coping with dying pets – Jen Dionne's Life Adventures

Another Heartbreak to Endure…

We just lost our 4th pet in less than a year. He was our first cat, and he outlasted them all.

How he bit the bag of cat food rather than eat his cat food sitting out
How he preferred to eat out of the cat food bag rather than the food sitting out
How he worshipped the sun by laying in it all day long
How he had a limit of holding him of 10 seconds
How he loved having his chin scratched
How he only liked whole milk and not skim milk
How he liked to go outside
How he was perfect in every way
How he slept with his face planted in the blankets
How he couldn’t stand closed doors and would meow non-stop till it was opened (we would say he’s about to have an aneurysm)

Today, we had to put my cat down. She is the third pet we’ve lost this year. My heart is insanely broken. I can’t handle this.

Today, I had to put my sweet Irish Wolfhound down. She was a sweet, sweet puppy. She was 10. She lived a good life.

Her sweet temperment
Her attachment to me. How she cried every time I left home and ran at me when I got home
Her sweet bark
Her majesty and beauty
Our walks
Her desire to chase bunnies but didn’t because she was so well trained
Her dreadlocks
Her small ears
Her undying love and devotion to me
How she laid in her grass
How she loved and protected her chickens
How I had to scratch her chin every night before bed
How people called her a Shetland pony
Her beard
How she leaned into you when you petted her
How she loved Dutch Bros
How she loved peanut butter
How she’d smash her bones on the concrete, so she could get to the interior, good marrow (she was incredibly smart)
How she’d raise her paw when she was laying down in a submissive posture, so you could pet her belly
How she ate snow for her water intake
How she stood for 24 hours when she had a cone on because she was afraid to lay down
How she wouldn’t eat when I’d go on vacation

Too much death in my life right now. I love you and miss you, Jewel! I’ll see you soon!

Today, I had to put my beautiful kitty down. She stopped eating and was in kidney failure. I couldn’t watch her starve to death.

How she laid on my side in the middle of the night
How she helped me roll out every morning
Her “Pet Me” meow
How she would sit next to me and meow till she was fed
How she would sit on heaters until I was done working out
How I called her “my shadow” because she followed me around
How she sat on my lap
How she used me as a stepping stone to her spot on my computer
How she moralled supported me every day at my job as she laid on my computer
How she used to sleep by my head
How I’d wake up in the middle of the night and she would be laying on my stomach
I’ll miss her presence the most

Now, she’s with my other pets, waiting on me to join them one day. Star Dust, I love you and miss you!

What I miss about my Great Dane:

His deep bark whenever anyone came to the door or on the property
His “whisper” he did in puppy training
His fierce protection of our family
His super soft ears
His huge front paws
How he was obsessed with food
His kind, gentle nature
His obsession with routine
His intense dislike of any change
Him in the garage every day as I worked out
His whining at my TrueForm runner
Being scared of his own shadow
How he laid on the front porch every morning to soak up the sun’s rays, blocking the front door
How he was insanely jealous of his sister, Jewel
How he pulled during walks and I couldn’t ever get him to stop
How he was afraid of the dog ramp
How the first day we moved, he got out, when down a dirt road, and stopped and barked till we came and got him
His look when he did something wrong, but he loped anyway
His droopy eyes
How he kept getting sunstroke when he couldn’t walk and got stuck in the sun
How I picked him up every day when he couldn’t walk, not wanting to ever let him go…
His cute winter sweater
The day I knew he was ready to go home

You can watch his memorial video here: