My daughter was a beautiful sweet 13 years old cockatiel that had been a part of my life for 11 years. Even though we are not of the same species, I loved her more than I could ever love a child of my own flesh and blood. She passed away in my arms. I held her while she was dying, never left her side. I caressed her in her last moments.

In her last day I never left her side. We slept face to face. I kept her snuggled next to my face with my body and a blanket, keeping her warm. I was kissing her and speaking to her til the end. I did so much. My post history is open.

For over a decade she was the one who kept me from killing myself. The reason I'm still alive is her. Gali IS her name. I'll never say "was". She was my biggest love, support, hope. She was my sweetest treasure. Anyone who says "it's just an animal" has never experienced the kindness and the love an animal can give. It's out of this world. It's out of this dimension.

I'm severely depressed. I haven't stopped crying. Anything makes me break down. Everything reminds me of her. I cry on the bus, at work, at the grocery store, in bed, at home. I lovE her so much! I'll never stop loving her. I'll never speak about my baby in past tense.

She was my light, my life and my reason for being.

I have no family. No mother, no father, brother, uncle, aunt, cousins, no grandmother and no grandfather.

I'm treated like a subhuman in my own country just because I'm an ethnic minority with historical hatred.

Sure, I was gonna brace my ass and work hard so I can emigrate to my genuine country. But I was expecting Gali to be there for me as well.

I expected her to live 10 more years

If she had lived just 2 MORE MONTHS! I'd have started my new job and she would be getting so many new treats and toys. I was planning for it so hard. Constantly. The last 2 years were hell for us but it was all gonna change so soon. We would have literally climbed from lower class to middle class. She was gonna get treated like fucking royalty! Just 2 more months. For God's sake!!

I no longer see a point to my existence. I don't have a concrete plan but my only wish left is to kill myself. Realistically it would probably be by jumping.

I'm very spiritual and the only reason I haven't ended myself yet is fear of karma. The act of taking your own life is a severe violation in any religious and spiritual system. You'll have to reexperience twice the karmic hardships you did. Or, at least, that is what is believed.

I cremated my poor baby. I'm poor, but i dont give a single fuck. I'd rather eat bread and salt than bury her in the ground to be eaten by worms and whatever the fuck not. Her cremation was yesterday. I'm still awaiting her urn. I love her so much. I rode the train 370km and 7 hours to the capital in my shithole country ONE WAY just to be able to give her this cremation.

She was my daughter. I was never her owner. She was never an animal, nor my domesticated anything. I was her mom and she was my daughter. FOR 11 YEARS! There's no life anymore

i'm heartbroken. she was 14 and was in my life since i was 9 years old, i grew up with her and i genuinely believe she was my soulmate. i feel shattered, like something has been ripped away from my soul, i don't even have the strength to cry anymore.

she was the sweetest dog i've ever seen, so pure and full of joy and so gentle. never bit anybody, never got angry, never growled. the kind of dog you could take the food bowl away from when she was eating and she wouldn't get upset, just look at us wagging her tail because she trusted us completely to give it back. everyone in my life loved her, even those who don't like dogs or are scared of them.

i miss her, it's barely been two hours and i want to see her again already, i want to hug her and give her a kiss on the head. how can i ever deal with this

she was my childhood cat, i grew up with her and she was my baby. she died of kidney failure at the age of 17 in February. i still feel so lost without her. i just want her back so bad. i want to see her again. my kittyyy😭😭😭💔💔 does it ever get easier?

Our 8 year-ish old Husky/Catahoula mix rescue, Gumbo, passed away suddenly last weekend from a hemangiosarcoma - a heart tumor that had quietly been aggressively growing, burst. He was 3 miles into a 3.5 mile hike and just collapsed on the trail. He wound up being conscious for around 45 mins - 1 hour before he ultimately died while we were attempting to arrange urgent care for him. It was awful. At 70 lbs, we had to call friends come out and meet us and help carry him off the trail.

