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My Childhood Dog of 15 1/2 Years Passed Suddenly


lucymax2000

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lucymax2000

My sweet little Max passed away in my arms suddenly on 4th June 2022. I was carrying him in from the garden as he couldn’t walk that well when his he looked at me and flopped his head on my shoulder. He was gone. I got him as a birthday present when I was 6 and I’m now 21. I’ve never known life without my little man and I’m not ready for it. He helped me through my mother’s unexpected death when I was 10. He was my soul dog and will always be my best friend. My dad spent that night making a wooden casket for him and we buried him in the garden he loved the following day. 
 

Part of me has left with him and I don’t know what to do or how to get through this. I decided to let him go as it would have been the third time I’d have revived him this year.
 

Rest Easy Baby, I Love You ♾

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I got my first dog, Huck, when I was 5, he also lived to 15, my parents wouldn't let me take him when I left home.  They didn't tell me ahead of time so I could say goodbye, just a phone call callously telling me.  He didn't have anything wrong other than old age, I would have taken care of him if they would have let me have him.  My mom was never connected to him, but that's how she was.

I am so sorry for your loss, it feels the hardest thing in the world.  I lost my soulmate in a dog, Arlie, 8/16/19, to cancer.  It's a long hard process to get through this, I still miss him each and every day.  I painted rocks for his grave.  I still keep water in his bowl in his dog house.  I know he's not coming back, but I have his coat on my chair (he was a big boy).  Someone called their thread "I want to dig him out of his grave," that's how I'd felt too, I knew not to, but I longed so much to kiss his sweet face one more time.

I hope this brings you a measure of comfort...
Comfort for Grieving Animal Lovers

 

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@lucymax2000  I'm so sorry you lost your sweet Max.  Although you've experienced loss before, nothing prepares you for losing your nearly life-long companion.  It's good that you were holding him.  The last thing he saw was your face; the last things he felt were your gentle arms and beating heart; the last voice he heard was yours.  He left for the Rainbow Bridge having known only love.  That matters.  It really does.

You grew up together, learned about the world, experienced life's joys and sorrows.  Who could ask for a better life than your precious Max had with you?

Grief like this takes time, which you already know, but this will be different because each relationship and each loss is unique.  Please, I urge you not to listen to those who might say hurtful things like, "He was only a dog." No, he was not "only" a dog; he was not "only” anything.  He was your family, your friend, and you were his world.  IMO, it doesn't matter at all whether we've lost a human or a pet when it comes to grief.  Our hearts shatter and our lives will never be the same, regardless.

It sounds as if your dad is very supportive of you, making a casket for him and helping you bury Max with dignity and love.  I hope you have others in your life who will be equally supportive and comforting.  Even if you do, please keep coming here to talk (well, write) or just read or whatever you finds helps.  If and when you're ready, we'd love to hear more about your life with Max.  Sometimes it helps to talk about the good things because it allows us to bring those special memories back into our hearts and minds.

You absolutely have lost a part of you.  There's no way around that.  Let yourself grieve; cry, rant, be angry, question (though I'm afraid we don't get answers to the question of "Why?" in this lifetime), and know that the members here understand in ways that others often do not or cannot.  Your journey will be yours alone, but we are all walking that same painful road with you.  You are not alone when you are here, even if it sometimes takes time for members to write or respond.  We're in different time zones and different places in life, and sometimes we don't feel up to talking (like me for the past several days), but we are listening.

I'm sending you warm comforting (virtual) hugs tonight.

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