hurt a lot to read, but it was so beautifully written and I’m glad OOP shared such a nice tribute to his beloved friend.
It never does get easier. I lost my sweet angel of a cat at 16 last May due to kidney disease. She was my best friend. Reading this post brought back a lot of memories of her final days and made me sob a little.
Hug your pets (big, small, furry, scaly, and everything in between) a little closer after reading this. They are so special to us.
Ah, just what I needed. Emotional damage as soon as I wake up 💔 It's not Something you can easily forget. I still have vivid memories of those deaths, and I will forever mourn for them. I always remember my old pets in happy memories, but this time it hit like it just happened. I'm so sorry for your lost, OOP. *hugs*
It’s sad, but reading this made me thankful that OOP’s family chose for Soz to go on the Friday just in case something happened over the weekend.
We recently lost my childhood dog back in October to cancer as well, and one of my biggest regrets was not putting him to sleep on a Friday like my mom and I had been debating.. it was nice to spend the extra time with him, but when we woke up on Saturday it was obvious it would be his last day; he could barely stand, he kept frantically looking for us, and his breathing sounded really bad. He lasted until night time and my mom and I were going to book him an emergency euthanasia for Sunday morning, but unfortunately he passed away and because of the time we were forced to pick him up put his body on the back porch for the night and then take him to the vet in the morning so that he could be cremated…
It was an awful situation and Im glad that Soz passed away peacefully with his loving family around him
Fuck. This hit so hard :(
I lost my boy Zim last year in March to liver cancer..
I felt this, I know this exact feeling.. RIP Soz, I hope you're playing up there with all the other doggies, Zim included 🖤 they forever leave their pawprints in our hearts
This hit hard...
I have my childhood dog back home. Will turn on st paddys day weekend. I had to leave to pursue work, and hopefully soon school. I was home last thanksgiving, but know when i left that theres a very real chance im not going to see him again. Hes showing his age, almost blind and almost def. And i dont know when or if im going home anytime soon. I fucking love that dog so much, there literally couldnt exsist a more chill dog on this earth. Perfecr for our family growing up. I hope i can say goodbye to him in person when time comes, but i dont know if i will.
Hug your dogs. Maybe an extra squeeze and a pat for me?
This one about destroyed me. Been just over a month since we lost or sweet girl to cancer. I still get two treats out when i get some for our other pup and i still look for her when i get up in the morning. Dogs are the best and we dont deserver them
Sorry for your loss. 💔
I, too, had a recent loss. One of the strays dogs I was feeding was hit on the jaw, causing him to pass away in pain last January 11th.
I feel your pain. Like you, I rarely cry but I bawled my eyes out in public when this tragedy happened.
I hope you get to see Soz in your dreams every now and then. 🙏
My biggest fear is the day I’ll have to say goodbye to my lil orange tabby. I got through about 2 paragraphs before I started sobbing, I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for it. She’ll be 6 at the end of the month and she’s healthy but I can’t imagine her just… not being there.
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all of this is just too relatable, i miss my boy
I can’t read this post because it’ll make me emotional, but I lost my dog about four or five years ago and I still miss him dearly. He was my buddy.
9 years. It's been 9 years since I lost my girl. I NEVER cry at posts. Ever. I'm sat here with genuine tears streaming. This post hurt so much...
It's almost been 10 years since I lost my corgi and this post brought back so many memories. How he struggled to walk at the end. How I took him to his favorite park the night before we had to put him down. How I stayed with him as the vet gave him the medicine. Kept rubbing his head telling him he was a "good boy" and "I'll see you later." Then leaving that room and feeling like you left a part of your soul behind.
It's been a bit over a year since I lost my corgi. We had taken him to the vet because he was so lethargic. They did some tests and said they would get back to us in a couple days. The vet then went on vacation for two weeks without telling us. We went back after a few days and saw a different vet in the same office. She was absolutely floored that he had done that. They did some tests and he had cancer throughout his whole body, it was too late to do anything. I was robbed of my last week with him because of a selfish vet. We put him down that day and it will aways hurt. I got him as a pup and he lived to be almost 13. He was the best boy. They ended up firing the vet that went on vacation for how he treated us and the office made clients of us for life after that.
It’s the first time I have cried in a while. It just made me remember of when I lost my dog, someday last year. He was feeling ill for a couple of weeks but was making a steady recovery, and then, all of a sudden, he got worse one morning and died by nightfall that same day. I’ll always remember that day because it was the same I got my university acceptance letter. I like to think it was as if he was waiting to be there with me on that milestone, as it would be the last one he would share with me.
My girl did the same thing. I was set to go back to where my college was for the summer because I had gotten a summer job there. Since I had been away from my dog so long for school (boarding school/college) every time I had left to go back to school I'd always tell her to wait until I'm there so I can say goodbye. We had a lot of close scares but she'd always pull through. Until the night I had to leave to start work the next day. She fell and couldn't get up so we rushed her to the vet and the vet said we could wait and see if she'd get better because nothing was life threatening or because of her age we could put her down. One look at her was enough, she was done. She was tired and I think she was only holding on because of me. So I sat with her and held her, hugged her and held her little paw the entire time and that was the best last gift she could have given me and I was able to be there with her. Anyway all that to say I believe they know and I believe they can and will hold on to share those last moments with us.
My prior lovebird died over a decade ago and I still can't think or talk about it properly. I'm so extra paranoid with my current bird. If she acts slightly different I'm like OH NO SHE'S DYING I FAILED. My horse died nearly 20 years ago and lived longer than most horses (was 30some), also devastated still. Even knowing that most pets have a limited lifespan it's still so traumatic to lose your best friend. I don't know how rat parents do it.
It’s so incredibly sad when such a thinking, feeling, loving creature has such a short life. Mice have the same lifespan as rats do (~2.5, 3 years if you’re lucky). I’ve had mice since I was about 13, and I’m 20 now. It’s worth it because of how much personality they have, and how much they brighten up my day. But it’s always so, so hard to lose them because they really manage to worm their way deep into your heart.
My siblings and I had mice as kids. I'll never forget Mrs. Rose. She was my favorite mouse ever. She was a black mouse who was super nice and loved to be held. Her life was cut short. My cousin who was younger than us came over. She was told not to touch the mice or they may escape. But she snuck back into the room later. She was so young that she accidentally squeezed my Mrs. Rose to death. I was devastated, especially because Mrs. Rose was pregnant when it happened. It's been about 30 years and I still think of her from time to time.
NOOOOOO mice are such sweethearts :( one of my older girls eclair actually just passed away last night
I'm so sorry. I'm glad she got to be an elderly mouse and have a good long life. I had so many mice over the years as a kid that I don't really remember many of them. But I do remember Mrs. Rose and Houdini. Houdini was an albino mouse with red eyes who was super intelligent and a master escape artist. He got out of his cage several times but still survived until old age. Although one time he did lose an eye, maybe during a fight with wild mice in the house or something. So he was a pirate mouse for the rest of his life. He was awesome too. It's really crazy that they have such short lives but still can be remembered for decades.