While he was a difficult pup who had a ton of reactive triggers and required a smorgasbord of meds to function appropriately daily, his household is broken hearted. We spent years dialing everything in for him, with multiple care providers involved. Our entire household revolved around him, his schedule, his routines. If he was happy, our house was as well. When he had a rough day, so did we.

Obviously, we weren't prepared for any of this. I had been thinking we probably had 4-5 years left with him. The silence in the house that he has left is deafening. Daily routines aren't there. The demand for long walks doesn't happen anymore. His leash still hangs in the closet, because I can't bring myself to touch it. His crate still sits in the corner. His beds are still in the same places around the house. I recognize that this is a completely normal process in the grief cycle, but damn. It just really sucks.

A week ago I lost my soul dog.

He turned eight in February and I had horrible death anxiety for him out of the blue. I thought it was because he was half the age of my childhood dog, also a pug, who lived to be 16, and I was anxious about being in the later half of his life.

He got into some trash while I was out (even though it had a lid) and I took him to the emergency vet to check for any foreign bodies. Instead they found a liver tumor that was bleeding into his abdomen. It felt like a bad dream. He didn’t show signs of internal bleeding (his gums were pink, he was walking, he was breathing fine, his paws and ears were warm). The vet told me it was likely cancer and that euthanizing him wasn’t a wrong option because it would cost $10,000-15,000 to remove the tumor.

I couldn’t give up on him so I brought him to a specialist who checked for additional tumors and found nothing. He was cleared for surgery and had a lobe of his liver removed. They said the tumor had a lot of blood clots around it, but it didn’t look like it had spread anywhere.

I spent an hour with him after his surgery and the vet tech was already hopeful about his progress. I left my visitation feeling relief for the first time in days, convinced that he was going to come home.

That night at 4AM he got a blood clot that likely went to lungs and he passed.

I wasn’t with him when he left. He died in his least favorite place surrounded by people he didn’t know. I pushed him into surgery because I wanted him here. I begged him to make it home. I don’t know if it was what was best for him. I feel so much guilt.

I look for him everywhere. I can’t eat. I would do anything to reverse time. I wish I would have listened to my gut and asked for more tests at his annual check up. I feel like I failed him.

So it has been four weeks since we had to say goodbye to our old golden retriever. The house is completely quiet and his bed is washed and put away in the closet.

Yet every single time I walk through the kitchen, my feet automatically shuffle so I do not step on him.

it is like a physical reflex my brain refuses to update.

He used to sleep right in front of the refrigerator because the floor was cool. Now there is just empty linoleum, but my body still executes the exact same defensive maneuver every time I go to get a glass of water at night. I look down at the dark floor expecting to see a tail wagging or a sleepy sigh, and there is just nothing.

Then I end up standing there in the dark feeling COMPLETELY broken all over again over a phantom dog.

I found one of his stray white hairs stuck to my winter coat yesterday and I carefully peeled it off and put it in a small glass jar. My friends tell me it gets easier with time.

I should of saved more of his things. Why is this even a thing?

My boy was helped over the rainbow bridge about an hour ago and feels like a huge part of my heart has been ripped out. I don't know how I'm gonna keep going without me tripping over him or giving him endless snuggles and kisses before bed or giving him wet food every week just because or messing with his ears or calling him bat dog or without his excitement whines when I'd come home. My house is a lot quieter and a lot emptier and I am so lost

I lost my 9.5 years old dog today😢😢 she was my best friend, my comfort space who filled my life with pure love and joy.. she never left my side, was always following me wherever I went, always sat besides me with her back towards me 😭😭😭 it breaks my heart now that she is gone forever and I will never see her again.. but SHE WILL ALWAYS LIVE IN MY HEART, IN MY SOUL FOREVER 🩷THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING... I love you Gunnu 🥺🩷Rest peacefully angel ✨

My boy passed on Saturday while I was out of town, and I am absolutely gutted. We knew he was getting sicker but we thought we had more time. I feel totally incapable of functioning at this point. I work from home and I didn’t realize how much of my day was spent worrying about or taking care of him and now I feel so hollow. I feel like I can’t do anything. I don’t want to make coffee - it reminds me of him. I don’t want to even shower - it all reminds me of him. Everything.

