I was away and I told her I would board my dog with a friend. She told me to save the money, that she would be fine and could handle it. I told her repeatedly do not let my dog around the other dog with food around, although my dog is generally great with other dogs and put up with alot from my mom’s dog, the dog was a micro teacup and it wasn’t worth the risk if resources were around. 48 hours before the event happened I texted on the plane responding to a picture of them reminding her to be careful even if they were getting along. My warnings have never taken seriously, for example when this same dog bloated with GDV and almost died my mom joked about how she always thought I was being “psychotic or lazy” for getting upset if she tried to make my large breed dog move around less than 2 hours after eating. This fact alone is enough to make me feel stupid for trusting her with them together. I even bought the little dog food bowls to attach to her crate but I guess they weren’t pink or heart shaped and cute enough to use. She put the little dogs food in a bowl on the ground in a room my dog had access to and left the room. My dog apparently crushed her skull with one correction bite. I’m gutted. I’m angry. I’m heartbroken for my mom, for her dog and for my dog. I can’t look at my dog the same, I know she was set up to fail but I can’t help it. I don’t know how to move on and I feel sick. I personally found that breeder for the little dog, flew to pick her up, had a great time helping with potty training and crate training and she’s just fucking gone. Because of my dog, because I didn’t manage properly. I’m so angry at everything I don’t know how to move on. I don’t want to speak to anyone I’m embarrassed and sad. I feel like I can’t speak about it without my dog being labeled a monster when I know deep down it wasn’t aggression it was communication but she’s a large working breed and one correction was enough. I snapped today at my mom and said maybe if I was allowed to correct my dog for being a fuckwad at her house without hearing “don’t hurt her” (she’s not being abused I promise) then my dog would have had the fear of correction in her mind and not been so quick to take it into her own hands. My mom started to cry and said “yea it’s my fault your dog made my puppy’s eyes fall out of her head”. I can’t take this anymore I don’t want to be here. I don’t want my dog. My entire life feels shattered.

my cat passed away 5 years ago due to complications with her mouth, causing her to not eat for numerous days. i was only about 14/15 when it occurred, and it hurt me bad. i genuinely couldn’t remember a day without it her before her passing.

now, i still occasionally cry about her death. if i come across a video of a cat that meows like her or even resembles her, i cry hard.

is that normal?? ik im sensitive but i feel like sometimes its needed, other times not so much. i just don’t want to ever forget about her, and maybe crying occasionally is what helps prove to myself that i still care. i wish i could just handle grief regularly idk.

I've read a few threads on this page with a similar line of reasoning, but I am very distressed over my current circumstance and would love some insights/opinions/experiences.

My 12 year old golden retriever, who has 3 legs after losing her hind leg to sarcomas a year ago, has just been told there is a huge mass in her chest which is putting pressure on her thorax, moving her heart to the ribs, and preventing space for oxygen intake. She's had a splenectomy this year, and a nasty bout of tick fever. All in all, she has been dealt a really difficult set of cards but.... she's happy. Happier than any dog I've seen. She outlived our late dog who had no health issues aside from artheritis, she is sprinting on 3 legs, she begs for food at any given scenario (if I make a snack in the middle of the night she'll wake up and beg), and she craves hanging out with her dog pals.

We went to the vet on saturday because of fluid build-up in her abdomen (2L!!). Even after her mass diagnosis, we were told she has 'weeks to months' to live, and can't exercise/exert herself much, but the minute she came out of the clinic, she ran away from staff and sprinting towards me, and has continued to try since. Her appetite hasn't wavered one bit, and shes still begging and rolling around after getting meat.

I know what the end result is of a chest mass pressing on the lungs, thorax and heart. I have cried and cried, I have barely slept, but everytime I bring up euthanasia in front of her she begins barking hysterically, even if she's silent. When I'm particularly distressed putting on her harness, she thinks shes going to the vet and starts shaking uncontrollably (never done this before).