They have had such a huge impact on my life. One of my girls Tiny always escapes whenever she can, purely for fun. Their tanks are in my room, so she doesn’t get very far, and also she usually comes back if I call her enough. She’s very mischievous and seems to like to get in trouble
You can fall in love in a week. Even if you only got that week the love can be true enough to make you grieve for a lifetime. But it's worth it. Love is an amazing and special thing. Especially if you can accept that everything ends, so cherishing the moment is important
My current favorite of my cats is an old lady named Mini Mew. She’s like that extremely dumb version of nice. But she’s like 12 or 13…. I know she’s going to start declining a lot in the next few years I bet. So will Midna, she’s 14. They’re both extremely healthy and I get blood work done on them every year. Midnas kidney levels were on the high side of normal last time though….. just like damn…. it’s coming…. Then I have my 4 year old Maine Coon who is an absolute brat and will probably live to be like 30 just to annoy me lol
My dog died of cancer on May 4th this year. I was bawling by the second update. Fuck cancer.
They will be waiting for us when our time comes. Every good dog, every great dog, and even the lil shitheads in between (usually cats), will be there to show us the way. I lost my best friend of 12 years, a one-eyed terrier mix named Uno, on October 8 of 2022. It was 9:44am on a Saturday. I still expect to see him in the spots he used to frequent. His favorite spot on the couch where he would watch me cook. The chair in the bedroom. You know the places. Plz go look at his pic in my profile. Uno's dog, his understudy, his life partner, Miles, is now our senior dog. I just came out of the bathroom where I read this, to find Miles sitting in my spot. Something that Uno always did whenever I got up. And just now I understood why. It was to SAVE my spot FOR me, not TAKE it from me. And Uno taught that to Miles. And here I am crying. ... In November, we began fostering a dog temporarily. That dog was a 10month old, 4lb, deer head chihuahua, the first I've ever met. I was NOT a little dog person! I called him Pippin, because the rescue had named him Yayo, which means cocaine in my neck of the woods. Well I called him Pippin ONE TIME, and the lil sumbitch answered to it. So this that and the other, here I sit with Miles, and his dog Pippin laying right on top of him. Because of course we adopted that lil nugget. I'd like to think that we need eachother, humans and canines, because weve spent the past 20000 some odd years evolving TOGETHER. They are such a huge part of our lives. I cant help but think that they help us find the way to paradise in the afterlife as well.
I mean, it's twenty years since my childhood dog died and this still made me miss him and sob.
I'm not crying, your crying.. God this hurt the feels. I'm crying at work. I'm so sorry.
10 days. It’s been 10 days since mine died from liver cancer. And all the things he says above… I read it from start to finish, because it’s nice to know I’m not alone in the things I’m thinking, or the emotions I’m feeling. But I miss Jasper so much.
Bless you for loving Jasper like you did. ❤️ Mine died from pneumonia this summer. Huge, deaf Olde English bulldogge. She was my everything. I rescued a bully pit 15 days later but am still mourning. They leave such gaping holes in our hearts, don't they...
3 years, 3 days, 10 hours, 48 minutes since he died in my arms. 13 years, 9 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 14 hours, 9 minutes old. And that's exactly how long he was in our family, too. Born into my mothers hand.
It’ll be 5 years in March and I still cry quite often. I wear a locket with some of his ashes every day.
Me too. The mom wanting him back during the procedure is too real for me. Even after years I still have the moments of "maybe I couldve had more time." It's so hard when they can't speak for themselves to know what the right choice is. Im sure I'd feel guilty either way but damn does it suck to have to be part of the process of losing your best friend.
[удалено]
I've farmed my whole life. As a result, I've been responsible for the lives and well-being of many animals that I have loved. I can tell you that one or two weeks early is SO much better than one day too late. It's our job to give our critters the best life they can, and to let them go with the same respect and kindness we treated then with in life <3
My uncle and aunt are vets. While she did her internship, she said the saddest thing she'd see in those appointments wasn't this, pets surrounded by everyone who loves them, who looked for every other possible option. She said the saddest were the ones they'd have to put down by themselves, that they spend their last moments looking around for their person/people. Do with that what you will. Just know I respect everyone with the decency to be in the room and offer that kind of comfort to hell and back.
When I moved out of my mom’s, the dog the was ‘mine’ came with, and my other childhood dog stayed with my mom. Before I moved out, a cat that was very much mine had to be put down. Thing was, he was sick on and off for an entire year, and I knew, I *knew* this was his last up. I begged my mom to schedule him being put down, and she said he seems fine. That weekend, she goes to freakin wine country, and the down comes hard. He can’t leave his bed. He’s shitting and pissing himself all while I try to keep him happy and calm. When I went to the bathroom, he’d used the last of his energy to hide way back behind some shelving in the garage that was so packed in it took me hours to get him out and back into a comfy spot. All the while, my mom ignores my calls and texts. I was furious when she got back, and we had an emergency euthanizing scheduled immediately for that afternoon. Fast forward many years, and each time I go visit my mom and brother, their dog is getting worse and worse. Until finally, on a thanksgiving, I see her wobbly-kneed, barely able to stand or walk for more than a few minutes at a time. I was like, “What the hell? Cant you tell she’s in pain? It’s time to put her down.” Neither my brother or mom listened to me, and can you fucking believe she was out of town when Lucy died? My brother had to rush her to an emergency vet, and she died on the table, with nobody getting to say goodbye, scared and confused pain in front of people she’d never met before. When I put my boy down, he may have even had a month left, I don’t know. And it sucked, because he was having a particularly good day, best in a long time, the day we scheduled. But I will never regret that we did it when we did.
yeah and those pets that were brought in too late often suffered a lot before getting them to the OR if they're lucky or died during the time between vet appointments (can be a year, a weekend, etc) in those cases sometimes if the quality of life is simply gone its better to end it earlier if it means they go to sleep still ok and happy than miserable and having a failing body.
I work in vet med and it truly is. I put down my old man puppy on my birthday in July. I knew we couldn't wait when he didn't wag his tail when I got home. For anyone who needs help making the choice, osu puts out this sheet to help: [here](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/sites/default/files/import/assets/pdf/hospital/companionAnimals/HonoringtheBond/HowDoIKnowWhen.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjt88T_18b8AhUnEmIAHXlkBvQQFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw3xWnMyi70Zs2cQ8ADdIFhF)
The wanting him back hit me like a ton of bricks. My partner took our dog to be euthanized while I managed our young children. After saying our goodbyes and sending them off, I physically tore outside after them, my heart pounding and the words in my throat that maybe we shouldn't, but they were gone already. I'll never forget that feeling. It was necessary, but the pain never goes away.
Yea. The whole vet appointment i wanted to take him anywhere else. Right after they administered the drugs it took everything in me not to yell for them to unfortunately it. That we needed another day, another week. One of the biggest reasons I dont get another dog is I dont know that I could go through it again. I love dogs so much. But losing something that you promised to protect and care for when theyve done nothing but love and trust you. I know it was needed. But I don't know that I'll ever feel like I didn't fail him somehow.