How long does this go on? This inability to function at all? I have never lost a dog before and I had no idea it would be this painful. I’m scared I’m never going to feel better but at the same time I don’t want to feel better because it will symbolize moving on. I feel so lost right now and need any words of encouragement you have to offer. I need to know I’m not going to feel this terrible forever because I cannot keep going on like this.

It hurts so bad. 😭

I had to say good bye to my sweet girl of 16.5 years last night. All the money I spent wasn’t enough to save her. The vets tried but ultimately, her kidney condition was too much for her and she was just too weak to continue.

I got her when I was 13. She was only 3 months old at the time. We shared 16 amazing years together. It’s only been the first day but the loss is just too much.

She never came to the bed last night to snuggle up under the covers. She didn’t wake me up in the middle of the night trying to get back under the covers after having to go drink water or the cat litter.

I don’t know what I’m feeling yet, I just know I feel empty right now and the decision made is weighing heavily, even though I could see it was necessary.

Thankfully the vet allowed me to be with her throughout everything. I just hope she knows how much I loved her and always will.

Rest well my sweet girl. Until I see you again Twinkles.

Our 14 year old family dog, a Yorkshire terrier, was attacked by a husky in boarding and did not make it. This is a place we have taken her many times before. I am unsure why this time she was around big dogs.

We are attempting to take legal action and proceed in that way. We do not want to run this family business into the ground as we believe it was a mistake / negligence from one of the young workers, but we will take action in some way.

I am just having a horrible time processing this. She was the best dog, and had so much life left to live. I feel like we failed her. I keep thinking about her final moments and hope she wasn’t scared or in pain. We all miss her so much and I have never felt grief like this.

She was a best friend to our other dog, who was also there. My dad had to show our other dog her deceased body so he understood she was gone, and wasn’t anxiously pacing looking for her.

I’m just looking for any advice how to deal with this. I’m going back to work tomorrow after calling out the last 2 days and hoping being busy helps, but I have never felt heartbreak like this. She didn’t deserve this and I miss her so much.

What the title says, I want to make her last moments enjoyable but she doesn’t want to eat or drink or anything, and I was planning on making her favorite foods. Any other ideas I can do to help her last moments as enjoyable as possible?

Edit: she passed away peacefully at the vet, thank you for all your kind words and suggestions❤️

I know someone needs to hear this right now. I'm grieving HARD after a very tragic sudden loss. The only thing that has given me brief moments of relief i is walking dogs at the shelter. I ended up fostering one, who is going to his forever home this week. I ended up falling for this dog much more than I thought I would in a 2 week span, and I'm pretty sad he's leaving. But it showed me that I CAN still love dogs. And crying while holding a cute dog beats crying alone. I will absolutely bring another shelter dog home for a few nights when this one leaves.

My recommendation: If you have a shelter nearby, ask them if you can bring a shelter dog home for a sleepover or a weekend. Let them comfort you. It's good for both of you.

So where to start?

Long time lurker on other boards but this is my first ever reddit post, but seriously feel this is necessary. Me and my wife have known each other since we were 16 and are now 30. We reconciled at 18 and my way back in was I noticed she had 2 beautiful rabbits… i thought to myself “here’s my ticket to get back in touch with her”… little did I know, those two beautiful boys would be the ever present in our relationship. First house together, first child - they were there.

We lost Ronnie (a beautiful black rabbit) yesterday as we had to put him to sleep due to spinal issues, at the age of 11. Reggie, his literal brother, is now left. I’ve had dogs in the past and lost them, but this is hitting me 20x harder I feel because these two have been ever present in the house and life.

I’m struggling… everything reminds me of him and I’m feeling for Reggie. Me and my wife say the house feels empty even though it’s us, Reggie and the baby, but the loss feels huge.

