Struggling to move forward

[Rootboy]

We lost our Quincy on Sunday kind of suddenly. He was a pound puppy we got when he was 8 weeks old. Very laid back and the best dog I have ever had. He was very attached to my wife and she  to him. We are both having a real hard time processing his death. He was 13 1/2 years old and not if perfect health but seemed okay as of Friday last week. Saturday he was a little weak and not eating as much but still drinking water. By Sunday morning he could not stand and was breathing hard. We were trying to decide what to do. He passed before we could do anything. He had gotten ill once last summer with similar symptoms. Vet ran blood tests and found low liver values and nothing else. Never did find out what happened but he bounced back a few days later. I thought he would this time too.  I'm struggling with the guilt of not doing enough to help him. He did have kidney issues and some lumps that have been there for a year or two and but vet wasn't concerned 6 months ago at his check up. I don't know how to get past the guilt I'm feeling for how quick and happened and how helpless I felt.

[KayC]

Guilt seems to be part of our grief, it comes prevalent and swift and requires no deservedness...it hits those of us who loved the hardest and deepest and makes no sense at all...it helps to know it's a feeling and not steeped in fact.  It's something to be gotten through.  I hope these articles will be of help to you as they put it better than I ever could.

http://media.wix.com/ugd/0dd4a5_e934e7f92d104d31bcb334d6c6d63974.pdf
http://www.pet-loss.net/guilt.shtml

I am so sorry for your loss.  Losing your beloved animal...I know of nothing more painful.  Our hearts go out to you here.