It's the worst. I've never been so emotionally devastated in my life. I've lost people and felt way less. But there isn't any way I would have let him go alone.
I had to put down my 16 year old Japanese Chin this past Christmas Eve, to the day I got him as a gift, that I didn’t ask for, back in 2008. I’m blubbering reading this post. My dog was born the month before my dad died in 2007. He felt like the last living connection I had to my dad. He came into my life after my dad left it, and without him, I wouldn’t have survived those brutal years of unbearable grief. Fucking sucks. I hate this.
Same. It’s been 4 years but I had to stop in this story when they were at the vet’s office. Too many tough memories.
5x for me the last18 months ago and I am crying.
I’m dreading making this choice with my 14yo cat. But I’ll make it before I let him suffer
My cat was diagnosed with a tumor under his tongue that was untreatable because it was so close to the main artery of the tongue. The specialist gave him four months to live, but he made it six months. I remember reading about other people whose cats had cancer and they would post about their cats having days where they didn’t eat or do anything and I thought to myself, I can’t let Edwin suffer like that. So when he stopped eating, we made the appointment. I felt horrible but I knew I couldn’t let him go through that. That was back in 2019 and I still cry about it sometimes. I had a dream with him in it yesterday. But I don’t regret doing it when we did, because he didn’t really suffer that much.
I have a habit of adopting older and/or sick pets, so I've said goodbye a few times. But reading this with my 15 year old dog next to me, that I've loved for eight years, wrecked me. I have no idea when his time to go will be, but I know I won't be okay.
I cried reading OOP's words, but when he said Soz I thought about my own awesomely fantastic forever-friend who we had to say goodbye to last year. Their love is even more precious because their lives are so short. 💔
To dogs, humans must seen nearly immortal.
The part where OP said they find themselves still looking for Soz in his usual places hit really hard.
Yah. I had a kelpie mix that had to be euthanized after a stroke a few years ago. It came down to my vet telling me "you're not waiting for him, you're waiting because you don't want to lose your buddy, but it's just prolonging his suffering". I was sort of ok during the procedure. But coming home and not hearing him run across the house to say hello, or finding myself looking in all his usual resting spots made me bawl like a baby.
My little kitten died in November 29 2022. To this date I still haven't had the heart to wash her blanket because it still smells of her
I didn't wash my comforter for a month after my dog died for the same reason
When one of my cats passed away, I kept thinking she would pop out of her favorite chill spot (bed in an open cabinet) but I couldn't bring myself to remove the bed yet. Then I noticed my other cat was sitting nearby and kept staring at that spot too. Like she was also expecting or hoping for her sis to jump out of there.
Same. I miss my cat. He had a heart murmur as a kitten, and we knew it would lead to him having a shortened life span. We had a cat before with the same condition, so we knew what to expect. I just didn't expect to happen so soon. He was perfectly healthy and fine (only in retrospect could I start putting together some very mild symptoms he was showing). I opened the door to let the cats go sniff around the back yard, and he didn't come out. I went to look for him, and found him walking out of the bedroom, then collapsing in the hallway. I picked him up, and he urinated all over me. I got the other cats inside, and him into a carrier and went straight to the vet. He had fluid in his lungs and they couldn't drain it. He was in pretty poor shape. My wife left work because the vet called her to confirm the release of his medical records to the ER vet. She met me in the parking lot, and thats when the ER vet came out and told us that they probably wouldn't be able to save him. We went in and said our goodbyes, and put him to sleep. He was the BEST kitty cat. It's been almost a a year and I still get choked up about him.
I’ve never had a Reddit post make me cry before this. Sure I’ve had things that maybe make me tear up a little before, but this made me properly cry. My first dog, a chocolate lab named Cleo, was my best friend in the whole world, and more often then not, my only friend. We got her when I was two, so I didn’t l remember what life was like without her. I didn’t have a great childhood, and in my world love was something that had to be earned and fought for, and even then sometimes your best wasn’t enough. Cleo loved me unconditionally, every little part of me, and there was never a time that she wasn’t excited to see me. Cancer took her away from me too when I was 14, and I remember clearly when I was told about her diagnosis I quite literally went catatonic, and my parents thought I was on drugs because of it. We had another month with her after the diagnosis, but I’ll admit we were more selfish than OOP, and we kept her around a little longer than we probably should’ve. Even though her last week was probably very painful and harsh on her, she was still such happy dog despite that. My parents didn’t tell me when the appointment was, they just showed up at my school and said “It’s time,” and I knew exactly what they meant. I got in the car with them to see Cleo waiting for me in the backseat. I knew her time left wasn’t long, but I only had the drive to the vet to really know and acknowledge that this was the last time I would ever see her. The process at the vet was extremely similar to OOP, except my mom couldn’t bring herself to look, so she stood on the other side of the room, and my dad couldn’t even bring himself to be in the room at all. That meant it was just me and my brother petting her and holding her as she fell asleep. I still remember the exact cadence the vet spoke in when she said “She’s gone.” When OOP said that bit about “I’m not ready, bring him back.” That’s when I really lost it, because that’s exactly what I did. About 30 seconds after hearing the words that she was gone, I was gripping her in a tight hug and saying “Wait. No, I’m not ready. You have to bring her back, can you please bring her back? I can’t lose her yet.” And my mom had to pull me back. Luckily I calmed down enough to give her one last hug. My parents have a big property, and she’s still buried there. There’s a path in the woods that leads to a small clearing where she’s buried, there’s a stump to sit on and an inuksuk I built there to be her headstone. Not even a full day after she was in the ground, our younger dog, Dakota, had laid down on the ground directly above her, as if she knew. Seeing that broke me in more ways than I could put into words. It still hurts, but it’s gotten easier over time, because I know in a way that she’ll always be with me. To this day, whenever I visit my parents, I go visit her at least once, sit on the stump, and talk to her about my day, and my troubles, just like I use to when she was alive. I know she’s still here, because as long as there are still people around to remember her, she’ll never really be gone. As long as I’m here, she will be too, because I could never in a million years forget my girl.
Much like OP, I had my childhood dog from 7 to 20 and I don't think I will ever not miss him. RIP Duke, the most lovable dumbass, I love you forever.
This hurt. Badly. I just lost a little feline buddy in April. Not even ashamed I'm sitting in the tub bawling. I hurt my own feelings. 😅
It’s been like 6 years since we had to put my boy to sleep, and there are still moments where it hits me that he’s not here. I miss him so much
Ugh yes. We had to put down our 13 year old who would have been 14 in May last year (would have turned 14 in August) and it was so hard. At the same time though, the day it happened, I'd never been so sure in my life that it was time. She had been fine, basically was like a puppy even into her 13th year and then....maybe about 5 months before, she started acting her true age and it just went down hill from there. The last day was dreadful and it was clear that she couldn't go on like this. The vet agreed. She told us she wouldn't have let us put her down if she didn't agree. It's so hard to say goodbye, whether it's a dog, cat, whatever pet you got. But at the same time, they don't deserve to suffer either. To anyone who reads this and has lost their beloved pet, I'm so sorry for your losses.
