Just a few days ago my sweet three-year-old kitty, Loki, was in an accident to which we assume he was hit by a car. Because we do not know what actually happened, we had no idea at the time the extent of his injuries, therefore we had no idea how to really help him. The first night after the accident, he had struggled home and was found. That night, my mom stayed up with him and was hopeful for an almost full recovery. His major injury seemed to be a broken tail which would have led to an amputation. The next day, things seemed to go downhill fast and while we were at the vets office. It was discovered that he had internal injuries and was suffering from major amounts of pain. Ultimately, my mom had to make the decision to put him down. Loki was a big part of our family and losing him has been painful so this letter is for those who have suffered from the loss of a furry family member.

I want you to know that it is absolutely okay for you to grieve and mourn. Do not feel “silly” because you are heartbroken over an animal because for you, it was not just an animal, it was a member of your family. The day you pick your companion up, whether it be from a shelter where they are five years old or from a breeder where they are five weeks old, they manage to wiggle their way into your heart. So with the loss of them, please take the time to grieve. In my experience as a pet owner, I have had my share of unfortunate losses from one of my first dogs getting hit by a car to my childhood puppy who was as old as me (17) passing from old age. From these losses, I have learned that bottling everything up can make it harder to open your heart up and move on from your loss. Do not get me wrong, it may take a while to move on, but the sooner you let all your sad emotions flow you will hopefully feel better.

I also want you to know that no matter how hard it might have been, sometimes putting an animal down is the best thing for them. My Loki was in so much pain when he got to the vet and no matter how much I would have loved to see him alive once more, the best thing for him was to be put down immediately because only then could he be relieved of his pain. Putting an injured beyond repair animal down is kind of like when people sign do not resuscitate (DNR) forms. It, for lack of a better term, sucks! When this happens, you have to realize that them being alive is more painful and most of the times useless in the long run. I am not saying that miracles do not happen but more times than not the patient, whether they are animal or human, will be more peaceful in death.

No matter how your furry family member passes, you cannot close your heart to other new family members. That being said, do NOT rush into another pet. Take the time you need to grieve and then think about opening your heart and home to a new fur baby. It is inevitable that everything dies, even if some seem to die too soon but this does not mean you should not love as often and as fully as you can while you are alive.

It is hard to experience loss when you lose a pet but you will always have the good memories and if you stop living your life because of the loss of another, you are wasting what they would have so gladly taken. So, remember to grieve and mourn but do not become consumed by the bad to the point where you can no longer reflect on the good.