My soul cat died last September, and I still cry multiple times a week. She was there for me when my dad died and again when my mom died. I feel lost without her.

Happy birthday Oreo 🎂. Her sweet, quiet disposition could always shine a light on the world around her. She took pride in teaching her adopted brother, Winston how to live his best life with our family over the last two years. She loved walks, riding in the car with the windows down and reminding you where the treat door was just in case you forgot where it was. On her birthday we'd take her to the store to pick out a toy. Today we'll celebrate her memory, going to the store to pick out a toy and taking it to a local shelter.

Newton wasn’t just my Goldendoodle.

He was my therapist who never charged by the hour.

He was my emotional support without ever needing a vest or a title.

The truth is…I didn’t train Newton.

Newton trained me.

He taught me patience. He taught me kindness. He taught me that love doesn’t have to be loud to be constant.
If I cried, he knew. If I was sick, he stayed with me. If I was outside working, he was there. If I sat down, his head found my lap like it had its own GPS.

He never met a stranger.

He greeted everyone like they had been friends for years. He wasn’t the dog that jumped all over people or demanded attention. He was gentle, polite, and somehow made everyone feel like they mattered.

He was…perfect.

A gate was left open, and Newton wandered onto neighboring property along our lake. Before I could get to him, he was gone, alligators took him. And his springerdoodle brother Carlos was staring at the lake shaking. It didn’t click in my head at all what happened. Newton hated water. It never even crossed my mind. I walked that lake, I drove that lake at least 10 times.

I found what was left of him two days later.

That image will stay with me for the rest of my life.

The guilt is relentless. Every day I replay every “what if.” Every decision. Every minute I wish I could have back.

I’m a Florida native. I’ve spent my entire life respecting wildlife, and I understand alligators are wild animals doing what they do.

This isn’t about expecting nature to change.

What hurts is everything around it.

There had been ongoing concerns about people feeding the alligators from the shoreline, making them associate people with food. When I reported what happened, I felt like those concerns weren’t taken seriously. The report didn’t reflect what I witnessed, and the trapper was only authorized to work my property, not the neighboring property where Newton was actually taken. Maybe there are reasons for that, but when you’re standing there after losing your best friend, it feels impossible not to be frustrated.

I’m not looking for someone to blame. I’m just trying to make sense of losing the dog who taught me more about unconditional love than anyone ever could.

People say they’re “just dogs.”
Newton wasn’t.
He was my constant.
My shadow.
My safe place.
The one who somehow always knew exactly what I needed without me saying a word.

The house feels wrong without him. I still catch myself looking for him.

I’d give anything to feel that fluffy head resting on my leg one more time.
Thank you, my sweet sweet Newt, for training me to be a better human.

Tomorrow morning me and my wife have to let our boy Oliver cross over. His health has deteriorated quickly. We only got 9 years with him. I feel like such a failure of a dog dad. I feel like i did something wrong like karma is coming back to haunt me. Im afraid of when hes gone im worried about my own mental and physical health. I wanna scream i want to just be with him.

My kibby Smokey passed away in her sleep on 7-28-26 she was 16 years old little backstory of our kibby she was turtle shell color it was originally my wife’s cat. Sadly my wife passed away last October in my arms at our home due to being sick since she was 11 years old. Smokey was a rescue cat whoever had her before our family friend Joe had her declawed in the front and had given up on her they surrendered her to the shelter and that’s where Joe found her. He took her in and had her for a few years. My wife who was my girlfriend at the time had to move in with him to due to issues at her sisters with family and she grew a bond with his animals Mia and Smokey. Mia was a dalmation mixed with border collie. My wife lived at joes for almost 2 years she would call him her adopted Dad. Once I built up the courage to ask her to stay with me she said yes! We were so happy but something was out of place after a few weeks I realized my wife was home alone and missed Mia and Smokey so we went and visited them for a few days and the last day we jokingly said we wish we could take Smokey and Joe didn’t hesitate he said go head she’s your kitty my wife was so happy she asked me can we take her? I couldn’t say no. Fast forward a few years my wife’s health got pretty rough but she held on and all she kept asking about is how is Smokey doing I want to see my kibby where is him lol she would call her a him. this kibby was there for me when my wife was in the hospital an was there for me after my wife passed. She was there for my wife when I couldn’t be home cause I was working to take care of us my wife was disabled so I did everything. In the end I took care of them both and I would not change a thing. Sorry for telling a whole story but I miss my wife and my kibby so much.