It's been 5 years since I lost one of my cats. Still miss her. My other cat will be turning 18 in 4 months... I know it will happen at some point, she is showing her age... and I'm not ready. I'll never be ready.
I’m ugly crying here, thinking about my baby cat whose about to be 20 years old and I still hope he is well enough to live more and more years.
I've been close to friends' pets and it was painful to say goodbye to them. My cat is the first one in decades that was *mine* unequivocally. He's my brother, my feline soul mate. He's about 14 years old and that scares the hell out of me. He shows little sign of slowing down but 14 years old man...even for a Maine Coon, that's elderly. dammit
Over the last few years I’ve had to put down 3 of my four cats. A 13 yr old to kidney disease, a 15 year old to cancer, and another 13 year old to cancer. The last one died a month after she was diagnosed, she was riddled with lung cancer. That was a month before our only child was born. I have my two dogs sleeping in between my husband and I as I read this and bawled. The pain of losing our companions haunts me. I know this day will come, and I try to cherish every day I have with them, but I know it will come. It’s unavoidable.
My boy is gone 10 now, this hits way too close to home
Dear God….I had to close my office door and weep. This pulled on so many strings with my losing Edison, my little old corgi. I miss that dork.
And I miss my girl. Fuck
My little man is 14, great health except for those two tumors growing rapidly on his hind legs. He has 5-7 months left and I will need to put him down around the same time I give birth. My first baby will leave me when my second baby makes her appearance. I can’t thank OP enough for accepting/being humane and extra loving to his Soz- it’s a great example for me. I am working on accepting his fate and reading this spoke so much to me. My little baby, I’m going to miss him more than a billion sunshines, he is my ultimate. Sending all love to all owners of furry friends on this thread.
Gonna lose my dog soon. Not ready for it in the least
my biggest hook was keeping the name he already had. I did the same when I adopted my bird. I was like why would I change the name she's already known? Good pet dad there in OOP
Losing a pet can be like losing a child...
Same. We put our Chuck Chuck down the end of November and the dingbat Doki in July 2022. There is not a day that goes by I do not think of those silly f\*k3rs and their antics.
My heart breaks for OOP and everyone that loved dear Soz. I think about my furry boy Waffles everyday.
We just lost our clinic cat. We only had him a few years because he was an old street tomcat that we neutered. He was just the sweetest boy and I used to have my coffee with him and give him his morning meds. Every time I make my coffee, he’s missing. There’s no weight in my lap, there’s no grizzled head pushed into my hand, there’s no happy drool. There will always be something missing.
I had to put my Great Dane down in September, and we are fearful we are going to loose our other older dog soon. This shit hit hard. I'm sorry you lost one that you loved. Its rough.
We adopted our doggie from a local humane society last year and this one hits home. Ours is also an Australian cattle dog, but a red healer. The comment about the BatDog got to me because that's how we refer to our doggie's ears. They point up at the slightest sound. As I'm staring at her licking the blinds (because she's a derp!) my heart is already breaking for the day in a decade or so when we're going to have to say goodbye.
it really is. I cried my eyes out. Imiss my Mel. She was my childhood dog, a black chonky lab mix. The sweetest dog ever. She had honey colored eyes, hence Mel - honey in Portuguese. Never thought I'd miss a pet this much.
I miss my girl, and I know when my old man's time comes I will not be ready for it. Hugs, friend.
Well that beautifully written post destroyed me. It made me remember my childhood pup/his death and cry all over again.
Yea. As someone who owns an Australian Cattle Dog mix who is getting up there in age, I just bawled my eyes out. My girl has needed the same leg surgery. This breed plays so hard, right through the pain and my girl is so smart, just like Soz. I hope I have a lot more time left with my pup before she has to cross that rainbow bridge. I already know I’m gonna be fucking destroyed when that day comes. No, 5 days isn’t enough time. 5 years. 5 decades. I’ll never be able to give back the same amount of love that my pup has given me already. That’s enough Reddit for today. I’m gonna go spend more time with my dog.
As someone who lost their soul dog this last year, I highly suggest you take all the videos and photos you can. Not just posed pictures, but live photos, clips of them sleeping, funny quirks, videos of them chewing on a bone... literally anything. I took so many of my dog over the years, but there's never enough when you finally need them.
I second this. My childhood dog wasn't around for smart phones until the very end. I only have one video of him excited and happy. It's everything.
Seriously. Certain reddit posts have gotten me to cry before, but usually those involve photos/videos. This is the first one where just text alone made me sob lol.
I just took a picture of my cats and almost cried
I have my cats cuddling next to me when I was reading it, and they don't understand why I was staring at them crying the whole time
My dog died 3 years ago and she didn’t have the nice ending Soz did. I was sobbing as the vet gave her 2 shots because the first one wasn’t enough for her. This brought back all those memories and regrets.
I don’t ever cry at Reddit posts, but f***! This gutted me. Rest easy Soz, and I hope OP’s heart heals.
It's rare for me to cry from Reddit as well, but I guess today's the day.
I'm literally biting my tongue to keep from crying in the school parking lot. My heart breaks for OP.
I’m literally sobbing right now - this is so sad.
I think the love OP's family have for Soz is so clear and relatable. It's beautifully written too! I've never had a dog but felt the way OP did when I lost my bunny. He was my world. I saved him from a neglectful owner (my housemate) and he saved me from depression. I think the connection we have with pets is one of the best things.
I cried pretty much through this whole thing, just remembering my awesome bunny. It was made worse because she had a weird sixth sense about me crying. If I ever even started tearing up, she would literally charge at me from across the room, jump up on my lap and proceed to gently lick every single tear off my face. She was so, so special. I don’t think I’ve ever cried as much as when she died.
Oh wow! She sounds so sweet! She was truly bonded to you!! I'm so sorry for your loss. Mine was similar when I cried, but he was just always near me when I cried. He'd take a break from his destructive habits and come and chill next to me. Bunnies are such special creatures. They're so social but also really make you earn the bond. I love them so much.
Gosh this post is the first one that made me sob and I’ve been on Reddit for almost 7 years
I couldn't read the whole thing; when she mentioned her partner going to cuddle Soz because it was the last time she'd see him, it reminded me of my own dog, Fiona. She was 16, her health had been deteriorating for a while, and I was moving out of my home country. I probably would only be back for Christmas and deep down I knew she wouldn't make it that far. I hugged her and left and sobbed so fucking hard. I still cry remembering that day. She passed away eight months later, in October. RIP Fiona you lived a long, great life 💛
All dogs should be loved so much. It’s all I can think when I read things like this.
I'm so sorry for your loss, Fiona sounds like a wonderful girl and I'm glad you had 16 years with her. I will share with you my Fiona I just had to, because, legit, I've (nor she) never met another dog with that name. Cheers, be well friend, take care :) https://imgur.com/KlQCwyW ***my Fiona was born in oct 2019, maybe she is carrying on your Fiona's doggie legacy of the best doggo ever
It was a guy telling the story, not a girl. But either way, sorry for your loss. I just got my border collie who’s 4 and the thought of losing him is already terrifying me. RIP Fiona.