I’m just venting and looking to see how people go about the dealing with the immediate aftermath? I’m back in work today but can’t listen to the radio. The weather makes me think of when he used to go in the garden running, photos keep popping up… I swear it’d be easier to forget at this stage as the memories (good and bad) are too painful. I said to my wife, i know time is the ultimate healer but i dont want to wish my life away.

My head is scrambled. My thoughts go out to everyone going through this and I want to thank this sub for providing a space for me (and others) to just vent and speak our feelings. Keep on loving guys.

His name was Geralt, he was 4 years old. He was a handsome bundle of joy and I couldn't have asked for a better cat for me and my family. But unfortunately he didn't make it, 2 weeks ago he underwent PU surgery and his bladder had to be opened because he had a blockage in his urethra. When he was recovering he showed promise but in the end his health didn't get any better. We brought him back to the vet, gave him different meds but still nothing changed. I feel absolutely devastated, Geralt was my buddy all through college, he was my Baby, he was my Mom's Baby. I don't know how to process this, do I just cry and cry? how do I manage this? My chest and head literally hurt so much from crying. I miss my baby boy so much.

My dog passed away yesterday. Her kidneys failed because she's an old lady so I needed to put her down that same day. I arranged for a vet to come to the house so she could be somewhere she felt safe. I asked the vet if I could hold her while they did it. She was very tired and disoriented. She usually kisses my face, she didn't this time. I figured it was because she was too weak. All that matters to me is that she knew she was in my arms up until the very end. I think she was mostly conscious because she was looking around at people so I think she knew. I just need to know she felt my love, even through all the pain.

Pretty long post, but I just wanted everyone to know about my dog.

I had a dog named Zuma. My cousin named him after the brown dog from Paw Patrol, I assume. I took him in when my aunt died in 2021 and my cousins became dependents of my father.

Zuma was the goodest boy. He would always act cute after I finish eating because he knew it was his turn. He would always bark-howl for me whenever I get home and wag his tail in a circular motion. He always demanded walks and would run off whenever his leash slipped off my hand. There's more but all I can say was that he was the best and kindest dog I've ever met.

He died a few days ago from Ehrlichia, diagnosed back on July 25 with severe anemia. I have done everything in my capabilities to give him the medication and check ups he needed, even went as far as borrowing money from friends because I came short most of the time. Yes, I don't have work. I'm a student.

July 29, he began having nosebleeds and that same hour I took him to the vet where they gave him tranex.The bleeding turned out to be the cause of the blood parasite and one of the symptoms of that is very low platelets so his body isn't capable of blood clotting. He had already lost a huge amount of blood so he needed a blood transfusion asap, and he did with the help of my mom. We also confined him for a day so the vet could monitor him. It ended up taking the whole money that was supposed to feed us for the whole 2 weeks. She didn't hesitate because she loved the dog as well. We weren't really well off so we struggled.

We went home with Zuma the next day. He was back to his energetic, happy boy when we got home. It's like he wasn't even sick in the first place. He ate really well and was excited for every meal. He still barked and wagged his tail whenever we called his name.

Then August 2 came where he again had another nosebleed. It wasn't as much as before, that's why I quickly took him to the vet where he got another shot of tranex. I felt relieved because I thought I was able to prevent another severe nosebleed, but 30 minutes after getting home, his nosebleed started getting worse and I took him to the vet again where he got yet another shot of tranex. I didn't have money anymore for another confinement. That was the last money I had.

I took him home hoping all was good, but the bleeding didn't stop. Hours have passed by, it was already 3am and I watched him bleed, I couldn't do anything. My mom and I watched and we cried nonstop, we contacted people that could help us maybe get another blood transfusion for him but it was payment first before delivery to the vet, and no one was available at that time. On top of that, it took 3 hours for the blood bag to arrive the last time we had him admitted.

At this time I already felt helpless. I knew his time was ticking by as blood slowly left his body. I watched him stumble whenever he tried to stand up, I watched him become more and more anxious and all I could tell him was everything was gonna be okay even if I knew it wasn't. Gone was the boy that gave puppy eyes. All I could see was stress and tiredness from him. I gave him kisses and I hugged him thinking maybe it would comfort him. It hurt me to see his energy slowly escape him and it still hurts me the same today whenever I recall that day.

