It's very difficult. What can I do?
Dear Miss C,
How do get over losing something so special to you, you can’t stand it. I lost my little Ozzie and I can’t imagine having another pet.
—PKE
Dear PKE,
First of all, I am so sorry for your loss. As a pet lover myself, I understand the familial bond we share with our furry babies. Losing a pet hurts just as much as losing a family member or loved one. Because they are exactly that! Ozzie was family and your bond was intimate and strong. Grieving for your Ozzie, you will go through all the same phases of grief as you would a human loved one. And so the first advice I give you, and know to be true, is allow yourself to cry.
Bottling up your emotions is unhealthy and could make the sadness last forever. Second, remember and memorialize him. Even though it makes you sad, it is best to remember and cherish the memories, not ignore them. It may hurt at first, but it’s the only path to closure, and it’s a good way to remember fondly your time with your pet.
This is a good time to make a scrapbook or share your bond on social media. Include pictures, stories, and notes about your pet. Read “The Rainbow Bridge” poem online. It will make you feel better about your loss. Third, some may encourage you to get another pet, my advice to you is wait, because you will know when or if it is time to let another family member into your heart.
And last, I would like to share with you something “I came across” that may give you comfort.
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF OZZIE E.
I, OZZIE E. With the burden of my years and infirmities heavy upon me, realize the end of my life is near, do hereby bury my last will and testament. My family will not know this exists until I have moved on. Then remembering me in sadness, will have my last testimony as a gift of comfort.
I have little in the way of material things to leave. Dogs are wiser than men. They do not set great store upon things. They do not waste their days hoarding property. They do not ruin their sleep worrying about how to keep the objects they have, and to obtain the objects they have not. There is nothing of value I have to bequeath except my love and my faith. These I leave to all those who have loved me, to my family, who I know will mourn me most and to my babysitter who spent special date nights with me. There are many more to the list who loved me because I have always been an extremely loveable dog,
I ask my family to remember me always, but not to grieve for me too long. In my life I have tried to be a comfort to them in time of sorrow, and a reason for added joy in their happiness. It is painful for me to think that even in death I should cause them pain. Let them remember that while no dog has ever had a happier life (and this I owe to their love and care for me), it is time I said good-bye. It will be sorrow to leave them, but not a sorrow to die. Dogs do not fear death as men do. We accept it as part of life, not as something alien and terrible which destroys life. What may come after death, who knows? I would like to believe with those my schnauzers, that there is a Paradise where one is always young and has lots of fun things to smell and toys waiting to be played with. Where every mealtime is followed by a long evening with lots of cuddling and dreams of my family.
I am afraid this is too much for even such a dog as I am to expect. But peace, at least, is certain. Peace and long rest for weary old heart and head and limbs, and eternal sleep in the earth I have loved so well. Perhaps, after all, this is best.
One last will and request, one might someday struggle over having another dog come home to live. My family may believe they could never open their hearts to love another. Now I would ask, for the love of me, to someday consider having another. It would be a tribute to my memory to share your love once more. The new one i not be me. But it warms my heart to know another could have the love and life that I had. But know that for all the new one’s faults (of not being me), I hereby wish him the happiness I know will be his in my old home.
And I ask, whenever you visit my grave, say to yourselves with regret but also with happiness in your hearts at the remembrance of my long happy life with you: “Here lies one who loved us and whom we loved.” No matter how deep my sleep, I shall hear you, and not all the power of death can keep my spirit from wagging a grateful tail.
And for all his faults (the simple fact of not being me), I hereby wish him the happiness I know will be his in my old home.
One last word of farewell, Dear Family, Whenever you visit my grave, say to yourselves with regret but also with happiness in your hearts at the remembrance of my long happy life with you: “Here lies one who loved us and whom we loved”. No matter how deep my sleep I shall hear you, and not all the power of death can keep my spirit from wagging a grateful tail.