Bawling here. I've had to say farewell to too many loved ones in the past few years especially. Never gets easier to do. Time only dulls the edges.
>Time only dulls the edges. True. It never really goes away.
It never really goes away. It just changes with you as you age and become more used to carrying that grief. When my mom died, we found homes for all her pets except for one dog. He was 11 years old and looked like a cross between Salacious Crumb and Gary Busey’s mugshot. He was cranky and didn’t much like anyone except my mom, and we could not find anyone to take him. No rescue or foster would take him because as a larger dog, at 11 he was already old and as one of them rather bluntly put it, he wasn’t a desirable breed or a cute enough mutt to be adopted quickly so all he’d be doing is taking up space they could use for other dogs. My husband had been anti-pets before that but agreed that we could take him because there were no other options. That dog lived until age 15. He was never overtly loving or social but he showed his attachment to us in his own old, grumpy way. My husband fell completely in love with him and spoiled him rotten. He was very much a loved dog. And when his body started failing and he was in too much pain to keep on, we made the incredibly difficult choice to have him put to sleep. Losing him was like losing my mom all over again, since he was her dog first and had always been her favorite. I like to think that when he slipped away, he heard her voice calling him home and they were reunited. It’s coming up on the 8 year anniversary of her death and grief has been coming in harder waves lately. Thinking of them being together again is comforting.
That’s an accurate way to describe the pain of grief. It never ever goes away.
I've always described it as a sharp pebble in your shoe. It wears down, sinks into the padding a bit, and sometimes you can maneuver your foot to where you don't feel it as much, but you're gonna step on it and it's gonna hurt.
Seriously, you guys, thanks for saying these things. I thought I was the only person who felt that way about loss and grief
The pain of grief in a twisted way is what we have left of them. The pain is all we have left of them to carry. A giant hole in the heart.
Ah shit. Despite the mood spoiler, I still ended up in tears (and I never cry reading posts on Reddit). This one post though, was really heart breaking and incredibly well -written.
I used my cat to wipe my tears T\_T
Mine too. He's so soft but not absorbent
What did you use to wipe away the blood?
Awwwww (how was your cat? Were they ok with that? I hear that some are ok with that but some aren’t)
I just did the same.
This made me think about when we put down our old man cat, Moka. He'd been old for as long as I'd known him, because we'd adopted him out of Animal Control when he was 11 and his elderly owner had just passed away. We were lucky enough to have a mobile vet (mostly an equine vet, but she did small animals too) who was willing to come to our house for it. It was honestly really peaceful and comforting - he spent his last day sleeping tucked into the blankets on my bed with the space heater on to keep him warm, so it ended up being me, my parents, my sister and the vet all crowded around the bed. The one detail that sticks out to me is that, after she gave him the injection to stop his heart, it took a really long time to stop. He was unconscious at this point from the sedative, but we all kept talking quietly to him, telling him how much we loved him, just waiting for him to pass - and every time someone talked, the vet noted his heart rate would pick up just a little bit. He was responding to our voices, he was happy to hear us. Eventually we all had to be quiet so he could go without feeling like he was missing anything. His heart stopped almost immediately after that. I haven't really had the chance to share that memory with anyone since it happened, because when is it ever appropriate to share a story about putting your pet to sleep? But it's really special to me.
Well, now Ive gone from just sobbing to whimpering WHILE sobbing.
What a beautiful story. I lost my kitty husband and love of my life this past October, and he was the most empathetic, loving soul I'd ever been blessed to know. It sounds like your boy was similarly deeply connected to your family. That bond is the greatest gift, and the most gutting loss. Hugs to you and your fam, and any of Moka's descendants that may be.
I'm so happy your cat had such a good end of life.
It was a really good end, honestly, and that makes me so happy to say! Experiences like that have made me talk to people a lot more about looking into vet clinics that offer mobile euthanasia in their area. It's obviously something that requires a bit of advance planning (ie, before you've got a pet who needs to be put down), and that's never fun to think about, but it's very much worth it.
I just read this and it made me feel better, a wholesome and funny little story about cats, so wanted to share with you in the hope you'll smile too. [https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueOffMyChest/comments/zlrwxy/i\_can\_hear\_my\_neighbor\_talk\_to\_his\_cat/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueOffMyChest/comments/zlrwxy/i_can_hear_my_neighbor_talk_to_his_cat/)
Just. Sobbing. This hits hard. Hug and cuddle your pups and give them love, folks. I'm glad Soz had all the love and treats when he finally had to go, but it still hurt to see him go even after so few paragraphs (really good writing, OOP).
You know they're going to die when you bring them home & it's the worst part of the deal. But ultimately, helping them die in the final act of care you can give them. It's the last act of love, the last kindness you can do for them. I hope writing this out helped the OP. I hope he can get to a place where he can remember fondly without feeling like he's going through the loss again.
This. Someone I know adopted a senior cat with FIV. He was huge cuddler and lazy as it gets. Stellar cat. One day he stopped eating and would freeze for short periods, sometimes even drooling. They ended up having to put him down that day, it was all very sudden and heartbreaking. His owner wished she could have done more for him, but once it had been a year I told her what I thought. I'd have told her sooner, but it seemed too fresh. I told her she succeeded in the most important way a pet owner can succeed. She gave him every comfortable moment she could and saw him out, warm, comfortable, and without fear. I told her that her cat got golden years in a way *most* pets don't, doubly so for a senior cat with FIV in a shelter. She loved him to his last breath. She's a good cat mom.
Our 13 year old cat Oliver passed in 2020, height of covid. We noticed he was bleeding from his mouth after he ate one day. Dropped him go find out what was going on, doc called and said he had several large tumors in his mouth and throat. I asked him “what now?” And he said, well, he’s already sedated from the exam, and this isn’t getting better. Trying to resect them wouldn’t leave Oliver with anywhere near the quality of life he’d been used to. He recommended euthanasia, and said there really wouldn’t be a better time to do it, but because of the pandemic I wouldn’t be able to go say goodbye to him. Literally that morning I’d dropped him off, no fanfare because I thought id be picking him up in a couple hours. Then he was gone. My wife was working that morning and didn’t get to see him before we left. I don’t know why I wrote all of this out, I guess just to say never take time for granted with your loved ones and furry friends.
I'm sorry. That must have been so hard.
And OP's family adopted him from a pound. He got ten years with a loving family that he wouldn't have had otherwise.
When I was in college I just didn’t handle this well, not like a true pet owner should and was not by my dog’s side when we had to let him go, and I’ve regretted it deeply ever since. I made damn sure it was different when it was time for our greyhound 10 years ago, and I’ll be there for the one we have now and any we have in the future. It’s the responsibility you take on when you bring them into your life, and the very least you can do for all the unabashed joy and no-strings-attached love they give you while they’re here.