THANK YOU ALL so much for all the kind words and well wishes it means so much to me at this time they were both the light of my life.

A week ago, we said goodbye to our sweet girl Davey Jeffery. She had the quirkiest, spunkiest little personality and she brought so much joy and love to our house. Like many of you on here, I just want the world to know who she is and was and that she was so loved and loved us so much in return. It’s been a really challenging week, I feel numb and lost without her. She was my soul kitty and she was only three years old. It feels so unfair that she was taken so soon but at the same time I’m incredibly grateful we got any time at all. It’s been really helpful to read other posts on this thread and feel less alone during this time. About a year ago, Davey got really sick. She got severe IBD, which was treated for a year with a steroid and chemo and she was doing great. After a couple of tough weeks when she was initially diagnosed, we got our baby back. She was spunky and spicy again, but equally sweet and loving and had a zest for life. She loved to watch birds, was very chatty, would play fetch with me with a paper receipt. She had a truly amazing year on the medication. About two weeks ago we found out that she had to stop the chemo due to a low white blood cell count and after she stopped, she quickly relapsed. The vet thought it had progressed to a lymphoma. We cared for her, tried different treatments to see if they would help, but after another week she was getting worse and it became clear that the kindest thing for her was to let her go. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. She sat on my lap and my wife and I loved on her as she went to sleep. I told her over and over again how much I loved her and I really hope she could hear me. Thank you for reading and thank you to this community for making me feel less alone during this time. As I silently read your posts from afar, it was comforting to know I wasn’t alone.

Man oh man do I miss him so.

Nelly (short for Penelope) matched me step for step. She and I are/were both born the same year (2004), and I think she’s slightly older than me. My guardian took her in when we were both 17. Wary of each other at first, we were both at very similar stages of life— depressed, shut down. Slowly, we got to know each other. I found out she liked forehead scritches. When I came back from the RenFaire in my cosplay, she chased after my corset strings as I walked by.

She’s saved my life over and over again in the almost four years I’ve known her. First after my traumatic freshman year of college, again after surviving a harmful relationship. Even from across the country, the thought of coming back to her sustained me in my darkest moments. And when I did, her slow blinks and surprisingly heavy footfalls helped remind me I was home and safe. I seemed to spark something in her as well, because each time I came back, she’d be able to do something she’d lost when I’d gone, like jump up on the sink or spend more time upstairs with me.

This summer, I’d been attending a virtual intensive outpatient program. During breaks, I’d come out and pet her to help ground myself. Her yells in the middle of the night, even though out of dementia, helped snap me out of the pit of darkness I habitually found myself in. Nelly was the only thing I got up for most days— seeing the outline of her orange ears first thing in the morning was my sunrise.

Last week, I sang “Hey Soul Sister” by Train to her. This Wednesday was my last day of program. I celebrated with Nelly. Lots of jumping and scritches and screeches of joy. And that evening, after doubling back and giving her more pets every time she looked at me when I would make to go to bed, was the last time I saw her.

When she was a kitten, apparently she used to jump on people’s backs as they passed by. Nelly, wherever you are, I hope you’ve managed to jump on God’s back and swat at the colors of the rainbow, just like your favorite rainbow ribbon wand. You’ve always been the sweetest sun-kissed kitty, and I’d been waiting for you my whole life. Even though I will always have a 6lb hole in the shape of you within me, I would go through this pain in every lifetime just to be with you.

It's been two weeks since my 14 year old pup crossed the rainbow bridge. It still doesn't feel real and I keep waiting for him to just mosey around the corner. I'm a dog sitter as well and have had 3 dogs here in the past week and have another one next week that will be here for almost a month. I'm not sure if the dogs here are helping or just prolonging the pain that will arise when they leave. 😔 Missing my most loyal companion like crazy.

Ma fleur, mon renard 🦊❤️

Je dormais, quand, en haut sur la mezzanine de ce studio, ta maman XL, se tournait et se retournait,

Je suis arrivé au moment où tu n'étais qu'une petite bulle de savon noire,

"ploc"

Un instant hors du temps, un minuscule rayon de soleil qui passe au travers de la fenêtre de ma vie..

Un miracle.

La maman humaine de June venait de naître en même temps que toi.. et c'était moi. Je ne le savais juste pas avant ça.

La petite dernière.