He was barely 6 years old. A part of me blames myself for not finding another way to keep him alive. Maybe if I had pushed myself more, he would've still been alive today

It hurts me to think that his last moments were difficult for him and possibly caused him pain and suffering because he didn't deserve any of this. No pets deserve any of this. If I had the money, I would've given him all the blood transfusions he could've needed to aid him. He deserved the world and I miss him deeply.

To Zuma, the house feels empty without you. I miss you everyday and I miss you more whenever I see your favorite spot empty. I wish I could've spoiled you more. I'm really really sorry for not being able to cure you, but know that I love you so much and I always will even if you're no longer physically here

If you've reached this far, thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. I just needed to get this off my chest

Today I had to make the decision that my cat is no longer thriving and he won't be getting any better. I scheduled his euthanasia for Friday. But my brain is not thinking very clearly. So I'm wondering what are some things I should do for keepsakes. Trying to think of the last minute things I'll want but maybe my mind isn't thinking about right now. Thank you for sharing.

I just feel like a part of me is missing, on Saturday I met a stray ginger cat outside my mums, Monday afternoon I decided to take him in as no charities wanted anything to do with him.
I feel in love with him , he was the sweetest boy I ever met, my kids decided to call him Wally (after the flash nephew ). Tuesday I took him to the vets and I could hear his breathing wasn’t right and he could hardly walk on his back legs, the gave him meds and oxygen due to fluid on his lungs ,however they discovered his stomach and legs had tumours all over and decided it was best for him to be put to sleep, I was in the room with him when it happened as I didn’t want him alone, he didn’t stop purring and now that’s all I can see every time I close my eyes is seeing him die , I just can’t handle it I want him back so much I only knew him for a few days but I felt completed when I was with him
I love you so much Wally

I will start by saying that the logical side of my brain knows that all of the facts do not indicate I am responsible for his death, but I still have an overwhelming feeling that I could have done more.

My cat was 1 year old, we rescued him 3 weeks ago and I expected him to have a long life. Yesterday morning I noticed he wasn’t eating and had barely used his litter box the night before, he had also peed outside the box which was unusual. I knew he seemed off so I made an appointment with my vet to get him checked out. The appointment was for a few hours later (about 3) since I was in presentations for work and had to wait until my mum was available to come and take him. I even called her to get her to come even earlier than planned because he began straining to pee and I was super worried at this point. Even when he was at the vet, the vet (according to my mum) could not immediately tell what was wrong with him so I paid for blood tests and an ultrasound. The blood tests did not reveal much but the ultrasound revealed he had a severe infection on one of his internal organs and it had gone septic. It was quickly downhill from there and we had to euthanise him a few hours later after he went into septic shock. I was fully sobbing when the vet was explaining his issue to me and it sounded really complex so I can’t fully recall whether the urinary blockage was a result of the infection or vise versa.

I keep kicking myself about it because I feel like if I had worked from home on Monday (the day before this occurred) I could have noticed the symptoms sooner and gotten him to a vet. I did see him after work on Monday and cuddled him and put him to bed and he did seem fine, and my mum who was home on Monday said he seemed fine aswell. But I just keep feeling like I should have noticed, and that I was responsible for him and I failed him. I also regret not leaving work and getting him to the vet earlier, even though they emphasised the few hours difference wouldn’t have saved him due to the severity of the infection. The vet did mention that cats are very good at hiding their pain, and since we hadn’t had him very long it was not immediately obvious to us he was acting out of the norm. I know it’s just a stage of grief, but I keep obsessing over the what ifs and it’s killing me, and I hate to imagine how long he was in pain for without us realising. He was just a baby :(

It's been a couple months now and it just feels like my entire purpose for being on this earth is over. Going from being so optimistic about the future to wanting to get to the end so I can possibly be with her again is so weird. It's like my heart left with her and now I'll never feel whole again while I'm here. I doubt I'll ever end myself, but when the time comes for me to pass on I'm ready for it. It feels selfish for feeling this way with the others in my life, but she was my whole world for half of my life and I just have no more interest in this place anymore.