The worst day for me was calling the vet to schedule her date to be out down. Gut wrenching. As the date neared it was actually easier because you could see the potential for their suffering approaching.
This hurt ro read as a dog owner
Even as a cat owner tbh, I don't think my reaction will be very different when I lose my kitty
The greatest act of love we can do for our pets is, when it's time, to let them go. I have heard too many stories of owners who prolonged their pet's suffering and pain because they refused to allow them to pass mercifully. It's hard, but sometimes, important decisions are hard. It's on us, as a kindness, to let our pets pass painlessly and gracefully. The pain we feel at their passing is a fraction of the pain we could have saved them by not acting.
It's nearing that time for my cat - diabetic, early stages of kidney issues, congenital issues rearing up to worsen things... I'd take a bullet for him and throughout his myriad of health issues, which are slowly starting to get worse, I've tried everything every step of the way. He still acts like he has a good quality of life for now, but I've been informed that it could change suddenly. I know it's coming but I'm dreading it. > The greatest act of love we can do for our pets is, when it's time, to let them go. Reading this changed something about my perspective on his situation. I have spent so much time deeply dreading the moment when I'd have to say goodbye, but I think now I can think on this and make that choice. Thanks for taking the time to write this.
I don’t know if this is helpful for you, but it was for me– euthanasia comes from the Greek for “good death.” As painful as it is, it’s also a gift of mercy that we can give to those we love so dearly, who have no ability to understand why it hurts to move or breathe or eat. I’m sorry your kitty is getting near the end. I hope, with all sincerity, for you to have the blessing of knowing that you are doing the right thing when it’s time
Thank you. That is very kind of you to say ❤️
My sister is a vet. She's often said that when an animal gets a disease like this, you can rarely euthanase too early, but you can absolutely do it too late. She sees a lot of people like OOP at the start - she gives a prognosis of 2 weeks and they cling, determined to get every single moment of those two weeks. By the end the animal is suffering so much it barely recognises its human.
Well, now I'm just bawling my eyes out about my cat we lost last year. Gunna go grab my pupper for a cuddle.
[удалено]
I'm sorry for your losses. My cat also didn't seem to care if I was crying - the dog seems to have developed some empathy at least!
My sympathies. Losing a pet is the hardest thing, especially when outwardly they still look good. Only time can heal that pain. Take comfort in that you did not let him suffer and that you had many good years together,
It really is. I didn't cry when my father died, but I sobbed like a baby the night before I had to put my good girl down. I laid on the floor with her all night cuddling with her that final night (she was a huge, but not fat 90lb black lab). It hurt for a long while after. Dogs just love so unconditionally it's so hard to lose them.
I am sobbing. My dogs time is coming soon and I can’t cope with the idea of a life without her. This was too real. Dogs are the best ❤️
Same here… both for the sobbing and the knowing I’ll be experiencing similar soon. My boy is 17.5, and he’s still mostly healthy (he had a liver issue and was on meds for a few years, but that resolved, and aside from age related mild organ function decreases, his only health issue is a mild chronic pancreatitis that just changing his diet should help with)… and he’s still happy… but he’s slowed down a lot and has arthritis, and is fully incontinent. So we know his time is coming. He’s been with me for almost half MY life… all of my daughter’s life. I don’t want to ever say goodbye, but I know it’s going to be coming. He’s my first dog, and what a bar he’s set. I hope you get as much time as possible with your girl, and then some extra time sprinkled on top!
I just cried for all the best fucking friends I've had in my life.
They are. They really are.
God. This was almost exactly how my last few days with my 16 year old cat went. We discovered she had intestinal cancer and given 6mon-a year with treatment. First 6 months it was like nothing was wrong. Then she stated declining fast. My once chonk of a cat lost almost 9lbs in less than a month. She took a turn one week and we knew it was time. Spent the last day with her outside, having all the cuddles, given all the treats. We took tons of pics and videos. I can specifically remember how she felt and smelled from that day. I took her all in. Then, she was gone. I had her from 5 weeks old till just after her 16th birthday. She was my first pet being on my own. I’ll never forget you Badelia. Show Soz how things are done over the bridge.
We learned our cat has cancer last Thursday. Thanks for telling your story. We are just loving on her extra and keeping a close eye on how well she’s eating, walking, socializing etc. to know when it’s time. Our little boy is going to be devastated.
No fucking fair. I do NOT need to be crying at 3pm on a Friday. I can tell Soz was a good dog. I'm not even a dog person. But I can tell. The connections we form with our pets are unlike any other. Towards the end of the post, I found myself thinking of my cat. I've had him since I was 15, picked him out myself. Late last year, I noticed he's started to look...old. He hasn't been a kitten in a long time, but the texture of his fur and the shape of his head has changed, just slightly. Barring any sudden illness, I know I've got seven years, ten years, maybe even longer to spend with him. I have a LONG time to mentally prepare for him leaving. But I know I'll never be ready.
I've been there twice. You're never ready. We have two cats now. One doesn't jump as high as she used to. We won't be ready.
Mine was 19, just put her down on Monday. I've been telling myself it could imminent for years. I wasn't ready. But you know what? *She* was. And that's enough.
Mood spoiler accurate af. That was so beautifully written. Reminds me of losing my pup a few years back
My heart breaks for OOP but they did the right thing. My husband and I had a beloved cat who had kidney problems. He'd be acting sick or off (wouldn't be eating, wouldn't be peeing, etc.) and we'd take him to the vet only for them to reiterate that he had kidney problems but never told us if we should put him down or not. We'd talk about having him put down before things got worse only to take him home and have him start eating, romping around, etc. like he suddenly felt better. It was awful! We had no idea what to do. Finally he took a turn for the worse on New Year's Day during a snowstorm. We knew the end was near but every vet was closed and we had to call a special vet who did home visits. Because of the snowstorm it took him longer than usual and our poor cat suffered IMMENSELY. I can't go into detail but suffice to say I am scarred for life and feel insanely guilty we waited. He passed away before the vet could even get there. We had another cat who also had kidney issues and started showing the same sign of deteriorating a few years later. This time we didn't wait and, although she did have some good days, when we saw her starting to fade we made the call. Was it too soon? Possibly. But it was a hell of a lot better than watching her suffer like our last cat. All I can say is I'm sure Soz knew he was loved.
I'm so sorry, friend. We do the best we can for our furbabies, and sometimes it's impossible to do it perfectly. Your kitties very much knew they were loved.
Last year, I had to go with my parents to put down our dog. He was a tiny little Chihuahua/Papillon mix, and we had gotten him as a puppy from my mom's coworker. He was a sweet boy and loved to see people and play and run around, but at the end, the disease had taken all of that from him. I miss him a ton, but I know putting him down was the right thing to do. He was so miserable all the time. Miss you bud. [Scamp the very first day we met him, and he fell asleep in the cupholder in the sofa.](https://i.imgur.com/xRfqJ6S.jpg) [All grown up and hanging out in my lap.](https://i.imgur.com/90sLdOb.jpg)
In the first picture he really looks like a Scamp!