I guess my question is, knowing the inevitable suffering, how do i reconcile the fact my dog doesn't want to go, and is still happy now, with the potential threat of hypoxia and acute suffering that comes with leaving it too late?

Selfishly, I have to go on a work trip on Sunday and I am dreading leaving her.

Earlier today, I had to put my cat down. I feel awful or as if I took away her agency by doing so. She was so sickly that the vet said she could die at any moment while we were there, and that even with treatment that she'd still continue to suffer regardless. I've been trying to go about my day as normal, but I have so much guilt. I keep wondering if she'd forgive me for this if she could. I've been looking at posts of people talking about losing their pets, and I've seen people say that if you aren't with your pets when they get euthanized that you're a bad pet owner or that you've done wrong by them. In that moment she had to be put down, she was already practically asleep. I pet her as much as I could before the vets took her, and she was almost entirely unresponsive. I didn't want to remember her like this, or have that memory of her being put down. She was so lively beforehand, and even just seeing the state she was in when I took her to the vet horrifies me. I feel selfish for not wanting to be there for her. Everything I see online about whether or not you should stay and watch or leave makes me feel horrible. I feel horrible for even trying to live my day as usual too. I felt so detached in the moment, I still do to some degree. I didn't want to talk about it to anyone I know because I figured they wouldn't care or that I'd just be a burden on their day, and it makes me wonder if me seeming so callous made me seem like I don't care. It's all hitting me now what had happened. I feel like I've betrayed her, I feel awful that these were her final moments, and I feel awful for not being there to watch over her.

just breaking down and sobbing again because i still cant believe i allowed this to happen. i hoped he would somehow get better and start eating again like he did once before. but he didn’t. my denial had severe consequences, and the guilt is destroying me . i didn’t get him to the vet soon enough, and there was a decent chance it would’ve prevented this outcome. now there’s absolutely nothing i can do to make it right or fix what has happened. im just forever stuck living with the reality that my pet is no longer here on this earth because of my own poor judgment. i don’t know how to move past that. it is so unfair that my life gets to go on, like nothing ever happened, while his does not. it’s so devastating. i made a permanent mistake and i’ll have to carry the regret for the rest of my life.

My cat experienced over 8 long hours of extreme pain before his death and I’ve never felt guiltier.
He died of “saddle thrombus (fetal aortic thromboembolism)” which is basically a blood clot that stops blood flow and kills him and it says this is excruciatingly painful.
But I was so stupid I didn’t research what it was until after he died.
Why? I don’t know.
I live far away and I wanted my parents to wait til I arrive the next day to put him down so that I could be there, not knowing he wouldn’t make it and if I had googled it I would have known.
I will never forgive myself for this.

Goodbye, Mamu. You came into my life as Stephen, but you will forever be my Mamu. ❤️🐾

Born: 7 June 2009

Left me: 12 October 2026, at 3:45 PM

His real name was Stephen. But I lovingly called him Mamu, inspired by the song from the Bollywood movie Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.

There wasn't even a character named Mamu in the movie. It was the song that caught on, and somehow, without anyone planning it, the nickname stuck. Slowly, everyone forgot to call him Stephen. His real name became something only his official records remembered. To us, he was Mamu.

And Mamu he remained until his last day.

He was my Indian Spitz, my companion for more than 17 years, and a part of my life that I can never replace. From 7 June 2009 to 12 October 2026, he lived through different phases of my life, and through all those years, he was simply there—being my Mamu.

As he grew older, his health began to deteriorate. There were years of constipation, and later came kidney and liver problems, heart issues, seizures, shivering, vomiting, weakness, and a gradual loss of appetite. His final days were especially difficult. I spent so much time worrying about his reports, medicines, food, and every change in his behaviour. I kept looking for answers because I wanted to understand what was happening to him and what I could do to help.

There were vet visits, blood tests, medicines, sleepless nights, and moments when even the smallest improvement gave me hope. I tried to make him comfortable in every way I could.

