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- Jun 4, 2012
- Reaction score
- 19,493
- Age
- 64
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- I'm liek, in Cali, dude.
- Lifestyle
- Vegetarian
Companion Animal Memorial Thread
- Thread starter FortyTwo
- Start date
SuicideBlonde
Adorkable rockstar!
SuicideBlonde
Adorkable rockstar!
One of my bff's had to put her black cat down today. He was 23 years old. Sweet cat, just the best. She kept him alive and trying to keep him healthy for so long. I loved the cat. I feel so upset for her.
Iām sorry to hear that. Sounds like she did a great job for 23 years.
SuicideBlonde
Adorkable rockstar!
My frog trio is now only a duo. I went to change the water last night and one was not moving. We put him in some medicine water, but he did not make it. I am upset. At least the other 2 look very healthy.
King didnāt make it. 
I feel so bad for my daughter. This is her first experience, as an adult, with losing a pet that was her sole responsibility. She took it very hard.
I feel so bad for my daughter. This is her first experience, as an adult, with losing a pet that was her sole responsibility. She took it very hard.
Sorry for your losses you two. It's so sad when it happens.
Chryssie
Internet Junkie
Iām texting with my daughter. Itās starting to hit her more now that heās really gone. Her other cat BlackBerry is being extra needy which is comforting for her.
Sƶpƶ passed away two years and four days ago. That hit me really hard today.
She was such an angel.
Here Comes The Sun always reminds me of her energy.
She was such an angel.
Here Comes The Sun always reminds me of her energy.
TarheelVegan
Newcomer
I just finished reading through all 38 pages of this thread, and it's extremely touching. There are some honestly lovely tributes here, and some beautiful photos and stories of folks' non-human animal companions. I love the wide array of animals for whom folks have cared so much too - rabbits, rats, dogs, cats, fish, and even anonymous "fallen" animals seen in the road. I live in a semi-rural area, and occasionally I will have to bury a squirrel, rabbit, or even a skunk in the field across from my house.
There seem to be some very caring, empathetic, and wonderful folks here, and that makes me glad I joined this community
There seem to be some very caring, empathetic, and wonderful folks here, and that makes me glad I joined this community
Last edited:
TarheelVegan
Newcomer
I wanted to share my own story on this thread topic too.
After 12 years and 2 months of an otherwise issue-free, healthy, vegan-dog, and active life, my sweet girl Missy was afflicted with a very nasty, aggressive, insidious, and inoperable osteosarcoma at the junction of her spine and her right hip. The MRI we did on her revealed that the goddamned thing was even growing up and into her spine.
Three weeks prior to the MRI, she was perfectly fine, but then she started exhibiting weakness in her hind quarters and her tail - which mimicked symptoms of a slipped disc - not uncommon in an active older dog. I was clinging to hope because she still had bowel & bladder control and she was still eating and taking water. And I was perfectly happy to carry her outside to use the bathroom for as long as she needed me to, in order for her to heal. My regular vet put her on a round of meds to manage the pain and suspected swelling. After a couple of days of seeming improvement, she started to go downhill and the pain seemed to get worse. She also started having more difficulty walking and lifting her tail, or even moving it at all. I tried to make her as comfortable as possible: feeding her from her bed, making use of every spare pillow I had in the house to prop her into a more comfortable position, always carrying her outside and not making her walk unnecessarily, helping hold up her tail so she could evacuate more easily, etc.
I took her to a vet specialist in south Charlotte, and they did the MRI mentioned above, which, my jaw hit the floor when I saw how big that wretched thing was. The vet neurologist gave Missy a few weeks, at most. I said to him, "so basically it is WHEN I decide to end it, and not IF" and he solemnly agreed. On the ride home, Missy was in pain...she whimpered and tried to shift herself around constantly to get some relief. Even though I'd turned the back of my Jeep into a pillow-padded king-sized bed, it just wasn't enough to give her any relief, and I decided that I'd try to schedule her for euthanasia as soon as possible. Although the vet had given her a few weeks, I did not believe in my heart she even had that amount of time left (of a reasonable quality of life anyway).
I also badly wanted to be able to do the procedure here at the house, so she could be in her own home and in the company of those who loved her most and not in some clinic somewhere with cold, uncaring, cinder block-y rooms with cold floors, stainless steel exam equipment & furniture, and the faint sounds of other animals she didn't know. I began thinking "how much would I have to bribe my vet to come here" and then one of my buddies said he and his wife used a service called "Lap of Love" ( Home | Lap of Love ) - a group of vets who provide end-of-life care/hospice services in 22 states. If any of you here in the states don't know about this service, it is really a blessing. Even though I'd phoned them at 6pm on Monday May 2nd, they were still able to schedule us for the next day at 11am. The vet who came out was just terrific - very caring, sincere, and you could tell that she was 100% the right person to provide this kind of care to people and their non-human animal family members. Missy was sedated and was at least somewhat more comfortable - for the first time in 3 weeks - and I was able to lay with her, put my head against hers, and rub her face until she was gone. It was peaceful, dignified, and I believe it was as loving as it could have possibly been. This will be the 3rd time I've said goodbye to one of my non-human family, but as I'm sure you all who have gone through this know, it's different each time and never easy.