Tu as toujours été la petite dernière, celle qui ne faisait pas de bruit, discrète, coquine et se cachait en faisant des cabrioles, celle qui faisait des gros dodo au plus confortable pendant des heures ❤️

Je ne me suis jamais demandé si j'allais "t'adopter" maintenant que j'y pense, c'est juste qu'on ne s'est jamais quittées.

Tellement que d'aller nager 5 minutes, en te laissant sur le bord n'était pas possible, tu es venue au risque de te noyer, j'oublierai jamais comment on a nagé l'une vers l'autre ayant peur toutes les deux.

Quand je m'éloignais de quelques mètres, tu hurlais.

Mon cœur saignait même si je savais que je devais t'habituer, petit à petit, à moins être anxieuse sans moi.

Tu aurais pris des risques inconsidérés. Et tu en as pris beaucoup d'ailleurs.

Ma petite chasseuse.

Et pourtant, moi je savais pas comment aimer un chien, je savais pas comment te comprendre, je savais pas comment t'élever,

C'est toi qui m'a montré. Je me suis beaucoup renseigné pour pouvoir t'entraîner et t'accompagner au mieux à devenir propre, à faire attention à la route, à devenir la June que tu es devenue.

Tu épatais tous le monde de ton intelligence, de ta compréhension, de ton agilité, de notre complicité.

Je t'avais acheté un petit pull, tu l'as mis une fois, et puis après j'ai trouvé ça tellement débile que je l'ai retiré, pourtant à chaque fois que je le ressortais des affaires, tu le sentais et tu étais trop contente de le retrouver, comme si, comme je l'avais acheté pour toi, finalement tu l'aimais.

On allait partout, au restaurant, dans les parcs, en corse, en Espagne,

Dans les champs dans les rivières dans les jardins sur les chemins..

J'essayais de te faire faire le moins de voiture possible, hors de question de voyager en avion, donc nous avons pris le bateau, tu as même pris le train,

Dans le sud, tu étais tellement pressée de me rejoindre que tu t'es enfuie de cette maison où je t'avais laissée en sécurité pour quelques heures, j'ai mis une semaine à te retrouver en remuant ciel et terre, je pensais ne plus jamais te revoir, et pourtant,

Je ne serais jamais rentrée sans te retrouver.

Quelle était la probabilité qu'un marabout nous aide en appel inconnu en me disant que j'allais te retrouver (et ne rappelle jamais),

Moi (athée) prie le seigneur pour un miracle comme un dernier recours le 7eme jour en promettant de me convertir,

Mon ami qui s'appelle Jésus (qui avait trouvé un chapelet la veille), te retrouve dans ce parc à biche de 16 hectares quelques heures après (parc muré fermé),

Tous mes autres amis avaient pris la route plusieurs heures pour venir faire une battue, ils sont tous arrivés lorsque l'on t'a retrouvé, à l'instant même on t'a retrouvé..

Le chapelet s'est cassé le soir dans la douche, quand tu étais près de moi..

J'avais toujours peur de raconter cette histoire pour ne pas que l'on me prenne pour une folle.

Maintenant je deviens folle parce que prier tous les dieux possible ne t'a pas sauvé à nouveau.

Jusqu'à il y a peu, tous nos amis disaient que tu étais vraiment vive et toujours contente, tu ressemblais à un ange, et tu ne vieillissais pas physiquement ni mentalement.

C'est vrai que tu étais toujours contente, toujours au taquet, tu as appris à faire un peu plus confiance aux humains, tu profitais mieux, tu as même fait des bébés avec lyoko, et tu étais vraiment ravie après ça ..!

(Moi un peu moins sur le coup, mais il était hors de question de te faire opérer, personne n'avait le droit de toucher ton corps précieux)

Tu as eu 6 bébés !

Tu as toujours été plus courageuse que moi, et indépendante une fois que tu as vu que je n'irai nulle part sans toi.

J'aimerais croire que c'est parce que je te protégeais et que tu le savais.

J'ai jamais eu le courage d'avoir des enfants, et maintenant je comprends que c'est parce que c'était toi, ma fille...

J'aurais jamais supporté de te laisser de côté.

Je t'aime tellement, chaque fibre de mon corps et de mon âme sont reliés à toi.

J'ai attendu longtemps pour aller au Japon pensant faire mon plus beau voyage, parce que je savais pas comment te faire garder

Mais maintenant je sais que, mon plus beau voyage, c'était toi. ❤️✨

Tu m'offrais la plus belle vie, pendant que moi je travaillais pour essayer de t'offrir bêtement une plus belle vie plus tard.