In his final days, his blood tests showed severe anemia and serious kidney dysfunction. He developed a very high fever and struggled to breathe. Two vets advised us to consider putting him to sleep. I asked for one more day because I wasn't ready to let go. I wanted to be sure I had done everything I could for him.

I even brought an oxygen concentrator home, hoping it would help him breathe more comfortably. But his body was very weak, and the oxygen wasn't helping as I had hoped.

On 12 October 2026, at 3:45 PM, my Mamu left me forever.

I still find it difficult to accept that he is gone. I keep going back over those final hours, wondering whether I could have done anything differently. I know he was very ill, but when you love an animal this much, the mind keeps searching for another possibility, another answer, another chance.

What hurts is that the world may see him as just a dog who lived a long life. But to me, he was never just a dog. He was Stephen on paper, Mamu in my heart, and family in every way that mattered.

A name that began as a playful nickname became the name everyone used. And now, when I think of him, I don't think of a medical report or a list of illnesses. I think of Mamu. My Mamu.

I wish I could have had more time. I wish I could have spared him those difficult final days. Most of all, I wish I could call out “Mamu” one more time and have him here with me.

Thank you for the 17 years of memories, my boy. Thank you for being part of my life from 2009 to 2026. You may no longer be beside me, but the name I gave you out of love will always belong to you.

Goodbye, Stephen. Goodbye, Mamu.

You were loved before the world knew you as Mamu, and you will be loved long after this world can no longer see you.

Rest peacefully, my boy. You will always be mine. 🌈🐾❤️

I’m so sad right now. My sweet male cat had started struggling to use the litterbox and had a blockage. I took him to the vet to get checked out and he had the blockage removed and was prescribed amoxicillin.

I thought he was on the mend and going to recover but later that day he was blocked up again and passed away suddenly during the night. He wasn’t crying out in pain or yowling or any obvious signs of distress. He was drinking water and eating so his death caught me so off guard and shocked me. He was only 3 years old and I’d had him since he was a kitten.

This is awful. I hate this. Rest in peace little guy

life just feels so empty now. dull. i feel like those around me just don't understand or care about the fact that i lost my entire world in a matter of a few hours.

i have nightmares every single night since his passing. even before then, when i noticed he was getting weaker. sicker. i am exhausted. sleep deprived. depressed. alone.

a lyric i keep coming back to:

"you're just thinking it's a small thing that happened

the world ended when it happened to me"

i am struggling to get myself to work. to feed myself actual meals and not just eat tortilla chips and oreos. even to brush my teeth. i know he would want me to be happy. but how can i be? my happiness is gone, it left the exact moment his body went limp.

My dog died. I knew it was coming, just didn’t know when.
First two days was hard. And then for the first time in my life, my brain was silent for the first few weeks. No over thinking, no thoughts, no crying…

It’s been 2 months and now I think my brain is slowly starting to grieve? I lost my nephew 2 years ago and then had another family loss 2 weeks after my dog passed. I don’t want to miss her. I don’t want to rmemeber her and I feel so guilty. Like I just thought about it. My dog is gone and I’ll never get her back and I hate my life. I have a toddler who keeps reminding me she isn’t here. My family have been amazing allowing me to grieve but I wasn’t grieving I was just blank until now. I’m just so lost and feel selfish and guilty. My priority should obviously be my child but I suddenly just hate the world right now and I genuinely want my dog back so badly but every time I go to think or cry about it, I force myself to stop because I’m so afraid. While I didn’t feel like I was grieving, my grief shows in other ways. I’m impatient with my daughter, I avoid social outings even more now and it’s making me feel even worse.

I got a 8 week old kitten not too long ago after wanting to adopt a cat for the longest time. This guy Shiki genuinely made me the happiest ever. Yesterday, I got home and he was acting a little lethargic, though I thought he might’ve just been tired. Later that day he became generally normal again, eating, using litter, and embracing me like nothing had happened.

