Chris,

I am so sorry for your loss. You sound so sad and lonely. Please consider, in time, rebuilding your animal family. A pet is such a joy and a comfort. You deserve that.

Best wishes

Katty

I am glad you had a nice trip. Sorry about your fur friend. We love them so. I do hope in time you find a new little buddy to share your life.

I've had to think long and hard about getting another pet. At this stage I can't feed an animal myself, I can't clean a cat's litter box, can't take an animal to the vet, can't pick a small animal up if necessary, and even have trouble petting a small animal. Animals are at our mercy and are a big responsibility, and I can take no personal responsibility for one. How is that fair to the animal, or to the people who do have to take responsibility? Or to me, for that matter, the person who will feel guilty for not being able to take responsibility for another life. Another nail in the coffin.

I never imagined myself without animals.... But then, I never imagined myself chained to this chair, either. It's all a lot to think about, and not just a matter of my own emotional wants and needs. I'm not sure what to do, so for the moment, I'm doing nothing.

Thanks very much for all your expressions of concern and greif on my behalf. It's appreciated.

Chris

I hear what you're saying, Chris and, with a broken heart, agree. My Pupper is 10, and when its his time, I know that I cannot train another dog.

I don't even want to think about it.

I started this with four animals: a horse, two dogs, and a cat. In the last two and a half years, all four have died. I've had animals all my life. I learned the grief of the finality of the death of a friend early; animals' lives are short and death is the sad part of living with them. I've had many animals die. But the intensity of my grief at the passing of these four friends took me by surprise.

Once I had gone through boxes of tissues and the first intensity of my sorrow had been watered with many tears, I realized I had never before lost an animal without the expectation of getting another to fill the void. Nothing can take the place of a loved one. But another animal helped me to move on from my grief, kept me from getting stuck in the sadness. That's not the case now.

It's the end of an era, and a part of me has died with them.

Chris