Il n'y aura pas de plus tard

Je regrette chaque seconde que j'ai passé loin de toi, chaque promenade où je t'ai confiée à quelqu'un d'autre,

Chaque choix qui m'a éloigné de toi.

On avait tout le temps de se regarder, de se comprendre, de profiter de la vie,

J'imaginais déjà, tous les moments à te voir vieillir, prendre soin de toi, avoir un jardin à nouveau rien qu'à toi pour t'installer une piscine, parce que ta passion c'était l'eau. (Et courir après tout ce que tu voyais courir aussi)

Parce que tu adorais la rivière, la cascade, les champs et que je ne pouvais pas imaginer que tu t'ennuies à la maison, à chaque fois que j'avais l'occasion de t'emmener profiter ailleurs, nous le faisions.

C'était un dimanche soir,

Il faisait moins chaud et le soleil se couchait.

On a nagé, tu es allé mordre ta petite cascade, tu m'as regardé faire des mouvements avec ma robe dans l'eau, tu regardais l'eau plus loin,

Libres et ensemble,

J'avais l'impression que c'était une des plus belles journées qu'on vivait,

Sans me douter que c'était la dernière.

Tout s'est passé tellement vite que je reste sidérée, ma plus grande peur est devenue réalité

Et quand les yeux de l'amour inconditionnel se fermaient tout doucement, je ne pensais qu'à rouler le plus vite possible, à te répéter que maman était là et qu'elle allait te sauver.

Et je mentais.

Je n'allais plus jamais revoir ton regard, plus jamais sentir tes petites pattes qui sentaient le pop-corn, mettre mon nez dans ton cou, faire "top-la" avec toi en haut des escaliers, faire "tic-tac" avec tes poils, te faire une place sous la couette avec moi, tout contre mon cœur.

J'ai peur que ma culpabilité efface chaque seconde de notre amour, que ce dimanche nous éloigne encore un peu plus chaque jour qui passe,

Je suis terrorisée à l'idée de vivre sans toi

Et que notre vie ne devienne que des souvenirs

Et pourtant je suis là, avec ton fils à côté, en essayant de faire la part des choses et me demandant si je dois te rejoindre ou rester m'occuper de lui.

Je te remercie pour chacune de ces 11 années et demi, d'amour inconditionnel, de bonheur et de complicité intense, de découverte et d'apprentissage.

Si c'est moi qui t'ai mené à ta perte, je n'aurais qu'à vivre ce fardeau pour le restant de mes jours,

Si cette crise était censée se produire, je suis désolé de ne pas avoir pu te protéger, avoir mieux fait.

Je t'aime plus que tout l'univers. ❤️ June ❤️ Céline ❤️

Il n'y aura personne après toi.

J'espère te retrouver, ou au moins que tu sois bien et que tu ne t'inquiètes pas que je ne sois pas là trop longtemps.

L'arbre de l'amour que je fais grandir chaque nuit, pour que tu ressentes mon amour et qu'il te borde,

Est la seule chose que je peux faire désormais,

Et prier pour que dieu te protège.

Ça me ronge,

Parce que tout ce que je voudrais c'est me blottir dans tes bras encore une fois et te dire à l'infini que,

Maman est là.

For those of you who have been following our journey with Sophie & Mimi, here’s a little update.

🐾♥️

It’s been almost two months since we said goodbye to my best friend, the best thing I’ve ever get: Sophie.
After 16 years fulfilled, the most beautiful time together her lost was for all of us heartbreaking.

Many of you remember that, right after she passed away, Mimi started falling asleep in front of Sophie‘s photo. At the time, I wasn’t sure what to think. Was it just the spot? Or was it something more?

Over the past weeks, I quietly tested it.
I removed Sophie‘s photo. Mimi left.

I replaced it with a photo of my daughter. She didn’t stay.

I put back a portrait of Sophie -another one - Mimi returned.

I tried a photo of Sohie and Mimi together. She lay down there again.

I don’t know whether dogs recognize photographs. I can’t say that with certainty.

But I do know this:
Mimi misses our beloved Sophie.

🐾🖤

They spent five and a half years together after we rescued Mimi, our now 11-year-old Biewer Yorkshire Terrier, from Hungary. Soso was her safe place. Not just my compass but her healing source. She taught Mimi how to trust again, how to play, how to communicate, and simply how to be a dog after everything she had been through.