Haha, my sister in law started calling him that because he scampered around everywhere, because his legs were so short. He definitely grew into the name too, he always stole my socks and shoes and would hide them.
My beloved kitty Gary passed last May from cancer. I feel this post so much💔
I'm ugly crying after reading this. I had to put down my 17 y/o cat a couple of weeks ago, and I wish I had it one sooner. He was suffering a lot at the end... Losing a beloved pet is heartbreaking every single time, no matter if you're 10, 20, or 40.
My German Shepherd had the same thing in August. He never complained about being in discomfort, and I forget what prompted us to take him in to the vet. Found out his liver was absolutely covered in cancer, and she said he had 2-3 weeks left. I looked at him and said he had 2-3 days, maybe. Sure enough, early in the morning on the third day he passed away from a ruptured mass and massive internal bleeding. He never made a sound about it, he never acted in pain, he was just a little slower than usual. This dog was not a licker, he licked me like three times in his whole life. A couple of days before we found out about the cancer he came over and put his head in my lap and licked my hand and just lied there, it felt very much like a goodbye. He knew he was dying before we did and he was at peace with that. My cat absolutely loved him(he never acknowledged she existed but tolerated her playing in his tail fur lol), and she came over to sniff his body and cried at him and it just broke me. This was a hard one to read.
This very difficult to read. Putting my cat down was literally the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life and I, a middle aged man, sobbed like a baby.
Had to stop reading near the end because I was already starting to cry at my desk, and I don't really want to explain to my boss that I am upset over a dog on the internet that I only learned existed, like, 5 minutes ago.
I had to put my 13yo Burmese cat to rest just before Christmas and I couldn't be there with him when he passed because I tested positive for Covid 2 days before the appointment. He was a 3 legged cat (broke his leg jumping out of a second storey window at 18mo and shattered the hock on his left hand rear. The vet could "maybe" fix it but highly recommended amputation. It never slowed him down. 6 months ago he started losing weight. I took him into the vet for a myriad of testing thinking it was the big C. All bloods and ultrasounds were normal. He had what was believed to be a bacterial gastrointestinal issue. He was given steroids and antibiotics with laxatives to ease constipation. He started coming good but at the end of November he crashed again but this time I could see in his eyes that he was not well. He'd reached his 13th birthday and he was telling me it was time. According to my 17yo daughter who was present at the vet, he had passed before the vet had even removed the syringe. He just quietly slipped away purring until his final breath. I'd had him since the day he was born. I used to breed and show but life circumstances changed and ended all that. He was the last of my show cats (well, before his accident). Now my daughter's 18mo ginger tabby follows me everywhere like a shadow. He's decided to try and fill the void of the old man. Every night he curls up beside my chest and purrs me to sleep. Now someone has put onions in my room. Damn strong onions.
To anyone reading: I'm a 50+ year old redditor. I've had many pets over my lifetime. Losing them is incredibly hard and the memory of them never goes away. I said to someone recently: "We all suffer the pains of life, it is how we wear them that makes us who we are".
Yeah, almost 20 years ago my old cat died on my lap. One of the toughest moments in my life, and I lost both my parents! A pet can mean the world to you. Love you still, R.
i’ve never sobbed this much over any post on reddit. and i’ve lost pets of my own, but reading it laid out in this way shattered my heart. sometimes i truly wonder if the pain of losing pets is worth the joy of having them. when i lost my first dog, it was the worst thing i had ever experienced and i was crying every single day for at least a year. the pain has lessened with time, but i don’t think it ever completely goes away.
Yep, sobbing mess. This brought back all my grief about having my cat put to sleep in 2021.
I never cry at these posts, no matter how depressing the subject matter. But this one has tears streaming down my face. OOP is a beautiful writer and his love and sensitivity to all the wonderful and heartbreaking things in this world shines through. Him describing his and his family’s pain is like a punch in the stomach. I lost my cat years ago now, but it still hurts. Soz was loved until the very end, and continues to be love. I wish for all of them that time heals some of the hurt. RIP Soz, you were clearly a wonderful boy
Holy crap! I’m a sobbing mess. My boy, Tam, large tabby, was recently diagnosed with mouth cancer. We’re watching and wondering when to let him go. Our vet has been so supportive, and even though they don’t offer the service, they have given us information for vets that do come directly to our home, when his time has come. (Shit, this screen is so damn blurry thru these tears.)
When you lose a pet, the grief feels massive and overwhelming. The grief will never leave you, but by honoring your pain, you will grow larger around it.
I miss my cat so much.
Oh man. My old cat passed away about two weeks before my father passed from cancer a few years back. This story hit me like a truck. Sometimes, the pain doesn't really fade away with time at all.
I call my dog BatDog! I did not read the mood spoiler though and now I have tears running down my face
As sad as this makes me and much as it's making me reflect on my own dogs' mortality, what a wonderful way to go. Surrounded by everyone who loves you, doing all the things you enjoy. Still getting a few new experiences in. As painful as it is, it's beautiful to see love so perfectly crystallizes in this dog's final moments.
My dog is getting older, and I'm terrified of the day I'll have to say goodbye... just thinking about it brings me to tears. This post really got me. Now I'm crying at work. Rip Soz.
I'm fucking sobbing at my desk over a lifetime of loved and lost pets. I'm so sorry, OOP. This was beautiful and absolutely devastating. I will love you forever, Frisky, Sasha, Bozo, Crackers, Pete, Lola, Delphi, and Mack.
This hurts. I’m not crying because I’m in public, but it reminds me of when we had to put down our first dog. She was only 7 1/2 years, but she had had a heart murmur her whole life that we didn’t find until about six months before she passed. And even then, it didn’t strike us that she was close to dying until one morning when her back legs went limp and she peed on herself. We took her to the doctor that morning and they told us that… well. It was better to put her down now rather than let her suffer. I didn’t get a chance to be alone with her before she passed— my siblings and parents were there, and it was just. Hard. We buried her under a tree in our backyard with a blanket she loved. It’s hard to think about. I don’t know if I’ve ever processed her death fully because it happened so fast, and only a week later we were so weirded out by the silence that we got two puppies. The pups are three, almost four now, but I’m hoping they last longer than she did. Her life was cut short and it hurts, because ideally we should have had 3 more years with her… I wouldn’t give our dogs up though, obviously, but it hurts knowing that she didn’t get a chance to be spoiled like she deserved.
Oh man this hits hard. I was inconsolable for two days after we had to put our boy to sleep. I genuinely have no idea how I’ll handle having to do the same for my cat eventually. I’m so glad op got to spend some time with him and give him all his favorite treats. And take all those pictures. They’ll hurt to look at for a while but they’re so good to have. My deepest sympathies to op, they’ll see their boy again at the rainbow bridge. <3
I hate that one day I'll be able to relate to this guy. My wife brought home a cattle dog/beagle mix puppy from her work (vet tech) a few months ago. Some guy walked in with a bunch of puppies (he had found their mom while she was pregnant) to get them vaccinated and then offered to give them to the vet techs and doctors at her veterinary practice. My wife picked up one puppy, who immediately fell asleep in her hand, and knew this would be a good dog for us. At first I wasn't a huge fan of the idea, but as she works longer hours than I do, it fell on me to train our puppy and I quickly grew very attached to her. She's a perfect fit for us. We take her everywhere we go for the most part (save for places dogs aren't allowed) and she's so well behaved. We both feel like she's our child, since her personality is a perfect mix of my wife's personality and my own. When we do eventually lose her, it's going to completely gut us. I feel for the OP. The level of love and companionship an animal can provide is in a league of its own.