Until the night of May 3rd, 2022, I'd only ever spent 3 nights away from her over the course of our time together.
RIP, my sweet Missy. I miss and love you very much.
2010.02.20 - 2022.05.03
A few pix:
Taken 2022.03.20:
Taken 2022.03.20:
One of my favorites of the two of us, taken 2016.01.16:
(PS: I also had a headstone made for her, and I thought it came out beautifully (obviously, last name redacted so as not to dox myself). See for yourself.)
Thank you - sincerely - for letting me tell her story. If you took the time to read it and to look at the pictures, I'm grateful.
After 12 years and 2 months of an otherwise issue-free, healthy, vegan-dog, and active life, my sweet girl Missy was afflicted with a very nasty, aggressive, insidious, and inoperable osteosarcoma at the junction of her spine and her right hip. The MRI we did on her revealed that the goddamned thing was even growing up and into her spine.
Three weeks prior to the MRI, she was perfectly fine, but then she started exhibiting weakness in her hind quarters and her tail - which mimicked symptoms of a slipped disc - not uncommon in an active older dog. I was clinging to hope because she still had bowel & bladder control and she was still eating and taking water. And I was perfectly happy to carry her outside to use the bathroom for as long as she needed me to, in order for her to heal. My regular vet put her on a round of meds to manage the pain and suspected swelling. After a couple of days of seeming improvement, she started to go downhill and the pain seemed to get worse. She also started having more difficulty walking and lifting her tail, or even moving it at all. I tried to make her as comfortable as possible: feeding her from her bed, making use of every spare pillow I had in the house to prop her into a more comfortable position, always carrying her outside and not making her walk unnecessarily, helping hold up her tail so she could evacuate more easily, etc.
I took her to a vet specialist in south Charlotte, and they did the MRI mentioned above, which, my jaw hit the floor when I saw how big that wretched thing was. The vet neurologist gave Missy a few weeks, at most. I said to him, "so basically it is WHEN I decide to end it, and not IF" and he solemnly agreed. On the ride home, Missy was in pain...she whimpered and tried to shift herself around constantly to get some relief. Even though I'd turned the back of my Jeep into a pillow-padded king-sized bed, it just wasn't enough to give her any relief, and I decided that I'd try to schedule her for euthanasia as soon as possible. Although the vet had given her a few weeks, I did not believe in my heart she even had that amount of time left (of a reasonable quality of life anyway).
I also badly wanted to be able to do the procedure here at the house, so she could be in her own home and in the company of those who loved her most and not in some clinic somewhere with cold, uncaring, cinder block-y rooms with cold floors, stainless steel exam equipment & furniture, and the faint sounds of other animals she didn't know. I began thinking "how much would I have to bribe my vet to come here" and then one of my buddies said he and his wife used a service called "Lap of Love" ( Home | Lap of Love ) - a group of vets who provide end-of-life care/hospice services in 22 states. If any of you here in the states don't know about this service, it is really a blessing. Even though I'd phoned them at 6pm on Monday May 2nd, they were still able to schedule us for the next day at 11am. The vet who came out was just terrific - very caring, sincere, and you could tell that she was 100% the right person to provide this kind of care to people and their non-human animal family members. Missy was sedated and was at least somewhat more comfortable - for the first time in 3 weeks - and I was able to lay with her, put my head against hers, and rub her face until she was gone. It was peaceful, dignified, and I believe it was as loving as it could have possibly been. This will be the 3rd time I've said goodbye to one of my non-human family, but as I'm sure you all who have gone through this know, it's different each time and never easy.
Until the night of May 3rd, 2022, I'd only ever spent 3 nights away from her over the course of our time together.
RIP, my sweet Missy. I miss and love you very much.
2010.02.20 - 2022.05.03
A few pix:
Taken 2022.03.20:
Taken 2022.03.20:
One of my favorites of the two of us, taken 2016.01.16:
(PS: I also had a headstone made for her, and I thought it came out beautifully (obviously, last name redacted so as not to dox myself). See for yourself.)
Thank you - sincerely - for letting me tell her story. If you took the time to read it and to look at the pictures, I'm grateful.
