Pets: The Love, The Grief, and The Good-byes

I love my dogs. That is right, I wrote dogs, with an “s”, as in plural!

As in two more living and breathing creatures in my house on top of my four children, spouse, and me. We added a terrier mix to our crew about nine months ago. She is a lush for love and approximately two-years-old. Full house, full hearts is still my motto!

My old Jack Russell Terrier was less than thrilled with the addition of a new dog, but she actually has handled it much better than I could have ever anticipated. These two canines have been spotted multiple times curled up together on large pillows or sleeping side-by-side in the same dog bed.

Faithful Friend

Our JRT is fourteen-years-old. She is so old and so faithful. My husband and I got her in celebration of our first wedding anniversary. We saw an ad in the paper and picked her up from an elderly man with a deep croaky voice and smelly house. She was as small as our bulky television remote and cursed with dietary problems from the very beginning. But, we loved her. We still love her.

The great thing about being a pet person is the unconditional love part of it all. My dogs just want the essentials of food, water, heart-worm medicine, flea protection, and a warm lap. In return they care about my kids, my husband, and me to an extent that is primal. Sure they are small, somewhat yappy creatures. And yes, the pee accidents and spillage of water bowls makes us all scream. Yet, the dogs always want to be with us. No matter if we are grouchy. Or mean. Too busy. Or too tired. My dogs find a way to show love by curling up next to my side, playing fetch to distract the kids, or chasing away the menacing rabbits in our backyard.

Pets and Grief

Owning pets can really help in the life lesson of grief. Dogs do not live long enough. Some of my biggest tears as a child came when my family lost our miniature dachshund to an enlarged heart. But, despite the hurt of losing a pet, I value the lesson of loss. I value it for myself and for the way it helps prepare my children for the whole “nobody lives forever” lessons of life.

Since our JRT is old; my husband and I have been trying to prepare our children for the day when she has to leave us for that rainbow bridge in the sky. It will be an ugly, sad scene at our house when we lose her. But she has always had a warm and loving home, and I can feel good about that. She also introduced me to adulthood in a way that graduation, marriage, and buying a home never did. Owning my first pet in my twenties taught me what it meant to be dependable. I mean, like hardcore reliable, because a living and breathing mammal needed me to survive.

 The “Good” Good-Bye

My oldest recently told me the saddest story regarding pets. It was one of those scenarios where she had read this thing about vets in a book. Or maybe it was that a veterinarian visited her classroom to discuss a career in animal science. Whatever it was, my fifth-grader’s take-away had been the “end of life” part for pets. That sad moment when a vet is called to put down an animal because it is too sick to endure any more pain. My daughter said she learned that those moments can be difficult because a lot of times the owners are too sad and emotional to stay in the room with their pets for the final good-bye. Therefore a pet’s last moments are spent looking around for their family and only seeing the vet.

Tears pooled up in my eyes as my daughter calmly rehashed this information to me. After hearing my daughter speak on the matter, I told her with 100% conviction that I would never leave our pet’s side in that situation. It is honestly something I had never considered, but that is the amazing thing about pets, and life, and unconditional love. It is figuring out what you need to do in a hard situation beforehand, in the hopes it will make you better and stronger when the time comes.

I know some people think about pets as just animals. And they are, just animals. But they are also family. Losing family hurts, but dealing with the loss and staying strong are great life lessons for all.