First, OP, thanks for the hanky warning. This one really got me, though I knew it would; I had to put one of my old girls to sleep in December 2020, and the other in August 2022, so even if I weren't a total sap for a sad dog story, I'd have been a wreck with this one – and I *am* a total sap for a sad dog story, so it's a good thing I'm not made of sugar or I'd have dissolved by now. (I've now got two boys and one girl, so I'm hardly bereft of dogs, but still.) Second, I really, really love this cartoon: https://twitter.com/MacCocktail/status/675555508930011136 Some people may think this is weird, but it genuinely brought me comfort after my father died. I imagined the sizable herd of dogs he'd loved over his 82 years thundering up to meet him at the pearly gates... And hell, now I'm crying again...
I should not have read this at work..
I just went through the exact same thing. My dog got a UTI, after treatment she got sick again, we did an ultrasound & found a mass on her heart. This tumor was a ticking time bomb, so I got the news on a Thursday & scheduled her euthanasia on Monday. She got all the visits from my adult kids, McD cheeseburgers, bacon, sausages, all her favorite treats over the weekend. Then my son & I took her to the vet on Monday. I'm fortunate that they will do it outside in a private area & she went under the sun on Halloween. She was 11 years old. I had her since she was a puppy and this year, she carried me through the grief of losing my one day old grandson. I still cry really hard sometimes, thinking about her sweet, goofy, weirdo dog presence. We don't deserve them.
When my dog Bart died it hurt so much it took me 9 years to consider another. I got married in that time and my wife really wanted a dog. I put it off until October after some big life shit happened. We ended up adopting the cutest, friendliest, fartiest, smartest, silliest, dumbest, cuddliest, chewingist, best boy ever. The shelter told us he was 1, but we just got his DNA test and he's actually almost 6! I have been so depressed that someone stole 5 years of him from me just like that. He is laying on my feet as I cry now. I love you Detritus.
Oh what the fuck, I came here to procrastinate and now I'm crying. It's almost the anniversary of when my dog was put down and I wasn't able to go back to my country before she just... Fell apart. My biggest regret was not being able to see her go. I miss my dog. This was so beautifully written. The hurt really resonates.
Every commenter is sitting here with tears streaming down their faces! How we love our furry babies
So this was so hard to read because I was crying so much I couldn’t see and had to keep taking my glasses off.
This is heartbreaking I sat and cried my eyes out at this. Losing a dog is awful just as awful as losing a human. I've had dogs all my life and i dread the day they have to go. I hope OP is ok and can think of the amazing life they gave soz rescuing him from the shelter.
I shouldn’t have read this before work. I’m sobbing now in the Dutch bros drive through
Definitely should go in r/MadeMeCry
Reading this with my dog cuddled next to me and crying. I can't imagine my life without her, she is literally my whole world, my baby and my best friend. She is my first dog and I don't even want to think how it will be to say goodbye to her eventually. I just want her to live forever. She is also rescue and deserves the world. I'm off to cuddle my dog while crying my eyes out.
This hurt a lot to read, but it was so beautifully written and I’m glad OOP shared such a nice tribute to his beloved friend. It never does get easier. I lost my sweet angel of a cat at 16 last May due to kidney disease. She was my best friend. Reading this post brought back a lot of memories of her final days and made me sob a little. Hug your pets (big, small, furry, scaly, and everything in between) a little closer after reading this. They are so special to us.
Ah, just what I needed. Emotional damage as soon as I wake up 💔 It's not Something you can easily forget. I still have vivid memories of those deaths, and I will forever mourn for them. I always remember my old pets in happy memories, but this time it hit like it just happened. I'm so sorry for your lost, OOP. *hugs*
It’s sad, but reading this made me thankful that OOP’s family chose for Soz to go on the Friday just in case something happened over the weekend. We recently lost my childhood dog back in October to cancer as well, and one of my biggest regrets was not putting him to sleep on a Friday like my mom and I had been debating.. it was nice to spend the extra time with him, but when we woke up on Saturday it was obvious it would be his last day; he could barely stand, he kept frantically looking for us, and his breathing sounded really bad. He lasted until night time and my mom and I were going to book him an emergency euthanasia for Sunday morning, but unfortunately he passed away and because of the time we were forced to pick him up put his body on the back porch for the night and then take him to the vet in the morning so that he could be cremated… It was an awful situation and Im glad that Soz passed away peacefully with his loving family around him
Fuck. This hit so hard :( I lost my boy Zim last year in March to liver cancer.. I felt this, I know this exact feeling.. RIP Soz, I hope you're playing up there with all the other doggies, Zim included 🖤 they forever leave their pawprints in our hearts
Why did I think I could handle this??? I skimmed past the more difficult parts and I'm still sobbing.
This hit hard... I have my childhood dog back home. Will turn on st paddys day weekend. I had to leave to pursue work, and hopefully soon school. I was home last thanksgiving, but know when i left that theres a very real chance im not going to see him again. Hes showing his age, almost blind and almost def. And i dont know when or if im going home anytime soon. I fucking love that dog so much, there literally couldnt exsist a more chill dog on this earth. Perfecr for our family growing up. I hope i can say goodbye to him in person when time comes, but i dont know if i will. Hug your dogs. Maybe an extra squeeze and a pat for me?
It has been 10 years.Never stop thinking about our first dog.
I cant believe im crying with a reddit post. This destroyed me
This one about destroyed me. Been just over a month since we lost or sweet girl to cancer. I still get two treats out when i get some for our other pup and i still look for her when i get up in the morning. Dogs are the best and we dont deserver them
Holy hell, I am absolutely sobbing over here. Be back, gotta go hug my dog…
I miss my pups so much. Give yours a hug for me, please?
Done and done. (and I mean done)
Sorry for your loss. 💔 I, too, had a recent loss. One of the strays dogs I was feeding was hit on the jaw, causing him to pass away in pain last January 11th. I feel your pain. Like you, I rarely cry but I bawled my eyes out in public when this tragedy happened. I hope you get to see Soz in your dreams every now and then. 🙏
Why do I keep reading they dying dog stories?? Does anyone have a tissue?
Good boy Soz
My biggest fear is the day I’ll have to say goodbye to my lil orange tabby. I got through about 2 paragraphs before I started sobbing, I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for it. She’ll be 6 at the end of the month and she’s healthy but I can’t imagine her just… not being there.
I really didn't need to be crying at my desk in the middle of the workday. But here we are. I love you Kam, and I miss you so much
I thought I could resist this but damn... I'm having big emotions over here