Today when I came home from work, he hadn’t even touched the food I had left him, so when I went to go check on him, I found him lethargic and cold. I rushed him to the vet as soon as I could, but they told me he was extremely anemic and in critical condition. They tried their best but told me that there was no guarantee that he would live. They told me he was suffering, and I unfortunately had to let him go.

I managed to compose myself until I got back to my room with nothing but reminders of my failure. I don’t know what to do, my room feels so lonely and I miss his little cries. I got him to keep my company, but now that he’s gone I feel so alone and I can’t even imagine trying to get a new cat now, it feels wrong.

I’m lost, alone, and mourning. I tried my best to take care of such a loving baby, but now he’s gone and I don’t know what to do.

I made a throwaway account to vent because i dont have anyone in my real life to talk to. I don’t want to burden them further.
I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder when I was 13 years old, and since then ive managed but its been nothing close to easy. I left an abusive household with my cat when I was 15. years later ive just been working to support me and my cat, living with my narcissistic mother and paying for my keep. its exhausting, and recent events dare i say have made it 10x harder just to live day-to-day.

my cat who ive been taking care of since i was 4 is getting close to passing. its to the point i have to make a decision and appointment to put her down. my beautiful sweet cat has been the main thing keeping me tethered to this world.
It feels as if my whole world is crumbling. im spending as much time as i can with her, making the appointment and giving her my all. along with continuing to work and search for another job to pay for her euthanasia and cremation. (selfish, i know.)
i dont want her to suffer. she is an amazing cat, always there for me, helped me quit sh and smoking, been here when i got out of hospital, and always ALWAYS has loved me back. I dont want to get into it on the internet since i havent even spoken about it much to anyone, but my cat, my saving grace, was a gift from my first handler. and she stayed with me in my care since. alot of people dont know this, and are undermining my connection to my cat and the pain im experiencing having to make this decision. it feels like my world is falling apart around me. and im terrified

trigger warning, speaking vaguely about very dark thoughts. please keep yourselves safe and treat yourselves gently.

im so scared to be alone, truly alone again. I honestly dont know what im going to do to myself. my closest friend is terrified for me, if god only knows then she has an idea of the toll this is going to take on me on top of everything else.

I have a mini schnauzer rescue that was abused and neglected before we adopted him 8 years ago. Charlie attached himself to me all those years ago and we have been inseparable ever since. He is my last best friend because I’ve already lost my other three best animal friends. Charlie is my only connection without him I don’t have anybody. My heart has been shattered since last Friday when the vet said Charlie has a low quality of life and recommended euthanasia. I’ve been crying ever since that night and haven’t been able to stop. I just lost my dad 9 months ago and find it completely unfair that I have to lose my best buddy now. I realize he has lived an amazing life with me and he’s had more love from me than he probably had in his entire life. I wish I didn’t have to lose him but it would be incredibly selfish to keep him earth side. My mom and I have a chi poo but she is attached to my mom and doesn’t love me the way Charlie always has. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him. I know one thing is for sure, I will be lonely without him.

My baby boy Garçon, the love of my life passed 28 days ago. If I am not completely drained from my day I won't be able to sleep.

As soon as I close my eyes I see him come running towards me, or flashbacks of his last moment. It hurts so much, 2 days, 28 days it's the same.

He's gone and it is killing me from inside. Grief is agony. His absence is agony.

I spend my days distracting myself. I binge watch Game of Thrones, paint the house, draw, I do journaling, I got 7 piercings since hes gone. All distractions during the day hoping it will make me fall asleep at night.

Tonight it's a night where my thoughts come before sleep.

I miss him so much. So so so so fucking much.