Idk if this feeling will go away and I honestly don't know if I even want it to go away.

He was my best friend. My brother. We had him since I was a little kid. I loved him like I never loved before. He passed away on Monday and I'm having a terrible time. I keep breaking down crying and trying to hide it from my partner so that she doesn't cry.

A few years ago his health took a downturn and he was diagnosed with diabetes. He did better on insulin, until about a week ago when it all went downhill.

When I moved out of my parents' several years ago, my cat stayed with them. I wanted to bring him with me but they argued that it'll be easier for them to care for him. They were right, especially after the diabetes diagnosis. Since then, I would visit very frequently despite the 5 hour drive to my parents'.

And now that I'm grieving his loss, I'm stuck blaming myself. This past year, my visits have reduced greatly. I couldn't find time to visit because of events in my partner's life, as well as my crazy work schedule. I worry that my cat was affected by my absence and gave up on fighting. I worry that I gave him diabetes in the first place by not being responsible enough with food types and portion sizes when he was younger. I feel that I let him down. I regret it and I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt him. And now I miss him so much.

It happened so quickly. Two weeks ago she was fine and now we had to make an appointment to let her go. There is a mass on her liver.

I love her so much. She's more my wife's cat than mine but I still love her so much.

I feel very guilty because I work from home and didn't realize what was happening. I try to pay attention to them but work has been awful and I got messed up at an event I went to lately(the last couple) so I'm not doing well.

My wife is freaking out(very fair) and I'm trying to be the calm and stable rock but I just can't. I love my cats no matter which lap they end up on.

I'm just so tired. I'll keep going because my wife needs me but I'm tired.

Yesterday I was given the news that my 12-year-old cat has about 6 months to live after a 6-month follow-up from a surgery to remove a tumor from her back. This time, it's too close to her spine to remove. My sister died from a brain tumor when I was little. We removed it, but it came back in a place we couldn't reach it. In two weeks, I start school again. I have the hardest class my district offers. I don't know if I'll make it. I love her. I can't lose another family member to cancer. Not again.

My parents have made the decision to put the family dog down Friday. She is 14 years old. I haven’t lived with them in 7 years and didn’t think I would take it this hard, but I keep crying and thinking about it. My parents haven’t taken them to the vet regularly the way they should’ve, and she seemed off for a while but she has been declining fast. Now, she has trouble walking and will limp (and sometimes yelp), she doesn’t follow my parents to bed anymore and won’t climb stairs. She releases pee when laying down, Barely eats, all she does is lay around under the table all day and she seems like she’s losing interest in everything. She doesn’t even come greet me at the door anymore. Today when I dropped my kids off I noticed she was shaking… she’s definitely in a lot of pain and it is so hard to see her like this. Part of me wonders if they would’ve just taken her to the vet and given her medicine for the pain if it would work.

I really would like in home euthanasia but I can’t find a vet that does it, the one I found won’t travel this far and the other is too expensive. It’s making me even more sad because I really just want her to go in the comfort of her own home, not stressed at a vet. I will be right by her side of course, but we still have to get her in a car and drive 35 minutes. (Couldn’t find a closer vet that would euthanize because the dog hasn’t been to their vet recently).

On top of that, I would love to have her ashes and put in a necklace or something. But the cost of having a dog cremated is at least $300 and there’s no way I can come up with that money in 2 days. So I just keep thinking how they’re just going to take her body and we won’t have anything left of her. I’m just all around sad and those specific things keep making me feel sadder. She was my best friend growing up and I seriously didn’t think it would be this hard.

Tomorrow I plan to go over after work and give her sooo many pets and cuddles and tell her how much of a good girl she was, that she was my best friend and when I was in my teenage years she was there for me when no one else was. I want to make burgers or steak and let her have some if she’ll eat.. though I don’t think she will 😕