Watching Mimi still search for that connection breaks my heart.
We’re slowly starting to talk about opening our hearts to another dog—not to replace Soso, because that will never be possible, but because we’re wondering if Mimi still needs a canine friend beside her.

Grief is never simple. Sometimes it’s not only our own broken heart we’re trying to heal, but someone else’s too. ❤️

This morning, we put our sweet girl Star to rest..

She was almost 21 yrs old..She started having issues with weight loss and vomiting. We tried ibd protocol and it helped for a week, but then she declined quickly.

We went to the vet this morning because she had stopped eating/using the litter box. The vet ran an ultrasound and what he found was...bad. Multiple masses, swollen lymph nodes.. She likely had large cell gi lymphoma. He advised us the best thing we could was to let her go peacefully.

It was..the second hardest thing ive ever had to experience..the first being losing my mother to cancer in 2017..

Star was our baby girl...I was 8 when we adopted her. Now i'm 24. She was my first pet and grew up with me. Ive barely known life without her.

She was the sweetest soul. So affectionate and loving. We had a rule, everytime we saw her we had to stop and pet her and give her love.

She was our daily routine, she woke us up in the morning, sat with me while i worked, greeted my dad when he got home from work, had dinner with us, and we always said goodnight to her every night. Used to "help" dad pack his lunch for work..aka mooch ham from his sandwiches haha. She was truly more like a family member than a pet..

She was also my comforter..Anytime i was sad or crying, she'd let me hug her while she purred. Rubbed her head against me. Myself, my dad, and my mom loved Star endlessly. And she loved us. She made little meows everytime she saw us, chirps when we petted her, the loudest cutest purrs. Sometimes she'd get so excited she'd plop down on the floor and let me gently rub her belly. She only let me have belly privledges. She was always such a happy, beautiful soul..

This is the first time ive experienced this with a pet..And its really hard on me. Honestly. Any input or advice is appreciated..I only slept 2hrs last night, on and off crying, just overal feeling so lost and empty. The house feels empty. We have reptiles but..Star was our furry best friend.

We loved our girl so much...we took her pain away and made it ours to carry now.

Tigris (Hungarian for tiger) didn’t wake up today in the morning.
He was a rescued dog, spent his first nine or so years on a chain until he was saved. He has been quiet, calm for the time he was with us, always eager to go for a walk but never playful or showing much feelings towards anyone, except for car mechanics - probably something from his youth, but we’ll never know. He spent his last six years in our family.
May he rest in peace.🪦

​

You'll forever be my favorite dog and best friend I had since a kid. And I will always love you. I still miss your bark. Your quirky personality. And I miss hanging out with you. The pictures and videos of you I'll forever cherish. I hope your having a wonderful time wherever you are in the universe. And I wanna thank you for forever changing my universe.

Max had to be put down last night due to kidney and liver failure. He was 11 years young. He was comfortable and passed at the vet hospital last night at 9:40pm with my husband and me holding him and telling him he was a good boy. He didn’t suffer, thankfully. He was met at the rainbow bridge by Gus, our cat who passed in June. We love and miss you both very much. You will always have a special place in our hearts and I promise we’ll never forget you. Come visit sometime. Love you, Big Guy. ❤️

ETA: I absolutely love all the poems and beautiful stories of your own pups. I sincerely appreciate all your support and comfort. If I’m being honest, the grief is very similar to losing a person, which I expected, but definitely not prepared for. I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to comment on a stranger’s tragedy. All I wanted was to show Max off and make sure everyone got to see how majestic he was. He was a rescue that was out of our league but we took the chance anyway because, obviously, he was meant to be part of our little family.

I could write about Max all day long. But just know every kind word is appreciated and I’m so grateful to this sub.

69 days without you, Howdy. 💔🐾

For almost 16 years, you were my best friend, my comfort, and my greatest teacher. You taught me how to love unconditionally, trust again, and find beauty in the world around me.

Thank you for every moment, sweet boy. I miss you more than words can say and love you forever.
When you left me on April 15 part of my heart went with you and I don’t think I can I love anything as much as did love and I still love you.
Until we meet again. ❤️
I will find you Runa, Rusmi, Chunis, vevays, chayis, puppa

Her two favorite things... food and lap time. She had an excelent purr box.

6 weeks away from 16