The worst time that you always knew would be coming, but secretly hoped it never would, has finally come and you're an absolute wreck. Every single person that has ever owned a pet knows exactly how this feels. It's one of the most difficult life events to go through, especially if you've lived a majority of your life with that pet.
The first two weeks will forever be the hardest. You are going to miss them like crazy and the home just won't feel quite right without their presence. It's important to remember not to think about small instances where you may have not been the world's most playful and loving owner.
Looking back on their life that they spent with you and all the times you wish you would've stayed just a few more minutes to pet them and play with them before you went off to work or to spend time with friends, isn't going to be the way to go. You have to understand that in order to cope, you need to focus on all the things you did right.
You gave your beloved best friend a home. You gave them a life of happiness, to run around and be happy. You gave them someone to love: you. You being you is all they wanted you to be. Focus on your positives that you brought forth into their lives from the day you brought them home, to the day they left.
They were able to look forward to your return each and every day and it gave them that kind of excitement any single person would love to have each and every single day. You brightened their entire world. If that doesn't say that you did something right, then I'm not sure what quite does.
It's also necessary to realize that it's okay to be upset over a family pet that passed. Pet's are growing to be more and more important in everyone's daily lives. They even have pet insurance now. Putting up a wall around yourself emotionally, and pretending that a pet dying doesn't bother you, isn't going to benefit you in any way.
I lost my dog two years ago, and I'm not an emotional person by any means, but I was a wreck, and that's totally okay. I couldn't go a day without thinking about him and praying to God to bring him back to me. That dog held me up through a lot with his sheer ignorance and lack of understanding of what was actually going on.
I relied on him for so many things to get me through so many trying times in my young life. When my family had struggles, I would talk to him and spend time with him. When school and sports weren't going the way I wanted them to, I would ease my mind by spending time with him. Any time I was sick, he was right there laying with me on the couch in the living room.
Everyone has stories like that. Every single pet owner has coped through life one way or another with their pet. It's 100% okay to be upset about losing them.
Something most people refuse to do, is even thinking about getting another pet. That's actually quite backwards if you really think about it. It's been two years since the passing of my dog. My mom refuses to want any other dog besides him, even though she had many more pets in her childhood.
Think about all the animals that live in shelters or get euthanized each day for being in those shelters for so long. You don't necessarily have to go and pick out another pet right away after one of them dies — give it the proper amount of time, but understand that if you window shop at your local humane society, you're not a bad person. It proves you're a loving and caring person.
When one pet that's completely meaningful in every sense of the word passes, you don't need to shut down your heart to other animals that would absolutely love to be your next beloved furry friend. It's okay to try and find the right animal that suits you and your lifestyle after your pet has gone, but even just going in and visiting the other dogs or even volunteering at the animal shelter, is never a bad idea.
Believe me, it'll help you cope with the loss of your friend, and it'll give this aspect of your life a little more sentimental value. You're not necessarily owning those animals, but you can certainly be friends with them until they get adopted. Even becoming a foster family for dogs and cats while they wait to get adopted is a great way to go about coping.
Keeping a token of memory from your pet is always a good idea as well. I kept my dog's collar tag that he wore around his neck for his 14 years of life. It is now attached to the string to my lamp on my bedside table. So every single time I pull the chain, he still manages to light up my world.