Have any of you experienced any sort of afterlife once your pets passed? My dog passed over 7 months ago. The day after he passed, I was sleeping in my bed and I woke up to a heaviness at my feet. It felt like a big heavy dog and I woke up and saw a silhouette of him which quickly vanished. I have another dog but he is small and I would know the difference in weight between him and my deceased dog. I haven't been able to shake that feeling since. I actually convinced myself he was coming through to me through my child's keyboard but I think the battery was just dying lol. But that first experience has really stuck with me and I wish I could feel it again. Sorry if this is strange. I would just love to know other people's experiences. I just miss him and I really hope that what I felt that night was real

Hi everyone, to jump right into it, I lost my soul kitty almost 2 weeks ago. He passed naturally of old age (18 years old), in his favorite spot, with me next to him. It was completely unexpected but I know he was happy. My grief has been unbearable. He’s the first pet I’ve ever lost, and he was my closest companion for all of those 18 beautiful years. Now, I’m scared to be alone and I can barely stand even being at my house. I have never felt such a deep loneliness.

That brings me to my problem… I’ve never lived without a cat, so my boyfriend and I have started making plans to welcome two kittens into our hearts. Part of me is so happy, but I can’t help but feel guilty for getting a new pet so soon after my baby passed. Everyone I talk to seems to have mixed opinions. Half have told me to go get a cat right away, others have said they waited years after losing theirs. I feel like either way, I’m not making the right decision. I know timelines are very individualized, but is 2 weeks WAY too soon?? I like to think that my past baby is guiding me to my next friend, and that I’m on the right path, but I still feel like I’m disrespecting him in a way. Has anyone else ever dealt with these feelings? What did your timeline look like?

It's been 7 months since I lost my cat and lately I've been worrying about something I never really thought about before.

I'm scared I'm going to forget the little things about her.

I still remember the big stuff, obviously. But sometimes I'll look at an old photo and realize I can't quite remember what she sounded like anymore. Or I'll try to remember some little habit she had and it takes me a minute.

I have so many pictures of her on my phone. Most of them are just her sleeping or sitting around doing absolutely nothing. I used to take pictures of everything she did, even the most boring stuff.

Now I'm really glad I did.

But photos don't really capture everything, you know? Like the little noises she'd make or the way she'd act when she wanted attention.

Sometimes I still look toward the places where she used to hang out, almost expecting her to be there. It's weird how those habits stick around.

I think that's what gets me the most. I'm slowly getting used to her not being here, but I don't want to get so used to it that I start forgetting what having her around actually felt like.

I've been thinking about writing down random memories whenever they come to me, even if they're silly or don't seem important.

Does anyone else worry about this? How do you keep those little memories from fading? I really don't want to forget her.

I came home after a few hours of work yesterday to find my cat dead, I was hysterical screaming crying everything. He was my baby always with me 24/7 slept when I slept awake when I was awake always cuddling I can’t cope with it. I’ve lost pets before but I’ve never had a bond like this. Always there when I was sad too. He was also just the sweetest boy could never even hurt a fly (seriously). When I try to sleep all I see is how I found him and I’m really struggling. He was only 4 years old, so it was so unexpected I thought I had many years left with him.

Title says it all. This is like a nightmare. I went from 3 dogs to 1 in just 10 days. My oldest dog (12yo) had cancer, my middle dog (10yo) had a million problems that escalated when his older sister passed, and now I’m left with just my youngest (4yo). My own grief is debilitating… and watching my remaining dog, husband and child grieve is fucking brutal. I know people in here will get it.

We just put down our 6 yr old sweet orange boy today. He had been in and out of the animal hospital for the past two weeks due to urinary blockages that just kept recurring. Had a cystotomy to manually evacuate bladder first time and came home after a week, had to bring him back the next day due to straining immediately and he spent five more days there. Got him back two days ago, and same thing, not even 12 hours later he’s howling in pain and not peeing.

Vet agreed he has a very awful case of blockages and despite everything, needed hospitalization again, and we mutually agreed we did not want to put him through anymore with very little hope he would even improve. So we put him down.

I know we did the right thing, and even though we could have kept trying we felt he had been through enough and wanted him to go peacefully. I’m just so devastated, I don’t understand why his case was so bad, it’s just so unfair. He was so young and the sweetest cat ever, and I’m just really struggling with the fact that’s he’s gone and not coming back, especially since we only had him home for like three days out of the past two weeks. It doesn’t feel real, and I just wish I could stop being so damn sad. Just kind of wanted to vent honestly idk what I’m expecting from this post.

After a year and a half, I realize that when you lose your soul animal, you can never to return to who you were. I am no longer that version of myself, I can't be, part of me died too. That doesn't mean It has to be a bad thing, it's just new, and the reality. Starting to think like this has helped me from drowning in grief, I'm different, but I'm still bringing him with me as a new version of myself. Together we will do great things for other animals. But it still hurts every day. How lucky are we to have known such love though, and to have them in life and death to keep us growing. I miss you boy.

We had to put down our beautiful boy Leroy today, and I just want people to know he existed.

He was vocal. He would wake yell at 5:30 for attention. Or treats. Or just because. He loved to go outside and walk around. He loved coming into the living room and demanding butt slaps. It was his favorite thing.

He had the most expressive eyes. He would stare into your soul and demand attention. And he got it. He was the king.

He came into my girlfriend’s life 15 years ago as a stray off the streets. Her dad didn’t want him, but bless her mom’s heart since she started sneaking him in at night. A place to sleep during the night turned into a home.

He was the best boy, and we miss him. We love him. And he’s at peace now.

My sweet, gentle, delicate cat, Babes, was given 2-3 weeks. I didn't expect this. I went to the vet today to get some medication for her skin allergies. She's always had skin allergies, so it wasn't anything new, but I noticed she was experiencing more distress than past flare-ups. I figured I'd let them run all the tests they suggested, and... they discovered she has terminal cancer. If we are incredibly lucky, she might have 1-2 months, at most. But... they said we will very, very, very likely not and expect about two weeks... maybe less...

I'm in shock.

I rescued her eight years ago. I thought we would have more time... I bonded with her so deeply, I forgot that I didn't always have her... I felt like I raised her from a kitten, even though she was a mother cat when I got her. A mother cat who already went through hell in life... She was at least eight years old when I got her, so that puts her at 16-17 now... She's just... my baby.

She has been doing so good lately too, happier than ever, especially in the last two years and especially in the last half year; she finally seemed to get past her past life's trauma, and we bonded even more deeply than we ever have.

She is the light of my life, truly. And now I know that her life is coming to an end soon.

It all feels so sudden, and I'm completely heartbroken. I'm just trying to hold onto the fact that these last eight years have been so wonderful. It's more time than some get. But I'm so scared to lose her... to experience her rapid decline in the coming days and weeks... At least I know it's coming and can make her as comfortable as possible.

Please share pictures of your cat or cat(s) in the comments. Hopefully that kind of request is allowed. But, idk, I really want to see everyone's cat or cats they are grieving.

My parents let me pick out a furry friend for our family when I was in 8th grade. I picked out our girl & she was with us for (almost) 14 years - what an amazing life! I’m now 26 and she would have been 14 in December. She was my best friend for the most pivotal moments of my life - going into high school, graduating high school, going off to college, graduating college. getting engaged, starting my career… I don’t think any pet will ever replicate what she meant to me. We had to put her down yesterday after fighting a very aggressive sarcoma for the last three months. Today I came home from work to an empty house and just started losing it. That dog meant more to me than most people: She was in my life longer than most of my current friendships. I don’t really know what the point of this post is other than to vent about my girl. I miss you so much. You were the best dog anyone could ever ask for. Rest easy in doggy heaven.

Just really struggling with this right now with my childhood 13 yr old Labrador Olive who's due to assisted to die in 2 days. I just know it's the right decision as any reduced appetite for her is a sign something's very wrong, and she has a tumour crushing her spine, but still I just feel awful as she's the last one of my childhood pets.